By Andrew Wheaton
Courtesy The Journal

news@thepccourier.com

SENECA — It was a battle underneath a blood moon on an Upstate Friday night, and the Seneca Bobcats came away with a 12-7 victory over the visiting Easley Green Wave.

In a rather sloppy contest that featured its fair share of offensive struggles, the Bobcats were able to hold off an Easley drive in the dwindling moments to secure the win.

Even in the midst of a beautiful evening, the play on the field for both squads was quite ugly during the opening quarter. The first 10 drives of the game featured four punts, two interceptions, two lost fumbles, a turnover on downs and a blocked punt.

Seneca coach Hal Capps and Easley coach John Windham could not have been happy with the production, but both seemed to realize the game was still there for the taking.

The second quarter saw an uptick in the action, as both teams were able to light up the scoreboard with touchdowns on successive drives.

Easley struck first with an 8-yard touchdown run by running back Will Drawdy. On the next possession, Capps and the Bobcats found themselves faced with a fourth down, and the field goal unit came on for a long attempt. Seneca snapped the ball, but holder Walker Lathrop rose up, scanned the field and found fullback Drew Moore for a 25-yard gain, leaving Green Wave defenders’ heads spinning.

“We put it in this week. We thought if we could get it off it would be wide open,” Capps said of the perfectly timed fake kick.

The Bobcats continued the drive and scored on a 4-yard scamper by Jacory Benson. However, Seneca went into the locker room trailing after a missed extra point.

After much of the third period passed with no scoring, Seneca gained possession on its own 10-yard line. The Bobcats then used 11 plays to go 90 yards and take the lead on a beautiful throw and catch from quarterback Jacob Lynn to receiver Braden Galloway. The Bobcats failed to add the conversion, so the scoreboard read 12-7 in the home team’s favor moving into the fourth quarter.

The Green Wave had a few chances to push the ball into Seneca territory in the final quarter, but were not able to take the lead due to a flood of costly penalties.

“Turnovers and penalties really hurt us tonight,” Easley’s Windham said. “Give them credit for a well-played game also.”

The penalties seemed to make a huge impact on the Easley offense, as the Green Wave’s hopes were dashed in the final moments when a hail mary fell short.

Capps praised his team after the hard-fought win.

Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal

Easley senior Will Drawdy carries the ball against Seneca on Friday night.

“They believe,” he said. “They trust me now. This is a program builder right here.”

Seneca moves to 2-3 with the win and will host Pickens this week. Easley falls to 2-3 on the 2016 campaign and will take on the undefeated Greenville Red Raiders this week.

Rex Brown/Courtesy The Journal

Easley’s Craig Barksdale reaches to wrap up Seneca quarterback Jacob Lynn during their game Friday night at Tom Bass Field.