Phil Campbell opens season with 33-6 win

The Phil Campbell Bobcats opened their season with a convincing 33-6 win over the Lamar County Bulldogs.

“I am proud of this team’s resiliency,” said Coach Kevin Barnwell. “Last week was tough in our scrimmage game against Hubbertville. We had just lost one the best players we have had here to an ACL injury, and the guys were a little stunned. They bounced back and proved again how tough they were and how they responded to adversity.

“That is one of the main things I like about this team: how they get punched and get back up.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Luke Barnwell got the Bobcats on the board first with a six-yard touchdown run. Barnwell added a two-point conversion run to give Phil Campbell an 8-0 lead with 11:52 to go in the second quarter.

Ridge Raper added a second Bobcat touchdown with 5:37 to go in the first half on a nine-yard run. Barnwell’s two-point conversion run gave Phil Campbell a 16-0 lead.

Lamar County scored with 1:19 to go in the second quarter to cut Phil Campbell’s lead to 16-6 going into halftime.

Austen Baker scored on the Bobcats’ first drive of the second half on a 20-yard run, and Barnwell converted his third two-point run of the night to give Phil Campbell a 24-6 lead.

Phil Campbell scored again in the late stages of the third quarter on a 42-yard pass from Barnwell to Blain Goodson to give the Bobcats a 30-6 lead, and Raper tacked on a 32-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to extend Phil Campbell’s lead to 33-6.

Phil Campbell ran for 276 yards and passed for 145 yards on the night.

Barnwell was four-for-five passing for 145 yards and a touchdown. He also ran the ball 14 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. Raper caught three passes for 103 yards.