Woodland wins season opener

By Ricky Murphy
Special to Score!

WOODLAND – On Saturday, September 16 , Woodland’s home opener was all the Bobcat faithful hoped for … and more.

It brought sunshine, cooler temperatures and a 34-7 win over Ashland Blue!
Woodland’s defense set the tone early by forcing a turnover on the games second play, which resulted in a touchdown two plays later.

The fumble and the touchdown were credited to Ricky Stephens. Stephens finished the day with 12 carries for 207 yards and three touchdowns.

Curt Brown and John Wes Adcock scored the Bobcat’s other two touchdowns.

The team finished with 329 yards total offense (268 yards rushing and 61 yards passing) and 11 first downs. Quarterback Reed Murphy completed 6 of 8 passes with no interceptions.

On the receiving end, Brown had 3 receptions, Andrew Burroughs had 2, and Dustin Denney had one.

The Bobcat defense held the Panther offense to one first down, 54 rushing yards and 58 passing yards.

Burroughs also recorded an interception to end a second half drive. Leading the Bobcats in tackles was Aspen Henderson with 5 stops.
Murphy, Denney, Brown and Christian Burroughs each added four tackles.
Much credit is also due to the Woodland offensive line (Adcock, Sean Lewis, Taylor Boyd, Nick Noles, Christian Burroughs, Al Davis, and Andrew Burroughs).

They did a splendid job of opening paths for the backs to run through.

Next up for Woodland (1-0) is Wedowee on Saturday, Sept. 23 10 a.m. at Woodland.