The Opp Bobcats showed some grit and determination in a must-win season-ending game, defeating Ashford in overtime triple time 50-48.
Bobcats (4-6 4-4) required both an upset and a little assistance by Houston Academy and they got both of them as the Cougars defeated Pike County, giving Opp the fourth seed for playoffs in Region 2.
Ashford maintained multiple leads over Opp with an advantage of 6-0 in the half. Opp’s offense was more efficient than Ashford during the first half, and also had more scoring opportunities. However, one of those drives was ended by an intercept which was returned to score the sole score of the opening half.
In the second period, the offenses began to take off. Opp got its first possession, and scored a point on the run of Nelson Hall. The game was still six-points apiece after a failure to convert a 2-point.
Ashford scored quickly to take the lead back and scored on an elusive catch of 52 yards to propel the Yellowjackets to a lead of 12-6.
Zeb Green received the kickoff and set his Bobcats on the line at 47 yards. After that, Jaymaryon Allen got the call on several rush plays, eventually bringing the Bobcats to the 9-yard line. Hall was able to take care of it from there, bringing it to score, which tied the score at 12-12.
Again, Ashford struck back quickly with a quick kickoff back for a second time to make it a lead. The second time, the two-pointer was enough to make it 20-12.
Opp’s next possession came to an end with the turnover.
in the 4th quarter in the fourth quarter, the Yellowjackets wanted to build an edge on their lead. Cash Harrell answered the Bobcats prayer by scoring an interception during the ball into the goal zone.
Beginning at their own 20 yards, the Bobcats were relying on a mix from Allen along with Hall. When they faced a fourth down-and-5 at the Ashford 42, Hall picked up the required yards in order to help keep the game going. A few minutes later, Allen got it from eight yards out. The 2-point conversion was a success to tie the game 20-20 with less than five minutes remaining.
Ashford demonstrated that they weren’t about to go away. After gaining control near midfield, they threw down consecutive passes, the first one for 27 yards, and the following one with 22 yards for the score of a touchdown. A 2-point conversion brought Ashford in the lead, winning 28-20, with just 3:20 remaining.
A side kick attempt went to Opp’s advantage, allowing the team possession in midfield. Allen scored 34 yards over three consecutive runs before on the fourth, he took the ball in from 16 yards away. Hall played the 2-point play to tie the game.
Opp played Ashford in the final downs, pushing the game to overtime.
The ball was placed at 10 yards, Ashford defeated a holding call and scored an 20-yard touchdown. The two-point play earned Ashford a lead of 36-28.
Opp The game was sent into overtime, when Hall took advantage of strong blocks into the final third and then followed with a strong 2-point run.
Opp played two times to bring the ball to the end zone during second overtime. However, Opp fell short of the 2-point goal which made the score 42-36.
Ashford was close to being out after an extra fourth-down pass from the 7, he made contact to score a touchdown. The Yellowjackets were unable to win the game with an unfinished 2-point conversion.
First to get the ball during the 3rd overtime Ashford quickly scored to make it 48-42, however, Zevon Barnes smashed away the two-point conversion pass.
The Opp team was in possession. Hall was the one to take his first shot for nine yards before completing his drive with the following move. The Bobcats won by scoring a 2-pointer when Allen hit the two-pointer and lifted Opp to a victory of 50-48.
The overtime victory is the first time that the Bobcats have won since the 2008 season.
Allen was able to run the ball on 36 occasions for the Bobcats for 229 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Hall played the ball 31 times, gaining two19 yards and five touchdowns.
In defense Landon Langley led the way with eight tackles and two sacks. Javon Stoudemire tallied the eight tackles along with one bag. Harrell made a crucial interception in addition to Hank Messer each finished with seven tackles.
With the victory The Bobcats continue their winning streak. They will then go towards St. James (8-2) to play in the opening round of the playoffs.
The article Opp gets playoff spot thanks to thrilling triple-overtime victory against Ashford 50-48 was first published in The Andalusia Star-News.
