Mother Nature made sure to make the Sherman Bearcats Seniors last time playing in "The Swamp", just that a swamp. The constant rain may have stopped some of the crowd from coming out, but it definitely didn't stop some great Friday Night Texas Football. The Sherman Bearcats would battle the elements and adversity without their leading rusher Senior Running Back Caleb Thompson, to pull out a thrilling 33-28 victory over district foe Frisco Wakeland on Senior Day.
The 1st quarter was a defensive battle as both teams struggled to get adjusted to the downpour. Sherman would get on the board first with a 18-yard Caleb Orr to Vontrelle Sanders touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter.
Wakeland would answer on the ensuing drive with a 32-yard Brennan Myer to Ashdyn Kahouch touchdown pass to make it 7-6. After a Sherman punt, Myer and Kahouch would connect again on a 34-yard touchdown pass right before halftime to give the Wolverines a 14-6 lead at halftime.
Sherman would come out of halftime on fire scoring on their first four possessions of the 2nd half. The Bearcats took over the offensive line of scrimmage in the second half and gave the ball to Sophomore Running Back Kane Bowen, who had a game high 97 yards and a touchdown rushing. The Bearcats used the run game to drive the ball down the field on their opening drive of the 2nd half. They would finish the drive with a 4-yard Phoenix Grant touchdown run. Sherman didn't convert the 2-point conversion try to make it 14-12. After Bowen scored on a 2-yard touchdown run, Orr would find the end zone on the zone read play fooling the defense who was focused on Bowen to give the Bearcats a 26-14 lead.
Wakeland wouldn't quit as Myer hit Senior Tight End Tripp Riordan on a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 26-21 at the end of 3 quarters. Myer threw for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night.
Sherman would answer using a balanced attack of run and pass to regain the lead. Orr would finish the drive with a 19-yard touchdown run to give the Bearcats a 33-21 lead. But Wakeland would answer with a 75-yard Kohouch kickoff return to make it 33-28 with 9:28 left in the game. Along with his kickoff return for a touchdown, Kohouch had 139 yards and 2 touchdowns receiving.
Both defenses would rise to the occasion stopping both offenses on 4th down attempts. Wakeland would get the ball with 2:52 left in the game on their own 20-yard line. Yale commit Grant, would come up with the biggest play of the night, as he intercepted the Wolverines pass to seal the victory for the Bearcats. Grant, had one heck of a stat line with 74 yards rushing, 70 yards receiving, 5 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, a pass break up, along with the game-winning interception.
Defense and special teams played a major roll in the Bearcats victory. The Bearcat defense led Senior Defensive Back Connor Clark, who had 10 tackles, 4 pass break ups, and a fumble recovery. Senior Defensive End Letarian Sims had 4 tackles, a tackle for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. Senior Cornerback Aries Jones recovered a fumble and Junior Linebacker Joseph Gionfriddo forced fumble.
The Bearcats Kicker Dane Casselberry and kickoff unit might have been the real MVPs of the night recovering 2 onside kicks. Sophomore Athlete Colby Ray Short and Junior Linebacker Dante Colon recovered the Casselberry onside kicks to give the Bearcats excellent field position The Bearcats special teams were the difference in a sloppy rainy game, because they were able to set the offense up for short fields.
Sherman (3-6) will end its season against Frisco Liberty in The Star next Friday. Wakeland (5-4) will face Frisco High next week in their final game.