Indians defeated by Bobcats 40-30: Two regular season games remain

The Jacksonville Fightin’ Indians came into their final “home” game desperately needing a win to maintain control of their own destiny in the District 9-5A-II playoff race. Unfortunately, the Hallsville Bobcats were all too happy to play spoiler on Senior Night at Panther Stadium, coming away with a 40-30 victory.

Jacksonville got the scoring started, as Deshawn McCuin took a direct snap and plunged into the endzone from a yard out. Alejandro Pina-Sanchez added the extra point to put the Tribe up 7-0 with 9:26 to go in the first quarter of play.

Hallsville’s offense was anchored all night by their quarterback Semaj Boyd and all-around star Tristan Driggers. Driggers, who saw time at running back, receiver, safety, kicker and punter, put up the first HHS points from the tailback slot with a six yard burst. He added the PAT kick himself to level the proceedings in the first.

The Bobcat defense held the Indians on their ensuing drive, getting the ball back with a short field – a theme all night long. Bobcat back Cortland Venters then had the ball literally stolen by Jacksonville’s Brealyn Riden, who took it back for the Tribe’s next score. Pina-Sanchez added the PAT to put Jacksonville on top, 14-7, with only 28 seconds remaining in the opening stanza.

The ‘Cats would get the next touchdown, by way of a Tristan Driggers return of a Chris Carpenter punt all the way to the house. The Tribe added another defensive highlight on the extra point attempt, however, as PeeWee Fuller blocked the kick and Riden returned it 85 yards to put two points on the Indians’ ledger. When the dust cleared, the score stood 16-13 in favor of the Blue and Gold with 7:55 until the halftime siren.

Far from being finished, Driggers continued to put on a show, rushing for another score and adding the PAT at the 3:48 mark of the second quarter. The Indians would answer with some heroics from their own Tristan, junior quarterback Tristan Shewmake, who took a chance to showcase his speed, sprinting 66 yards for the final score of the first half. With the conversion, the Tribe led 23-20 as the teams headed for the locker rooms.

The Bobcats would claim the game’s next three scores in the second half: another Driggers run, another Venters run, as well as a 29-yard field goal by Driggers that would have been good from at least 45 yards.

The Tribe’s senior speedster, McCuin, electrified the crowd once more in the fourth quarter with a 59-yard scoring romp. Pina-Sanchez’s conversion brought the Indians within a score, at 37-30, but that was as close as they would get to the energized Hallsville squad with victory in sight.

The final points of the evening came off the right foot of Driggers (who else?) as he drilled another field goal, this time from 28 yards out, to secure the W for the visitors.

While the loss does not mathematically eliminate the Tribe from playoff contention, it does cast Jacksonville’s participation in the second season in serious doubt. The Indians travel to Mount Pleasant to battle the Tigers this week before concluding the regular season on November 9 in Lindale. JHS will most likely need to win both games and get help to punch a ticket to the most exciting six weeks in sports.