NEW BERLIN – Those who overlook Bainbridge-Guilford may be in for an unwelcome surprise this season.
The Bobcats used a physical, quick defense and game-breaker running back, Dustin Ross, to knock off UV-Edmeston here Friday night, 32-14.
The Bobcats limited the Storm to just 62 yards through three periods, and thanks to an explosive, big-play offense, had complete control of the contest. “We know we have a tough schedule, and we just banded together like brothers,” said B-G senior quarterback Chris McGinnis, who tossed a pair of touchdown passes.
Ross was the momentum builder for his team and the momentum killer for the Storm. After a successful defensive stop on UV-E’s opening possession, Ross darted to the left and raced 61 yards for a touchdown on his first varsity carry. Later in the game and after UV-E scored its first touchdown, Ross scored again from 61 yards on nearly the identical play. He finished with 164 yards rushing in his first varsity game. “Not only does Dustin have speed, but he is elusive, too,” said B-G coach Tim Mattingly. “He’s a nice weapon to have, and I’m not sure UV-E understood the speed that he has.”
The Storm’s worst enemy was themselves in many cases fumbling six times and throwing an interception. Add to that some significant penalties at critical times.
Until Eric Bennett’s 24-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, there was little to cheer about on the purple and black’s side of the field. Bennett proved a noteworthy bright spot with 83 yards on the day, and Jay Lloyd added a nine-yard TD run in the final 30 seconds. “They were a quicker team than what we had seen, and they caught us with our tongues hanging out a few times,” said UV-E coach Jack Loeffler. “The turnovers and penalties killed us, but we played hard to the end and got a couple of scores.”
As noted, B-G opened the scoring with relative ease. The Storm’s defense became much stingier holding the Bobcats on the next two possessions. That stinginess stopped after a critical fourth-down penalty on the Storm’s defense set up a fourth-and-three near midfield. Instead of a punt, McGinnis kept the ball on a fake and got the three yards to extend the drive. McGinnis hit Dylan Whittaker on a 15-yard first-down strike, and then floated a fading pass to the right corner of the end zone to Travis Dickey for a 16-yard score.
On the final play of the half, McGinnis again hooked up with Whittaker on a seven-yard TD toss. A mishandled punt snap by UV-E punter Jordan Williams set up B-G’s prime field position and third score of the game.
Bennett capped UV-E’s best progression of the game, an eight-play, 78-yard excursion, only to see that steady execution wiped away on one Ross TD jaunt.
B-G junior reserve, Dustin Rutz, added a 24-yard TD run to complete his team’s scoring.
Score by quarters
B-G 8 12 6 6–32
UV-E 0 0 0 14–14
Scoring Summary
B-G: Ross 61 run (McGinnis run)
B-G: McGinnis 16 pass to T. Dickey (kick failed)
B-G: McGinnis 7 pass to Whittaker (kick failed)
UVE: Bennett 24 run (Williams kick)
B-G: Ross 61 run (kick failed)
B-G: Rutz 24 run (kick failed)
UVE: Lloyd 7 run (Williams kick)
*Complete statistics to appear in Tuesday’s Evening Sun.