Cubs slay the Dragons
On Aug. 27, the Olney Cubs varsity football team traveled to Chico, Texas, to battle with the Dragons for their season opener. The Cubs came out firing on eight cylinders. The defensive swarmed the Dragon offense on every play and smothered any opportunity throughout the game, and the Dragons came away with a single touchdown and a failed 2-point conversion.
During the first half, Cubs’ offense was explosive with just a few missteps, going into the locker room having put 40 points on the board. The second half saw the Cubs stumbling with quite a few penalties and misfires, which kept the Cubs from scoring in the second half. However, the defense held up and kept the Dragons at bay during the second half. The final score had the Cubs over the Dragons, 40-6.
Some highlights from the first half of the game include #5 Gatlin Guy with a 1 Yd touchdown run, followed by #21 Cole Turner run-in for the two-point conversion. #22 Jovani Rockmore pushed through the defense with a 52-yard run good for 6 points and a 2-yard run for the conversion for 2 points. The Dragons ran the kickoff, from the prior Cub score, in for a touchdown with a failed 2-point conversion. #5 Gatlin Guy sprinted past defenders to score 6, with #12 Jonathan Melchor punching through the defensive line for the 2-point conversion. #12 Jonathon Melchor put the moves on a sleeping defense with a 42-yard run good for 6 and followed it up with a quick run-in for the 2-point conversion. The Cub defense was on fire, and with the final minutes winding down to the half, the Cub defense pushed the Dragons offensive line back toward the goal; when the pressure became too much by a rushing Cub defender, #22 Jovani Rockmore, the ball was fumbled, and #22 Rockmore scooped up the ball and ran it in for 6. #5 Gatlin Guy finished the half off by running in the 2-point conversion. The Cub offense stalled during the second half of play and failed to put points up on the board. The Cub defense continued to smother and swarm the defense leaving little chance for the Dragon offense to make any plays. The final score had the Olney Cubs dominating the game, winning 40 to the Dragons 6.
Olney ISD Athletic Director and Head Coach of the Cubs football program, had this to say, “We played really well on defense that helped us out with offensive.” Coach Guy on his thoughts on the missteps on offense, “I don’t know if it was nerves. I don’t know if it was just thinking we’re better than what we are right now; I’m not sure what it is. Next week we’re going to have a hard time, so as long as the defense keeps playing well, we’re going to be OK. Offensive, we’ve got to clean a bunch of things up.”