North Port Bobcats vs Riverview Rams

North Port, Florida: The North Port Bobcats suffered a devastating 48-6 loss to the Riverview Rams in conference play on Friday night at the Preserve. The Bobcats defense could not stop the explosive Rams offense and were plagued by penalties and turnovers on offense, making for a long night. Meanwhile on the other side of the ball, the Rams were virtually flawless.

Riverview wasted no time taking the lead. They won the coin toss and elected to receive. 67 seconds was all it took to reach pay dirt. John Evans rumbled 60 yards to score and give the Rams a 7-0 lead.

After forcing the Bobcats to a three and out series on their first possession, the Rams offense hit the field again on a fast track to the end zone. The drive ended in a 26 yard touchdown run by Devontae Williams.

Down 14-0, the Bobcats showed life on their second possession. After a touchback on the kickoff, the Bobcats put together a 10 play drive that took them down the field. The drive stalled in the red zone and kicker Gaston Orsetti nailed a 27 yard field goal. During the play, a Riverview player was penalized for running into the kicker and the resulting penalty gave the Bobcats the ball on the 3 yard line. Head coach Matt Pryer gambled and decided to go for 6 and the play was successful with Dovonte Bailey scoring on a 3 yard rush. The two point conversion failed and the Bobcats trailed 14-6.

It took the Rams just three plays to erase the Bobcats touchdown. This time they did it through the air. Jeremy Jones was on the receiving end of a 60 yard touchdown pass by Williams to increase the lead to 21-6.

The Rams began their next scoring drive 34 seconds to go in the first quarter. They capped off the 70 yard drive with a Jones/Williams touchdown connection, their second of the night to increase the lead to 28-6.

The Bobcats offense showed spark in the next drive. The drive began on the Bobcats 15 yard line. They drove the field and pushed the ball into the end zone on a 26 yard screen pass from Paul Balcomb to Jason Petrone. But they points were taken off the board when the Bobcats were flagged for illegal use of the hands. They drive would later stall on the 10 yard line as the Bobcats fumbled to end the drive.

But as the Bobcats drive ended, a new one by the Rams began. However this drive would not last long, just 17 seconds to be exact. Evans took the ball 90 yards to the end zone for the score. The Bobcats could not execute a scoring drive on their next possession and the Rams took a 35-6 lead into the locker rooms at half time.

Neither team put points on the scoreboard in the third quarter. The Bobcats had the ball twice in the third quarter, the first drive resulting in a turnover on a fumble and the second drive ended in a punt. The bright spot of the quarter came when the Bobcats stopped the Rams drive for the first time on the night. The interception ended the Rams drive without a score for the only time during the game.

The Rams pushed across 14 more points in the fourth quarter as they ran out the clock. Evans scored his third touchdown of the game, but this time by the air. He caught a 5 yard pass from Williams. Later in the quarter, Terrell Warren took the ball 22 yard to give the Rams the 48-6 victory.

With leading rusher Brandon DeShields serving a suspension following the fight during the North Fort Myers game, the Bobcats offense turned to Bailey as the go-to tailback. He rushed for 97 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown and also had 2 catches for 20 yards to lead the offense. Quarterback Paul Balcomb was 4 for 7 for 38 yards while rushing for 44 yards on 11 carries.

The Bobcats offense picked up 183 yards on the ground and 58 through the air while giving up 484 yards on defense.

The Bobcats fall to 3-5 on the year and 0-3 in the conference.

Next week will be another tough game for the Bobcats as they travel to Bradenton to face the undefeated Manatee Hurricanes (8-0, 3-0).

Click on the photo above to view the photos from the Bobcats/Rams game gallery.