Bland County Bears defeat Craig County

By JERRY SCOTT/Correspondent

Getting stellar rushing performances from Aaron Blankenship and Jacob Lambert, the Bland County Bears evened their 2009 season record at 1-1 by fending off a late challenge from Craig County before upending the Rockets 28-21 before another SRO crowd at the Bears’ Sports Complex on Sept. 4. The hard fought win by the Bears dropped the Rockets to 0-2 for the season.
Blankenship rushed for 168 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown and conversion run while Lambert added 140 yards on 17 carries with a score and PAT dash. Teammate Dylan Kidd hit just two of seven passes for 30 yards but added another 76 yards on the ground, scoring twice, including what proved to be the game-winning tally just over two minutes into the final session of play.
“Always feels good to win, right?” Bland County’s Harris Hart stated. “Our offensive line did a great job, especially in the second half. In the first half, Craig County was slanting, getting into our backfield some. The second half, those guys took over and we were able to drive the ball very well.”
Lambert got things started off right for the Bears (1-1) early in the first quarter when he intercepted Rockets’ quarterback Josh Oulette near midfield. His subsequent 19-yard return gave the Bears excellent field position at the 36 for a drive that turned into the game’s first score.
Kidd was sacked for a six-yard loss on the first play from scrimmage but then hooked up with senior wideout Luke Gibson for a 16-yard gain to the Rockets’ 26. Gibson caught both of Kidd’s completions during the game for 30 yards.
Later on third-and-one from the 17, Kidd ripped off 10 yards to the seven as the Bears were looking at first-and-goal. Kidd’s keeper from the one got the Bears on the board at the 5:39 mark of the opening period and Lambert’s conversion run game the Bears an 8-0 edge.
The Bears missed a golden opportunity on the Rockets’ ensuing possession when, on fourth down, a high snap past punter Jefferson Lee resulted in an 11-yard loss to the Rockets’ 30. The Bears proceeded to go three-and-out, eventually punting the ball back to the Rockets. Three downs later, Lee again suffered as his punt from the 15 netted only 12 yards to the Bland County 27.
This time the Bears were able to capitalize on Lee’s struggles. Lambert ripped off a 15-yard run on second-and-15 from the 32 before eventually busting through a seam in the Craig County defense for an 18-yard touchdown as time expired on the first quarter. Kidd’s PAT pass on the left wing failed as the Bears carried a 14-0 edge to the second period.
The Rockets bounced back to cut their deficit to 14-7 on their next drive, which began at their own 44 following Matt Oulette’s 22-yard kickoff return. Oulette followed that with a 42-yard, first down jaunt to the Bland County 14 that would set up James Jones’ two-yard scoring run with 10:14 showing on the first half clock.
By the 7:47 mark, however, the Bears had answered and led 20-7 on a 5-yard scoring run by Blankenship. Kidd had given the Bears good position in the kickoff return, his 24-yard burst to the Bears’ 35 setting up a first down run of 21 yards by Blankenship to the Craig County 44. Blankenship later added a third down run of 15 yards to the nine moments prior to his first career touchdown.
That stretch of time on the clock went a huge distance in determining the final outcome. At least, that’s the way Craig County’s Mark McPherson saw it.
“We had some opportunities throughout the game where we should’ve gotten things and didn’t,” McPherson stated. “Bland County actually did what I’ve been afraid of. They pounded the ball right at us, and we had trouble stopping it. Their fullback [Blankenship] played great. He really hurt us.”
The Rockets went three-and-done but a Lambert fumble at the Craig County 45 led to a Rockets’ score that trimmed the Bland County led to 20-14 at the half. Brenton Christian recovered and the Rockets embarked on a 45-yard drive that took 12 plays to complete. Josh Oulette hooked up with Jones for an 11-yard gain with the Rockets facing fourth-and-four from the 28 and a 15-yard pass interference flag against the Bears moments later got the Rockets inside the five. On second down, Oulette’s five-yard scoring pass to Danny Alley cut the lead to six with 47 seconds to go before the break.
After a scoreless third stanza by both teams, the Bears scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown on a four-yard run by Kidd with 9:45 left in the game. After getting the ball on downs at their own 40, the Bears went 60 yards in eight plays to add to the lead, making it 28-14.
Lambert’s 13-yard dash to the CC47 was followed by a Kidd 12-yard run to the 35. Fifteen yards for a late hit spotted the ball at the 20 and Lambert brought the third period to a close with a four-yard run to the 16.
Jakob Haun had an eight-yard run to the 8-yard line before Kidd’s scoring run on fourth-and-goal from the four had the Bears up two touchdowns.
“They [Bland County] forced us to where we had to play nearly perfect on offense,” McPherson said. “We can’t afford to miss passes by our quarterback like we did tonight. The plays were there for us to make.”
One that was made with the minutes ticking away came as the Rockets caught a huge break and severed their deficit to 28-21 about six minutes following Kidd’s score for the Bears. Taking the ball on downs at their own 29, the Rockets first overcame a 10-yard holding call to the 19 before Oulette connected in the right flat for a 75-yard scoring pass, catch, and run to senior Jacob Rickett, the score coming with 3:40 left and giving the Rockets new life.
Facing a few anxious moments, the Bears went on to run out the clock but not before taking two delay of game flags with time winding down. The Bears finished with 80 yards in penalties on 11 flags and were basically saved by a 28-yard run by Kidd on second down at the BC41 to the CC31, a run that McPherson said sealed his team’s fate.
“That broke our back,” he said. “We know what the situation was we had to have a stop. It came down to who was more physical and they had more than we did.”
The Bears churned out 394 yards of rushing and finished with 424 total yards. The Kidd-Lambert duo also accounted for 88 yards in returns. The Bears came within six of tying the team record in rushing attempts with 62 and withstood seven fumbles, of which two were lost. Bland County held a 21-8 edge in first downs.
“We had some mistakes carrying the ball,” Hart noted. “But once again we had great effort, just some mistakes with it. Our efforts never wane.”
Good defensive pressure by the Bears limited the Rockets to 216 yards of total offense.  The Rockets’ top rusher was Matt Oulette with 38 yards on a pair of carries. Jones finished with 23 yards on 11 carries as Craig County had 85 rushing yards. Josh Oulette passed for 131 yards, hitting seven of 22 passes, getting intercepted once. Rickett snared two balls for 84 yards.
“He’s a good quarterback,” Hart said of Oulette. “But we were able to get some pressure on him, something we really didn’t do last week against PH. Still, he ran their offense very well.”
Defensive standouts for the Bears included Cody Greene with five assists and one solo tackle, Gibson with two solos and three assists, and Brady Dillow with four assists and one solo tackle. Lambert’s interception led to the Bears’ first score and Blankenship and Shane Mabe recorded half-sacks at the BC46 to end a Craig County (0-2) possession.
“Defensively, we’re coming along,” Hart noted. “We keep saying that we’ve got young kids and we do. But if they’ll continue to improve, our defensive backs are learning, and we’ve still got a ways to go there. We still get in the wrong places at times but little by little, I see improvement across the board.”
The Bears will get back in action this coming Friday as they host the Covington Cougars. Covington is in the midst of a 13-game losing skid after having lost their season opener 50-0 to Alleghany on the 28th of August. Game time is at 7:30 p.m.
This Friday will also be significant for another reason as our country remembers the lives lost in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. While Bland County fans are urged to support the Bears with their team colors, additional urging is extended for some red, white, and blue to pay tribute to those that died and to our military as they help protect our freedom that was challenged on that horrible day.

