Bobcats chew up plenty of Green against Eagles: Brannigan collects 216 rushing yards

Sep. 17—WESTWOOD — Green coach Chad Coffman said experience has been a major contributor to the Bobcats' 5-0 start.

Fairview had to experience tackling Green running back Nathaniel Brannigan on Friday night.

The junior tallied 216 yards on the ground and accounted for four touchdowns to lift the Bobcats to a 43-18 win on the Eagles' home field.

"It's having these guys together," Coffman said. "It's one thing to play freshmen and sophomores. It's another to play juniors and seniors. We have felt this is our time to step up and be more competitive. We start league play next week. It will be a much more physical league for us."

Green has recorded 189 points in its last four games and racked up a team total of 376 rushing yards against Fairview after accumulating 600 the week before.

The Bobcats found plenty of success running the football between the tackles.

"When you watched them on film, (Fairview) played a lot of different styles defensively," Coffman said. "When we saw how they were lining up, that's what they were inviting us to do tonight."

Fairview (1-4) opened the game with turnovers on consecutive possessions midway through the first quarter.

Green capitalized on both opportunities. Abe McBee, who is also the team's quarterback, stepped in front of a pass near the goal line and took the interception to the Eagles' 3-yard line.

Brannigan carried the ball the necessary yardage to collect his first touchdown on the next play.

Fairview coughed up the ball on its next drive. Landan Lodwick sprinted past defenders for an 11-yard TD run to cap off a six-play march down the field and give the Bobcats an early 14-0 lead.

"Obviously, turnovers will hurt you," Fairview coach Brent Wilcoxon said. "It's one of those things that people talk about as a deciding factor. You have to win the turnover battle. We just missed a whole lot of opportunities. It was just lapses in execution. It killed us early and got us in a hole.

"We did have the wherewithal to comeback and make it competitive," he added. "You just can't overcome the touchdowns we left on the field."

Coffman felt his team was inconsistent on the defensive side but rose to the occasion in crucial moments.

"We made some big turnover plays," Coffman said. "I think we dropped four balls (on defense). We have been opportunistic about those things. We had a big pick and had a couple of sacks. ... We lost our responsibilities too often. But we got a win. Our objective tonight was to be 5-0 and we did that."

Austin Miller had 86 rushing yards for the Eagles. He made Green pay after a fumble. The senior found Caden Thomas on a screen pass for a 34-yard gain. He followed the play with a long touchdown run to put Fairview on the scoreboard.

The Eagles kept hanging around and had an answer for each Bobcats score in the first half to stay within a two-touchdown deficit.

McBee and Brannigan each had second-quarter end zone visits and Green looked to be headed into the locker room with the halftime momentum.

The Eagles wanted it for themselves. It took Fairview just 33 seconds to go 66 yards after Thomas took another short pass from Miller and powered his way to a 30-yard TD catch with 11 ticks left on the second-quarter clock.

Wilcoxon keeps looking for consistency midway through the season.

"We are erratic right now on offense," Wilcoxon said. "At times, we can get in a rhythm and move the ball pretty well. Other times, we shoot ourselves in the foot. We had several plays that had the potential to be huge, explosive plays. We just didn't execute when we needed it."

The Bobcats wasted no time getting back on the scoreboard. Three plays into the second half, Brannigan found paydirt with a 23-yard run. He also scored to begin the fourth frame as Green (5-0) started to find separation.

"A couple of years ago, we were starting seven freshmen," Coffman said. "We felt like (Brannigan) was a pretty good player, but he got lost in that. Last year, we were better but had some COVID stuff. It was a lot of hard work and now we are seeing what we thought he would be able to do.

"It has not hurt him that our offensive line is greatly improved," he added. "We have become a lot more physical. Tonight, it was just a matter of what Fairview was doing defensively. They were playing the edges and it was kind of opening up for him."

Lodwick added 72 rushing yards on 12 carries for the Bobcats.

Fairview had five different receivers make catches against Green. Jeremy Harper had three grabs for 30 yards. Xavien Kouns had six receptions for 26 yards.

GREEN 14 14 7 8 — 43

FAIRVIEW 0 12 6 0 — 18

FIRST QUARTER

G—Nathaniel Brannigan 3 run (Quincy Merrill kick), 4:26

G—Landan Lodwick 11 run (Merrill kick), 1:15

SECOND QUARTER

F—Austin Miller 24 run (pass failed), 9:55

G—Abe McBee 18 run (Merrill kick), 5:39

G—Brannigan 13 run (Merrill kick), :56.4

F—Cade Thomas 30 pass from Miller (run failed), :11.9

THIRD QUARTER

G—Brannigan 23 run (Merrill kick), 10:33

F—Austin Miller 3 run (run failed), 4:44

FOURTH QUARTER

G—Brannigan 5 run (kick failed), 11:55

G—Safety, 3:44

G F

First Downs 16 12

Rushes-Yards 376 167

Comp-Att-Int 0-3-0 15-29-2

Passing Yards 0 115

Fumbles-Lost 4-3 3-2

Punts-Avg. 3-29.7 4-25.0

Penalties-Yards 7-70 6-55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Green rushing: Lodwick 12-72, Brannigan 30-216, McBee 4-25, Smith 4-57, Sparks 2-3, Team 5-3.

Fairview rushing: Miller 5-86, C. Harper 2-15, Thomas 13-66.

Green passing: McBee 0 of 2, Knapp 0 of 1.

Fairview passing: Miller 15 of 29 for 167 yards and 2 interceptions.

Green receiving: None.

Fairview receiving: Kouns 6-26, J. Harper 3-30, Mills 1-10, Day 2-9, Thomas 3-40.

(606) 326-2654 — msparks@dailyindependent.com