2nd Quarter Explosion Sends ‘Cats Past Pirates, 48-20

RISON - Before 9 minutes were played last Friday night at George Walker Field of Champions, Drew Central senior quarterback Kade Bodiford had already passed for 164 yards on just 8 completions, staking the Pirates to a 12-8 lead that they carried into the second quarter against Rison. Then things unraveled in a hurry for the visitors, as the Wildcats assembled a 32-point second quarter explosion to send them rolling past the Pirates, 4820, in the regular season finale. The win climaxed a perfect regular season for Rison, the 13th such in school history, and earned the Wildcats their 34th conference championship, as they improved to 9-0 overall and closed at 6-0 in 6-3A play. The best Drew Central team that Rison has faced in the 9-game series, dating back to 2008, left the Pirates at 5-5 and 2-4. The season was celebrated with a post-game fireworks display on a breezy night, along with intermittent showers, as Rison ran its record to 70-7 in homecoming games of the post-WWII era. “I'm very proud of the kids and what they've been able to accomplish,” Rison head coach Clay Totty said. “They've overcome a lot, but I hope they’re not satisfied. There remains a lot that they can accomplish. They have a lot of heart.” But the victory didn't come without a fight in the early going, when the Wildcats struggled to contain Bodiford’s aerial attack. The quarterback’s 41 pass attempts were the most against Rison since England went to the air 58 times in a loss to the Wildcats in 2009. However, after his 164 passing yards in the first quarter, Bodiford had just 98 yards through the air the rest of the way, and finished 20 out of 41 for 262 yards, with 3 touchdowns strikes of 45, 12 and 21 yards, and no interceptions. It was the most passing yardage Rison has yielded this season, except for Bismarck’s 322 yards in the Wildcats’ second game. Commenting about the Pirates, Totty remarked, “They (Drew Central) a...