Craig County 0 14 0 7—21
Bland County 14 6 0 8—28

SCORING—
First quarter:
BC—Kidd 1 run (Lambert run) 5:39
BC—Lambert 18 run (pass failed) 0:00
Second quarter:
CC—Jones 2 run (Lee kick) 10:14
BC—Blankenship 5 run (kick blocked) 7:47
CC—J. Oulette 5 pass to Alley (Lee kick) :47
Fourth quarter:
BC—Kidd 4 run (Blankenship run) 9:45
CC—J. Oulette 75 pass to Rickett (Lee kick) 3:40

TEAM STATISTICS—
CC BC
First downs 8 21
Rushes/yds 27/85 62/394
Comp/Att/Int 7/22/1 2/7/0
Passing yds 131 30
Returns/yds 5/84 6/88
Penalties/yds 5/39 11/80
Fumbles/lost 0/0 7/2
Punts/avg yds 3/28.7 1.24.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS—
Rushing:
Craig County—M. Oulette 2/38, Jones 11/23, Martin 6/22, J. Oulette 6/11, Hoover 1/ 2, Lee 1/-11. Bland County—Blankenship 24/168, Lambert 17/140, Kidd 19/76, Haun 2/10.
Passing:
Craig County—J. Oulette 7/22/1, 131 yds. Bland County—Kidd 2/7/0, 30 yds.
Receiving:
Craig County—Rickett 2/84, Alley 3/24, Christian 1/12, Jones 1/11. Bland County—Gibson 2/30.
Returns:
Craig County—Alley 2/44, M. Oulette 1/22, Jones 2.18. Bland County—Kidd 4/69, Lambert 2/19.
Bland County tackles:
Name-solo-assists-sacks—Lambert 2-1-0, Collins 0-3-0, Dillow 1-4-0, Stowers 2-2-0, C. Greene 1-5-0, Radford 0-1-0, Gibson 2-3-0, Fisher 0-4-0, Williams 1-3-0, Haun 1-0-0, Pauley 1-0-0, Kidd 3-0-0, R. Greene 1-0-0, Blankenship 2-1- ½, Mabe 1-2, ½, Parker 1-0-0. (Team 19-29-1).