The Pilot Point Bearcats varsity football team returned to the winner’s circle last Friday with a defensive masterclass that lifted them over the Dallas Life Oak Cliff Lions 38-6 on Oct. 23.
Life Oak Cliff’s high-powered offense posed a tough test for Pilot Point, but the Bearcats’ defense had all the answers, holding the Lions to their lowest offensive output of the season, while the Bearcats’ offense piled up points in the win.
“I’m proud of everybody,” said Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic director and head football coach. “[Hastings Fischer] had a Pick-6 and 2 of our 3 interceptions, and we forced four turnovers tonight. Our offense played well, but we won this game with defense tonight.”
The Lions would receive the opening kickoff and would move the ball to Pilot Point’s 35-yard line but would turn the ball over on downs to the Bearcats with three straight incompletions.
Pilot Point took over on its own end of the field and marched the ball into Life Oak Cliff’s territory with 12 straight run plays and capped their drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Fischer for the game’s first points, putting the Bearcats up 7-0 in the first quarter.
Fischer would show up again on the Lions’ ensuing possession by intercepting a pass at the 18-yard line and returning it 82 yards for the touchdown, extending Pilot Point’s lead to 14-0.
The Bearcats took a gamble that paid off on the ensuing kickoff when Jarell Rangel's onside kick was recovered by Jack Harpool, giving Pilot Point the ball at Life Oak Cliff’s 32-yard line. _ Four plays later, Daniel would connect with wideout Luke Conner for a 23-yard touchdown strike, putting Pilot Point up 21-0 early in the second quarter.
The two teams would trade possessions for the remainder of the half, with the Bearcats holding a 21-0 lead at halftime.
The Bearcats' first drive of the second half led to a 32-yard field goal by Rangel, extending the lead to 24-0.
Life Oak Cliff would give the ball back to Pilot Point three plays later when Bearcats’ linebacker Malik Lars recovered a fumble, giving Pilot Point the ball at their own 21yard line, and a few plays later Daniel connected with Conner for a 61yard touchdown pass.
The Bearcats led 31-0 midway through the third quarter. _ The Lions scored their only touchdown of the game on their next drive when running back Jatavion Smith-Adams ran for a 4-yard touchdown, making the score 31-6 after the extra point kick was missed.
Fischer put the nail in the Lions' coffin with a 4-yard touchdown run, sealing the win 38-6 for the Bearcats.
Fischer was the star of the night for Pilot Point, tallying 192 yards of total offense, 2 interceptions and 3 touchdowns.
“We had a few guys out tonight, so I knew the coaches were looking for me to make big plays and for us to execute tonight, and that’s what we did,” Fischer said.
Daniels led the team through the air, completing 5 of 7 attempts for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Conner led the team in receiving with 3 catches for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Lars, who helped Pilot Point defense hold a Lions offense that entered the contest averaging 60 points per game to 6, credited the Bearcats’ coaching staff for the performance.
“Shout out to Coach Worrell and our defensive coaches,” he said. “They really push us hard during practice, and we busted our butts this week, and we definitely want to take this momentum into next week.
Assistant editor Martin Edwards contributed to this report.
