By Michael Crawford

KERENS -- The Bobcats treated their hometown fans to an awesome display of speed and power as they jumped out to a 24-0 lead at halftime over the visiting Cougars in route to a 44-21 shelling of Leon at A.G. Godley Field Friday night.

Kerens (2-0) scored 31 unanswered points to begin the game with dominating performances from quarterback Patrick Faulk who posted 20 carries for 188 yards and three touchdowns of 3, 19, and 28 yards. And backup Jayveon Williams added 104 yards on just nine rushes and two touchdowns of 1 and 49 yards on the evening for the Bobcats.

“Tonight we had a group effort from the team,” Kerens defensive coordinator and interim head coach Steve Almuete said. “The back-ups stepped in and played well in the second half and we allowed a couple of long runs for scores … but it was a full out team effort and I am proud of the way the team played.”

Leon (0-2) fought back in the third and fourth quarters but it was too little too late. Cougars running back Seth Noey showed a lot of courage and persistence by carrying the load with 17 carries for 162 yards and two touchdowns. The first Noey touchdown was on a 62-yard run up the gut of the Bobcats defense on a trap play that took advantage of an overly aggressive defense followed by a 1-yard run with 8:05 remaining in the game to cap the scoring for the night. Chris Vasquez also scored on a 69-yard run for Leon.

The starting defensive unit of the Bobcats played extremely well in the first half allowing only 91 yards of total offense to the Cougars and zero points. Sophomore standout D.J. Woods was constantly in the Leon backfield disrupting any attempt for the Cougars to find a rhythm. Linebacker Trey McGowan played like a man on a mission meeting Leon runners in the holes with ferocious hits. And Tyler Green played a solid role at his defensive position at corner back containing the Cougar offense.

“In the first half the defense played very well,” said Kerens head coach Russell Anderson, who was expected to miss most of the season after a cancer diagnosis. “The guys were real aggressive and it caused a lot of problems for the Leon offense.”

Another key to the game were the six fumbles that Leon put on the turf of which five were successfully recovered by the Bobcats. This kept Kerens with the momentum throughout the game. The physical nature of the defensive pressure and special teams play of the Bobcats is a major change from last years version.

“The humidity was tough on us,” Almuete said. “It caused us to cramp up a little bit … but we will get better and the kids handled the weather conditions good.”

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Leon 21, Kerens 44

Leon 0 3 7 14 — 21

Kerens 7 17 7 13 — 44

First Quarter

K --- Patrick Faulk 3 run (Carlos Solis kick), 10:02

Second Quarter

K — Faulk 19 run (Ryan Leerskov kick failed), 11:49

K --- Leerskov 35 field goal, 7:00

K --- Micheal Jordan 10 run (Trey Lindsey pass from Faulk), :45

Third Quarter

K — Faulk 28 run (Solis kick), 7:30

L --- Seth Noey 62 run (Garrett Robertson kick), 6:18

Fourth Quarter

K — Jayveon Williams 1 run (Solis kick), 11:52

L --- Chris Vasquez 69 run (kick blocked), 11:24

K --- Williams 49 run (kick failed), 11:13

L --- Noey 1 run (Vasquez run), 8:05

L K

First downs 8 15

Rush-yards 35-287 38-333

Passing yards 7 72

C-A-I 3-7-0 7-12-1

Fumbles-lost6-5 4-1

Punts-avg. 4-24 3-26

Penalties-yards5-45 7-70

Individual

Rushing — L: Seth Noey 17-162, Kirby Watson 5-15, Chris Vasquez 12-81, Ryan Winstead 1-27. K: Patrick Faulk 20-188, Micheal Jordan 7-45, Jayveon Williams 9-104, Adonte Davis 2-(-2).

Passing — L: 3-7-0-7. K: Patrick Faulk 5-10-1-53, Jayveon Williams 2-2-0-19.

Receiving — L: Ryan Winstead 1-5, Kyle Bumpurs 1-7, Steven Jones 1-(-5). K: Tyler Green 1-23, Ryan Leerskov 1-15, Billy Littleton 3-20, Paul Williams 1-13, Micheal Jordan 1-1.