Football is a fast game. And a team's fortunes can change in an instant.
Take the Phil Campbell Bobcats. Two weeks ago, Phil Campbell hit the midway point of the 2022 regular season at 4-1, 1-1 in Class 3A, Region 8 play.
It was a nice landing point for Coach Kevin Barnwell's team after five weeks, but the schedule would take a nasty turn,, as the Bobcats faced the two Region 8 leaders, Lauderdale County and Mars Hill, in consecutive games.
After a close opening quarter, Lauderdale County pulled away en route to a 36-12 win at Phil Campbell. This past Friday, the Bobcats' trip to Florence resulted in a 56-0 loss to the Panthers. Phil Campbell dropped to 4-3, 1-3.
Even with those losses, though, Phil Campbell can still earn a trip to the playoffs by defeating Colbert Heights this Friday at home and Clements High School on the road October 21st.
The Bobcats will close out the regular season with a non-region visit to their in-county rival Red Bay.
In addition to the two losses on the scoreboard, there were two devastating injuries to Bobcat skill players in the Lauderdale County loss, as running back Noah Raper and receiver Braxton Goodson both left the game with torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries.
For a team still searching for its 'identity,' it was back to the drawing board for the Bobcats, as those injuries 'completely change' who they are offensively, Barnwell said.
“We've got to figure something out. We knew going into the (Mars Hill) game they had a very good team,” Barnwell said. “They are a formidable opponent. But I thought our kids really fought. There was no quit even though the odds were stacked against them.”
The statistics from a 56-0 loss weren't pretty. Phil Campbell totaled only 142 yards on 55 plays. Bobcat quarterbacks were a combined 5-11 for 21 yards and an interception.
Phil Campbell's talented running back corps carried 44 times for 121 yards. Isaac Hill led all ball carriers with 41 yards on seven rushes, as eight different Bobcats had at least one carry.
Sage Raper led the Phil Campbell defense with five solo tackles. Raper also forced Mars Hill's lone turnover with an interception.
So where do the Bobcats go from here? Barnwell's message to his team—look at the big picture and how they can define over the next three Fridays who they are.
“We're constantly having them look at the big picture of the season and the big picture as to who they will be grouped with for the rest of their lives based on the success of their football season,” Barnwell said.
“I let them know even though things may not look promising at times, they still have opportunities to make a name for themselves and have something to be proud of. We will continue pushign them and there's no quit or rollover in my players at all. The challenge to make them understand is in order to be prepared Friday nights you have to be prepared Monday through Thursday, so we'll come back Monday and get to work,” he added.
The Colbert Heights Wildcats will come to Phil Campbell with a 3-4 record, 2-2 in Region 8. Coach Taylor Leathers' team has wins over Wilson, Clements and Elkmont, with losses to Lexington, Mars Hill, Meek and Colbert County.
“We are a very similar team to Colbert Heights,” Barnwell said. “They're well-coached year in and year out and we expect nothing less than that. Last year they jumped on us pretty early, but we were able to connect on some passes early, too.
“We talked about it coming home on the bus. We're evenly matched and will see a similar team Friday to who we are. We've got to find our identity now. That's our challenge this week—to find out who we are and put something together,” he added.
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