Bearcats Thump Fountain Lake, 41-20; Headed to State Playoffs

BY RICK WRIGHT –

The Mena Bearcats clobbered the Fountain Lake Cobras 41-20 Friday, October 28th at Fountain Lake High School.

Mena won the toss and elected to defer. The Cobras then chose to take the ball to start the game.

Christian Lua kicked off to start the contest. Fountain Lake returned the kick to the Cobra’s 31. The Cobras attempted to pass on first and second down, with both attempts falling incomplete. A third down nine-yard gain brought up fourth and one. An illegal motion penalty made it fourth and six, bring up the first punt of the game.

Bearcat Justin Dean returned the punt to the Mena 44 yard line.

Dean gained six on first down, before quarterback Carson Cannon gained seven and the game’s first, first down to the Fountain Lake 43. A short gain on first down and a holding penalty on second down stalled the drive and Mena punted on fourth and 20 to the Cobra 11 yard line.

Fountain Lake went three and out, punting the ball back to Mena. Dean returned the ball to the Cobra 24.

Dean gained six yards on first down. Two plays later, Cannon completed a pass to Ryan Ozanich who was tackled at the Cobra seven yard line, setting up first and goal.

Cannon gained two on first down, before Dean gained four to the one yard line. An illegal motion penalty backed Mena up to the six. After a Bearcat timeout with 4:03 to play in the first quarter, Cannon was sacked for a four-yard loss to bring up a fourth and goal from the nine.

Camden Broderson kicked a 26-yard field goal with 3:23 left in the first quarter to put Mena on top 3-0.

On the first play of the second quarter, Fountain Lake faced a first and 10 from their own 13. The Cobras scored on an 87-yard touchdown run at the 11:46 mark. The Bearcats blocked the extra point to leave the score Fountain Lake 6, Mena 3.

Elijah Snider returned the kickoff to the Mena 41-yard line. Three plays later, Cannon scooped up a low snap from center and went 55 yards straight up the middle for a Bearcat touchdown with 10:14 to play in the first half. Brodersen added the extra point to put Mena back on top 10-6.

Snider ended the Cobra’s next possession with an interception. A holding penalty on the interception return backed the Bearcats up to the Cobra 38 yard line. The Bearcats picked up one first down; however, Cannon was sacked for a 13-yard loss, bringing up third and 23. Fountain Lake intercepted a Cannon pass at the Cobra five and returned the pick to the Fountain Lake 26.

Six plays later, Snider intercepted another Cobra pass. An un-sportsman like penalty during the interception return put the ball at the Mena 20. An illegal motion penalty on Mena brought up a first and 15 at the 15-yard line. Cannon gained two yards on first down, then completed a pass to Dean who rumbled 83 yards for a Bearcat touchdown. Brodersen added the extra point to lift Mena to a 17-6 lead.

Dean ended Fountain Lake’s next possession with an interception. Dean returned the pick to the Cobra one yard line.

Cannon scored on a one-yard quarterback keeper with 1:54 to play in the half. Brodersen kicked the extra point to give the Bearcats a 24-6 advantage.

Ozanich recovered the Cobra’s onside kick attempt to start the second half at the 50 yard line. Eight plays later, facing a fourth and 10, Brodersen kicked a 35-yard field goal to extend Mena’s lead to 27-6 with 8:23 to go in the third quarter.

With 55 seconds to play in the third quarter, Cannon completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ty Cole. With Brodersen’s extra point, the Bearcats led 34-6.

The Bearcats swarmed the Cobra kickoff return man at the Fountain Lake 12 yard line. Fountain Lake a marched 88 yards in 10 plays to score on an eight yard touchdown run with 9:29 to play in the game. With a two-point conversion, Fountain Lake cut Mena’s lead to 34-14.

The Cobra’s onside kickoff attempt went out of bounds. Mena drew a late hit out-of-bounds penalty on the kick, backing Mena up to their own 35 yard line. Five plays later the Bearcats turned the ball over on downs at the Fountain Lake 33 with 7:38 left in the game.

On first down, the Cobra’s attempted a pass, however, Bearcat Cross Hughes intercepted the pass. A personal foul penalty against Fountain Lake advanced the ball to the Cobra 25 yard line.

Two plays later, Dean scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 6:58 to go. With Brodersen’s extra point, the Bearcats led 41-14.

The Cobras added a touchdown on a two-yard run with 3:16 left in the fourth quarter and missed the extra point to set the final score at Mena 41, Fountain Lake 20.

The Bearcats host Robinson on Senior Night, Friday, November 4^th, at Randall Whorton Field in Bearcat Stadium.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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