Phil Campbell earns play-off spot

The Phil Campbell Bobcats punched their ticket to the playoffs Friday night beating a pesky Clements Colts team 46-30.

The injury-plagued Bobcats had to fend off the Colts for three quarters before finally pulling away in the fourth and securing the fourth–place spot in Class 3A Region 7.

The Bobcats will travel to Madison Academy next week for the playoffs.

Clements outgained the Bobcats 427 yards to 350 yards and controlled the time of possession significantly.  Phil Campbell, however, used the big play to get big chunks of yards and points at one time.

The Bobcats scored first on a 30-yard run by Gage Baker. Bryant Hyde added a two-point conversion run to give Phil Campbell an 8-0 lead early in the game.

Clements scored to cut the lead to 8-4 with 4:59 to go in the first quarter.

Phil Campbell extended their first quarter lead to 16-6 on a 4-yard run by Sage Raper and two-point conversion by Kyle Pace with 2:35 to go in the quarter.

Clements scored at the 9:51 mark of the second quarter to cut the Bobcat lead to 16-12.

Once again, Phil Campbell answered with a score on a 22-yard pass from Pace to Hyde. Pace converted the two-point play to give Phil Campbell a 22-12 lead.

Clements kept fighting, however, scoring just before the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half to take a 24-22 lead with 7:24 to go in the third quarter.

Phil Campbell reclaimed the lead on a 53-yard run by Hyde and two-point conversion by Pace to give the Bobcats a 30-24 lead with 7:14 to go in the third quarter.

Phil Campbell added another score with 49 seconds to go in the third quarter on a 6-yard run by Baker to give the Bobcats a 36-24 lead.

Clements scored again early in the fourth quarter to cut Phil Campbell’s lead to 36-30, but the Bobcats closed the door on Clements’ upset hopes with two straight scores to close out the game: a 24-yard run by Baker and a 36-yard pass from Pace to Robbie Robinson.

Phil Campbell travels to Red Bay Friday night to renew a rivalry game that hasn’t been played since 2019.