Bears Fall at Mayfield

Tue, 11/17/2015 - 9:01pm — Diane Dyer

The Butler Co. Bears football season came to a close with a 50-0 loss to traditional powerhouse Mayfield Cardinals. The Bears would take the opening kickoff and drive to the Mayfield fifteen yard line. The big play on the drive was a thirty-seven yard completion from Rex Henderson to wide out Blake Graham who was tackled at the fifteen yard line. But on first and ten from the fifteen yard line the Cardinals would intercept a pass intended for Shanklin at the one yard line.

The Cardinals would drive ninety-nine yards on five plays for their first score, the kick good; Mayfield led 7-0 with 9:03 in the first. The Bears would respond on their next possession with a twelve play drive, driving the length of the field again to the Mayfield twenty-one yard line. But on fourth down the Bears could not convert and Mayfield took over on downs and drove eighty yards on six plays; junior running back Trajon Bright sprinted twenty yards for the score, kick good Mayfield led 14-0 with 4:38 in first quarter of play.

Down 14-0 the Bears again mounted a ten play drive to the Mayfield ten yard line. Big plays that kept the drive alive were catches by Shanklin and Hixenbaugh. The Bears were first and goal at the ten yard line, but after three incomplete passes on fourth and goal the Cardinals came up with the interception in the end zone for the touchback.

The Bears three opening drives were textbook, but not being able to finish the drives and put points on the board would set the tone the remainder of the night. The what if the Bears could have scored on those early drives could very well have turned the game; but the Cardinal defense held each time.
Mayfield then on its third possession of the night drove the ball eighty yards in thirteen plays and scored on a one yard dive up the middle. Kick was no good; Mayfield led 20-0 with 10:53 to go in the half. Mayfield would go on to score on the next three possessions increasing the lead to 41-0 with 6:02 left in the half. At this point the KHSAA running clock rule went into effect as the two teams went to the locker room at the half.

         The Bears would turn the ball over four times in the first half of play in the way of three interceptions and a blocked punt. Mayfield took advantage of those opportunities. The second half under the running clock would shorten the game drastically; the Cardinals would add to their lead with a thirty-seven yard field goal, and one more touchdown.
          The Bears season comes to a close at Mayfield, and the end of a 2015 campaign that ended (9-3) overall. But more importantly it brought a close to six seniors who played their last game as Bears: Chris Wood, Jacob Courtenay, Alfredo Gomez, Isiah Arnold, Ian Embry and Jacob Hixenbaugh.