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Football: Bobcats Barrage: Celina bests Argyle Liberty Christian for 35-21 Homecoming victory
By Townsend Keller, Special to the Record
CELINA -- A rainy Homecoming didn't dampen the spirits of Celina (2-1) as it put down a feisty Argyle Liberty Christian squad (2-1) that didn't let the home team relax until the final whistle.
The Bobcats won their second game in as many weeks behind a convincing, if sloppy, defensive performance that kept the Warriors out of sync most of the night. Despite keeping Liberty Christian quarterback Foster Ford from completing all but a few big plays, the Bobcats defense facilitated their opponent's offense with a host of penalties.
Celina ended the night with nine penalties for 80 yards.
The Bobcats got off to a red-hot start on both sides of the ball.
Sophomore quarterback Nathan Elliott capped off a 70-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to sophomore halfback Cash Conder. Two plays in to Liberty Christian's first offensive drive, the Bobcats went up 13-0 after junior defensive back Micah Nelson returned a Warrior fumble 55 yards for a score.
Celina would strike first again in the second quarter as Elliott hit senior wide receiver Ben Thiel for a 46-yard trip to the end zone.
It looked as if Celina was on its way to another business-as-usual romp until Liberty Christian halfback JonAaron Howell powered his offense down the field on a 70-yard drive. After hauling in a 43-yard pass from Foster, Howell would run in on a 13-yard carry to make the score 19-7 at the half.
The second half started off swimmingly for Celina as Nelson picked off a halfback pass from Liberty Christian's Hunter Griffith.
The Bobcat offense, however, would set the Warriors up deep in Celina territory after a bad snap on a punt. It took Foster only one play, a 20-yard strike to wideout Graham Richardson, to bring the Warriors within 19-14.
It would be Celina's special teams that answered the challenge as Thiel took the ensuing kickoff at the 1-yard line and rocketed 99 yards to put Celina back on top, 26-14.
"That was a crucial part of the game," coach Elliot said. "That track pays off; you can see right there where track workouts and speed pays off."
"We needed the momentum," Thiel added. "So it was definitely a help."
Thiel's momentum wouldn't stop there.
Later in the third quarter he effectively put the hammer down on the Warriors as he took an Elliott pass 69 yards to the end zone to give the Bobcats a 32-14 lead going in to the final frame.
"We've been working out after practice, so we can get on the same page and have some hookups," Thiel said of he and Elliot's apparent connection on the field.
"They're getting their timing down," coach Elliott added. "That's something that always takes a while for offenses to get down, but we've been spending a lot of time working on that and you can see their timing is starting to come together and hook up quite a bit more."
A field goal from senior offensive lineman Aaron Reedy would be the final score of the night from Celina after junior halfback Connor Tolbert took four carries for 50 yards on the drive into kicking range.
Halfback Camron Cornett gave Liberty Christian a 68-yard consolation touchdown run to bring the final score to 35-21.
"Our defense pretty much kept it shut down," coach Elliot said. "If it wouldn't have been for the penalties we wouldn't have given them some opportunities to keep on going down the field. (Defensive Coordinator Aaron Ford) is doing a great job with them."
On offense, Elliott completed 14-of-21 passes for 205 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Two of those scoring throws were to Thiel, who caught five balls for 155 yards. Tolbert was the leading rusher as he filled in for an injured Deshawn Davis with 133 yards on 18 attempts.
For Liberty Christian, Foster completed only 5-of-22 passes for 81 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Cornett took nine carries for 94 yards and a score. Howell posted one catch for 43 yards while Richardson caught two for 29 yards and a touchdown.
Celina next hits the road at 7:30 p.m. Friday to take on Liberty-Eylau in Paris.
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