It was 4th and 4, and the Bulldogs were supposed to punt the ball back to the Trojans, giving them a chance to chip away at the Bowie lead and spark a potential second-half comeback. Instead, a 12-man on-the-field penalty gave Bowie a fresh set of downs, already up 19 midway through the third quarter. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, sophomore Liam McMillan stripped the ball from Bowie’s senior running back Bralin Thomas, and Anderson had new life.
After the turnover, Gephart threw 3 straight touchdowns to Ed Small (2) and Zayden Sharp, and suddenly, the Trojans had taken a 30-27 lead over the Bulldogs near the end of the third quarter. Unfortunately, Bowie’s rushing attack proved too much for Anderson, and the Bulldogs took a 34-30 lead in the 4th, letting their defense stand tall against Gephart and the Trojan offense, securing the win for Bowie.
Save for a late interception, Gephart played an incredible game against the Bulldogs. He was constantly under heavy pressure, and threw for almost 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, almost leading the Trojans to a miracle, and running for a team-leading 66 yards as well. Max Gerlich also threw a pass, completing it down the field to Small for 39 yards, but getting drilled as he threw. Gerlich did not return.
Only 3 receivers caught a pass on Friday, Small hauled in 171 yards and a pair of scores on just 7 catches, Tristan Waidelich had 3 catches for 26 yards, and Zayden Sharp caught one pass, taking it 70 yards to the house. That was Sharp’s second touchdown of the day as he opened the scoring on a 15-yard end around.
Gephart ran for 66 and Sharp had 30 yards on the ground, but the Anderson running backs combined for just 1 yard on 7 carries. The Bowie defensive line dominated at the line of scrimmage and made it tough on the Trojans all day. On the flip side, the Bulldog’s rushing offense won them the game. Quarterback Cruz Tello ran for over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Bowie’s 3 headed backfield combined for 180 yards as well.
Gage Webb led the defense in tackles once again, snagging 9.5 and 0.5 TFLs. He was followed close behind by Mcmillan, Jack Middleton, and Calvin Ballinger, the latter two having a pair of TFLs a piece. Linebacker Jesus Soto had a pass breakup, as did Colin Haines who made a great play to knock the ball away late in the game. River Anderson also added a sack for the Trojans. The defense did a good job in pass coverage, giving up just 164 yards and a touchdown, but Cruz killed them with his legs.
It was the second year in a row that Anderson lost by 4 points or less to Bowie, giving us another heartbreaker against the Bulldogs. It should fire the team up heading into homecoming week against Johnson in what is now a must-win game if the Trojans want to make the playoffs. The Jaguars are going to be another challenge for Anderson, but I’d expect another closely-fought matchup.
