They say football teams tend to make the most improvement between their first and second games, and that certainly appeared to be the case Friday as Dumas took on Desha County rival McGehee at Tidwell Field.
For exactly a quarter and a half, that is.
With the Bobcats ahead 12-7 with 4:00 remaining in the half, McGehee drove 80 yards in nine plays for a 14-12 lead. Then the Owls tacked on three second half scores to claim a 35-20 nonconference victory.
The Owls (2-0) went ahead 7-0 on a 23-yard run by David Shepard with 2:08 left in the opening period, with Tabor McGraw adding the PAT.
Dumas (0-2) answered with a six-play, 46-yard drive set up by a short kickoff. The highlight was a 26-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryan Miller to Derreon Jenkins and then Mont’dre Spencer caught a 15-yard pass in the end zone for the score, barely staying inbounds.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Jairo Ramirez’s PAT try was blocked, but Dumas turned the 7-6 deficit into a 12-7 lead when Miller completed a 32-yard pass play to Willie Harris with 8:14 left in half. The two-point try failed on an incomplete pass.
From there it was all Owls until the game was out of reach.
McGehee quarterback Maurice Hudson passed 10 yards to Roger Blackmon to cap an 80-yard drive after the interception with 57.9 seconds left in the half. McGraw added the PAT for a 14-12 Owl lead at the half.
McGehee needed only 1:15 to travel 73 yards in four plays to take a 20-12 lead with 10:41 remaining in the third period on a 12-yard run by Blake Lamb.
Then after McGehee recovered a Dumas fumble at the Bobcat 31, Shepard scored his second touchdown on a 24-yard run with 7:02 on the clock. Steven King tacked on the two-pointer to put the Owls up by 28-12.
After forcing a Dumas punt, the Owls began at their 27 with 3:09 left in the third and used eight running plays to reach the Bobcat 19. Hudson threw 19 yards to King for the touchdown with 11:09 left and McGraw kicked the PAT for a 35-12 McGehee lead.
Dumas did manage to pull within 35-20 with 4:19 left on a 15-yard run by Paul Steward, who added the PAT. The touchdown was set up by a 31-yard punt return by Spencer.
Dumas goes on the road to Stuttgart next Friday, while McGehee will host its third 8-4A Conference member in a row in DeWitt.