Wildcats snap 11-year skid against Midway

By Daron Barefoot Sports Writer

Hobbton’s senior running back Bobby Dial led the Wildcats to victory over Midway Friday night, scoring five touchdowns in the win.

Wildcats snap 11-year skid against Midway

Hobbton’s Cole Weeks sends one downfield against Midway on Friday.

Midway QB Casey Culbreth looks downfield for an open receiver.

Midway’s Trey Gregory tries to get the corner on a run Friday night.

Clouds and eventually moderate rain set the scene for Friday night’s Week 1 Game of the Week between the Midway Raiders and Hobbton Wildcats out on the football field. Though thunder and lightning weren’t an issue, any time these old rivals get together, the atmosphere is usually an electric one. For this one, though, most of the electricity was brought to you by Hobbton’s Bobby Dial. The senior running back had himself a nice game on Friday night, scoring five touchdowns as the Wildcats captured victory, 40-32.

After the opening kickoff, Midway started on their own 36-yard line. This was a brief drive, though, as the Raiders were stopped after four and out and Hobbton took over on the Midway 35-yard line. The Wildcats worked the ball down inside the 10-yard line but a Raiders goal line stand and a blocked field goal kept Hobbton off the scoreboard.

Midway turned things around and set up on their own 20-yard line where yet another unproductive drive greeted the Raiders. They once again failed to convert a first down and were resigned to attempt a punt. Disaster struck, however, as the punt was fumbled and the Wildcats took over at the 1-yard line. It took just two plays for Hobbton’s to “Dial” in a score, as Dial ran it in up the middle. The PAT attempt was good, and with 5:34 left in the first quarter, the Wildcats lead 7-0.

After the kickoff, Midway’s offense was looking to make something happen, lined up on their own 30-yard line. The Raiders managed to move the ball downfield, crossing midfield down to the Wildcats 40-yard line. The drive died there, though, as Midway dropped a would-be first down pass on fourth down to put the Wildcats offense back on the field.

Hobbton’s drive yielded similar results, ultimately ending with a punt, and Midway took over again on their own 20-yard line. There, the first quarter ended with Hobbton leading 7-0.

At the start of the second quarter, the Raiders continued to struggle on offense and were forced to punt. After a nice punt by Trey Gregory, Hobbton lined up on offense on their own 26-yard line.

This drive initially went backwards, but the Wildcats picked up big yards on a long third down pass that set them up down inside the Midway 40-yard line. Later in the drive, facing fourth and one, Dial broke some tackles down the right sideline and scampered 19 yards for another score. The PAT was converted again, and with 7:40 left in the first half, Hobbton led 14-0.

On the ensuing possession, Midway’s offense finally found a little spark. They marched the field, aided by a 15-yard pass interference penalty, and scored on a 2-yard scamper by Trey Gregory. With a completed PAT and 6:23 on the clock, the Raiders had trimmed into the deficit at 14-7.

Lightning struck for Hobbton, however, as Dial dialed up another score for the Wildcats. This time, it was an electrifying kick off return of 75 yards. The PAT was blocked, but Hobbton’s lead had jolted back to two possessions at 20-7 with 6:07 on the clock.

Gregory had a nice little return of his own on the ensuing kickoff, setting the Raiders up near midfield for their next drive. On the first play from scrimmage, Josh Lupo carried the ball down to the 12-yard line. Two plays later, Gregory scored again for Midway on a carry from a yard out. With another successful PAT, the Raiders were right back in contention at 20-14 with 5:27 left in the half.

An onside kick attempt on the next kickoff surprised no one and Hobbton recovered it just shy of the 50-yard line.

Just a handful of plays later, Dial’s name rang across the loud-speaker once more after he scored his fourth touchdown of the night. This one came with 4:44 left in the half and came from 22 yards out. The kick attempt split the uprights and Hobbton extended their lead to 27-14.

Midway’s next drive ended in failure with the Wildcats Garrett Britt securing an interception down at the goal line. With around 2:00 to play in the half, Hobbton was headed the other direction looking to bolster their lead. Instead, the gambled on fourth and one on their own 29-yard line and lost.

The Raiders took over there with 1:04 left in the half, looking to make things close again. Instead, they were also stopped on fourth down and the game reached halftime with the score sitting at 27-14.

What was a relatively dry first half yielded rain in the second half, but that didn’t stop the Wildcats offense on the first drive of the half. After benefiting from a short field after a kickoff out of bounds, Hobbton’s Cole Weeks hooked up with Noah Adams on a 19-yard pass touchdown with 11:44 still on the clock in the third, pushing the score to 33-14. The XP failed, leaving the score there.

Both teams experienced fruitless drives on their next possessions, but Hobbton’s failed drive set the Raiders up with short field on the Wildcats 34-yard line. Midway was working up some magic but they coughed the ball up on a fumble inside the 10-yard line where Hobbton took over.

This Wildcats drive also ended in the Raiders favor, as Midway’s Hunter Tyndall scooped up a loose ball and scampered 41-yards for a touchdown. Gregory ran in the 2-point conversion, cutting the lead to 33-22 with 26.4 left in the third quarter.

The next drive made it three disastrous Hobbton drives in a row when the Wildcats lost another fumble at their own 35-yard line just one play into the drive. The Raiders recovered the ball and set themselves up in short-field situation going into the fourth quarter, trailing 33-22.

Midway, though, returned the favor. Facing third and two, the Raiders lost the ball right from the snap and Hobbton recovered. The Wildcats went three and out, managing to get away a successful punt, to regain some field position.

Midway’s next drive failed again and the Raiders were forced to punt. The Wildcats, taking advantage of an unsportsmanlike penalty on Midway, found the end zone one more time as Dial reeled off a 22-yard run with 6:19 left. After the PAT was batted through, the Wildcats were up 40-22.

On the next drive, Midway QB Casey Culbreth connected with Tyndall on a 60-yard pass play that got the Raiders down to the Hobbton 6-yard line. On the next play, Gregory ran in the short touchdown run and the Raiders converted the 2-point try to make it 40-30 with 5:04 left in the game.

With rain continuing to come down steadily, time was slowly melting away.

With under 20 seconds to play, Hobbton’s offense self-inflicted a safety, putting the score at 40-32. This gamble certainly made things interesting, with the Wildcats now lining up for a free kick. Said free kick yielded even more excitement as the kick, a poor one to begin with, went out of bounds, putting the Raiders offense on the Hobbton 35-yard line with 17 seconds left. Midway ultimately had three opportunities to try and get a touchdown, but the Wildcats defense stepped up and batted each pass away, securing the 40-32 victory.

This win marks Hobbton’s first win over Midway since 2011, putting their record at 1-0 to kick off the new season. They will be at home Friday against Trask. Midway, now 0-1, will host South Brunswick on Friday. Both games are slated for 7 p.m.

Call: T: 910-592-8137 F: 910-592-8756 Address: 109 W. Main St. Clinton, NC 28328