A pair of fourth quarter interceptions by Ava’s Kevin Philpott that resulted in Bears touchdowns at Cabool last Friday night made an otherwise close game look like a blowout in the line score as Ava defeated Cabool 33-12.
Ava held a one touchdown lead, 19-12 after three periods, but two fourth quarter scores by junior Kyle Clinkingbeard turned it around.
Ava held a slim 12-6 halftime lead and expanded the margin to 19-6 early in the third quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run by Clinkingbeard and the PAT by Ben Loge.
Cabool answered with a 65-yard scoring drive that ate up more than six minutes on the game clock and concluded with a 14-yard touchdown run by Austin Coen at 2:51 in the third period. When Cabool was unable to convert the point-after, Ava’s lead was 19-12.
Philpott hauled in his first of two interceptions at the Cabool 38-yard line with 9:50 left in the game. On 2nd-and-7, Clinkingbeard broke free and ran 35 yards to score with 9:09 left. Loge’s kick made it 26-12.
That interception came after the Bears were called for pass interference to give the Bulldogs new life on a 4th-and-12 situation. The controversial call gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Cabool 34-yard line.
Cabool’s next possession would end precisely the same way with Philpott picking off a Brandon Loman pass at the Cabool 38-yard line. After Dillon Adams recovered an Ava fumble to save the ball for the Bears and a holding penalty that backed the Bears up 10 yards, Clinkingbeard found a hole once again and sprinted 33 yards to score with 4:35 left on the clock. Loge’s kick generated the final score of 33-12.
The Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead at 7:10 in the first quarter on a 36-yard run by Clinkingbeard.
Cabool tied the game at 10:20 in the second period on an 8-yard run by Clayton Manning, and the game remained tied when Ava blocked the extra point attempt.
Cabool’s touchdown was a gift from the Bears as Chance Boyd fumbled a punt reception which was recovered by the Bulldogs on the 8-yard line. The touchdown came on the first play from scrimmage.
With 20 seconds left in the half, Loge passed to Philpott for a 30-yard touchdown aerial. After an unsuccessful 2-point conversion attempt, the halftime score was 12-6.
Philpott had two receptions on the night for 50 yards.
Ava went for the 2-point conversion after a penalty on the initial PAT attempt backed the Bears up five yards.
On the 2-point try, Loge passed to Boyd who was stopped short of the goal line.
The Bears improved their record to 3-0 while Cabool dropped to 1-2.
Clinkingbeard had another outstanding night offensively, carrying 27 times for 247 yards and four touchdowns. Chase Willis carried 10 times for 47 yards.
Loge completed two of seven passes for 50 yards and one touchdown.
In addition to his two fourth-quarter interceptions, Philpott also had two tackles for losses.
Chance Deal had two sacks on the night. Dillon Adams and Zach Taylor had seven tackles each for Ava and Taylor Robinson had six tackles for Ava.
The Bears will be on the road again this week, traveling to Houston to face the 0-3 Tigers, before returning home on Sept. 23 to take on Thayer at Ava’s Homecoming.
