The Pilot Point Bearcats varsity football team opened the 2026 season with a bang, beating the No. 12 pre-season ranked Peaster Greyhounds 21-14 on Aug. 28.
The Bearcats relied on explosive plays from their offense and opportunistic plays on defense to get the win at home.
“We played on some great effort tonight,” said Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic and head football coach. “We knew conditioning was going to be a factor in the first game, and we had players cramping up coming out in the second half, but [Peaster] started cramping too, so it was mainly about survival at the end there; both teams were on their heels. Our offense did their job in the first half, and our defense stepped up and closed it out for us.”
The two teams struggled to get things going offensively, with both teams being forced to punt on their opening possessions.
On the fourth play of the Bearcats’ second possession, running back Josh Chumley provided the spark Pilot Point’s offense was looking for when he sliced through the Greyhounds’ defense for a 47-yard touchdown run, putting Pilot Point up 7-0 near the end of the first quarter.
Peaster would answer on their next possession with a 10-play, 65-yard drive capped off by an 11-yard run by running back Slayte Robertson, tying the game, 7-7, early in second quarter. The game remained tied until Chumley slipped through the Greyhounds’ defense for the second time, racing away for a 57-yard touchdown and putting the Bearcats back on top 14-7.
The teams exchanged punts on their ensuing possessions, and on the final play of the half, Peaster opted to take one final shot at the end zone attempt.
With one second remaining in the half, the Greyhounds threw a Hail Mary pass, which was intercepted at Pilot Point’s 18yard line by linebacker David Pickrel, who returned the ball 82 yards for a touchdown as time expired, extending the Bearcats’ lead to 21-7.
“We were in a prevent defense, and we worked on that all week, and Coach Worrell said, ‘If you see the ball, knock it down,’” Pickrel said. “I saw the quarterback overthrow the receiver, and Coach [Eichenberger] likes to say, ‘Let’s be athletic for once,’ so I caught it and was able to run down the sideline and get some amazing blocks from Jason Rangel, Kaleb [Reid] and Wade [Eft]. I was scared I was going to trip near the end, but I stayed on my feet and scored.”
The Greyhounds responded again, this time with an eight-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Robertson, cutting the Bearcats lead to 21-14 with a little over 6 minutes left in the third quarter.
The Bearcats offense sputtered on their next possession, and a shot punt gave the Greyhound a short field with their drive starting on the Bearcats' 35-yard line.
Peaster drove the ball down to Pilot Point’s 16-yard line when the Bearcats’ defense forced a fumble from Greyhound running back Walker, which was recovered by defensive tackle Josh Martinez.
That was as close as the Greyhounds would get for the remainder of the game, with the Bearcats defense sealing the 21-14 for Pilot Point.
Chumley led the Bearcats offense with 149 yards on 13 carries and 2 touchdowns, followed by Hastings Fischer, who added 67 yards on 10 carries.
“Getting this win tonight was amazing,' Chumley said. “We worked all week because we knew they were a good team and that we were going to have to fight if we wanted to beat them. No one has us picked to win, but we knew if we came out here and played hard, we’d be good.”
Assistant Editor Martin Edwards contributed to this report.
