On Friday, Oct. 11, the South Loup Bobcats pulled off an exciting 34-28 win against the Ravenna Bluejays. It was a difficult conference game that kept supporters of both teams invested until the very end.

Ravenna struck first, scoring a rushing 10-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter. After a failed two-point conversion from Ravenna, the score stood at 0-6 in Ravenna’s favor by the end of the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Bluejays scored on a 50-yard rushing TD, extending their lead to 14-0 after a successful point-after kick. South Loup quickly responded with a 50-yard TD pass from Dylan Pandorf to senior Ethan Furne. After a successful two-point conversion by Furne, the Bobcats closed the gap to 8-14.

Just before halftime, Ravenna added another score with a 60-yard pass to bring the halftime score to 20-8.

In the third quarter, South Loup rushed back into the game with a punt return for a touchdown, followed by a two-point conversion run by Conner Paulsen, tightening the score to 20-16. Ravenna answered with a 30-yard passing touchdown pushing their lead to 28-16.

However, the Bobcats weren’t finished and came back to tie the score at 28 and send the game into overtime. Ravenna had the first possession in the overtime period, and the tough Bobcat defense held them to give the offense the opportunity for the win. Pandorf passed the ball to Paulsen for the winning touchdown, which gave South Loup their first lead of the night at 34-28.

“The boys came out and played with a lot of emotion in the second half,” said an excited Assistant Coach Todd Phelps.

South Loup’s defense held firm, preventing Ravenna from making a final comeback, and securing the vigorous victory. The Bobcats have proved time and time again that they are a team that doesn’t quit even when things get tough!

The win improves the Bobcats’ record to 5-2 on the season as they head into their final regular season game on Friday, Oct. 18, when they host Arcadia-Loup City. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Callaway. It is also senior night for the Bobcats.