The Wandering Disciple

North Port, Florida: The Sarasota offense combined with a penalty happy officiating crew made for a rough night for the North Port Bobcats as they lost to the Sarasota Sailors 38-13 on Friday night at The Preserve at North Port High School. The Bobcats won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. The game looked to be a defensive battle as both teams exchanged punts on their first drives to start the game. But that was as close as it would be as Sailor offense jumped out to a big lead by scoring 24 unanswered points in the first half. The Sailors would march down the field to score on their second possession of the game. A 43 yard pass from Sage Hansard to Mack Dancer set up a 2 yard touchdown run by Marlon Mack to put the Sailors on the board 7-0. After exchanging stalling drives, the Sailors got the ball back via an interception. They marched down the field to score their second touchdown as Hansard went to the air to Marquis Zimmerman for a 1 yard touchdown pass to p...

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 a...

North Port, Florida: Despite taking an early lead, the North Port Bobcats were unable to match the offensive attack of the Venice Indians as they suffered a 49-20 loss to the top seed in the division. The Indians struck for 28 points in the second quarter, leading them to their fifth win in a row. The Bobcats won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, Brandon Engell recovered a fumble to give the Bobcats the ball on the 18 yard line. The drive stalled on the 6 yard line and Gasto Orsetti kicked a 21 yard field goal to give the Bobcats a 3-0 lead. The Indians answered back with a 67 yard scoring drive that ended with a QB keeper by Grant Flessner for the score. The keeper and the point after gave the Indians a 7-3 lead. The Bobcats forced another fumble to set up their second scoring drive. Quinn Bass recovered a fumble on the 26 yard line during the Indian’s punt return. The Bobcats drove the ball to the 8 yard line on a rush by quart...

North Port, Florida: The North Port Bobcats dazzled the homecoming crowd Friday night by defeating the visiting Ida Baker Bulldogs by the score of 34-14. After being shut-out last week, the Bobcats rebounded and scored twenty unanswered points and three shut-out quarters before allowing the Bulldogs to reach the end zone in the fourth quarter. The explosive ground game of the Bobcats led the way, finishing the game with 289 yard on the ground. Both Brandon DeShields and Devonte Bailey walked away with 100 yard nights. The Bobcats first drive began on defense when DeShields intercepted a pass on the opening drive of the game. The Bobcat offense then drove the ball 27 yard on 5 plays resulting in a 10 yard touchdown run by DeShields to take the lead 7-0. Then in the second quarter, the Bobcats struck again. After a Bulldog punt, the Bobcats began another scoring drive from their own 26 yard line. Eighteen plays later it was Tyler Griffith carrying the ball across the goal line to ...

North Port, Florida: The North Port Bobcats dropped their home opener against Desoto County on Friday night at the Preserve. Despite taking an early lead in the second quarter and holding Desoto to just one first down in the first half, a twenty point fourth quarter doomed the Bobcats, handing them a 20-7 loss. The Bobcats took the lead in the second quarter. The 56 yard scoring drive was capped off by quarterback Paul Balcomb scoring on a 3 yard QB keeper. The touchdown plus the extra point gave the Bobcats a 7-0 advantage heading into the locker room for halftime. The second half began much like the first half. Hard nose defense and running attack, kept the score at 7-0 until the midway through the fourth quarter. But that’s when things turned bad for the Bobcats. Th Bulldogs recovered a fumble by Antonio Washington to start the game tying scoring drive. Washington then ended the drive by throwing a 23 yard option pass to Dalton Green to tie the game. Another Bobcat turnover led to ...