NEW MARKET, Ala. – The Cullman Bearcats wrapped up their regular season on the road against Buckhorn Friday night and they returned home with a big win to cap the year. The ‘Cats took advantage of some explosive plays in the first half to take a 22-13 lead into the locker room at the break, and they held off a late push from the Bucks in the second half to secure a 22-19 road win.
Cullman kicked off to Buckhorn to start the game, but the Bearcats forced a fumble on the return and it was recovered by Gabe Washburn at the 25 to give Cullman’s offense excellent field position. Quarterback Colt Colvard connected with Cooper Loftin for a big gain down to the 7-yard line and two plays later, Kolby Holt took a handoff on a jet sweep into the end zone for a touchdown, putting Cullman in front 7-0 early. Buckhorn responded with a nice drive, picking up big gains through the air and scoring on a 6-yard run to trim the lead to 7-6 with 4:26 remaining in the opening period.
A 3-yard touchdown run by the Bucks gave them a 13-7 lead midway through the first quarter but Cullman dominated the final six minutes of the half. Colvard hit Holt down the sideline for a 61-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 13 and Chance Hausler punched in the two-point conversion to put the ‘Cats ahead 15-13. Cullman got the ball back one more time with less than two minutes on the clock and Weston Keel took a screen pass from Colvard 26 yards into the end zone for another touchdown, giving the Bearcats a 22-13 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
Buckhorn got the ball to start the third quarter but an interception by Kamden Dye gave possession right back to the Bearcats. However, an interception in the end zone ended the scoring opportunity for Cullman and the Bucks got the ball back on their own 20. Buckhorn was forced to punt a few plays later and a big return by Holt set the Bearcats up with excellent field position, but they were unable to capitalize, and Buckhorn got the ball back still trailing 22-13 with two minutes to play in the third.
Cullman’s defense came up with a fourth down stop early in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead, but a Bearcats fumble gave the ball back to Bucks a few plays later. That’s when Dye stepped up once again, intercepting his second pass of the night to cut the ensuing Buckhorn possession short near midfield with six minutes on the clock. Cullman attempted a 34-yard field goal with 3:37 remaining but it was blocked, and Buckhorn drove down the field for a touchdown on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to 22-19. However, the Bearcats recovered the onside kick that followed and returned home with a 22-19 win over the Bucks.
With the win over Buckhorn, Cullman won its final three contests and four of its last five to finish the season 4-6.
Head Coach Trent Walker is proud of the way his team continued to battle after a slow start to the season and has been happy to see their hard work pay off in the second half of the schedule.
“I’m just so proud of our young people. To have the start we had with so many close games and so much adversity and they stayed the course and stayed together and kept improving,” Walker said. “They just went to work each week and focused on getting better and growing closer as a team and in this back half of the season we’ve seen all the fruits of their effort and investment. I’m proud of our coaching staff for continuing to coach these guys hard and keeping the joy in the building while maintaining our standards and that allowed us to end the season on a win streak.”
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