The Bowie Jackrabbits traveled to Ponder on Friday night in hopes of scoring their first win of the season.
It was not meant to be as the Lions led most of the game on their way to beating the Jackrabbits 36-21.
Bowie was trying out a new offense with the loss of quarterback Colby Miller for the season. Running back Ty Harris lined up at quarterback and did a lot of read-option plays with Hunter Pullen at running back.
Despite only a week to get the offense ready, the Jackrabbits took their opening drive for a touchdown when Harris got loose for a 65-yard run. Bowie led 7-0, but it would not last long.
Ponder drove down the field in a little more than a minute mostly running the ball, scoring from 17 yards out. The Lions went for two and converted to take the lead 8-7.
The defenses settled down and forced punts on the next two possessions. The Jackrabbits had the ball near midfield and it was fourth and long. Bowie elected to go for it and did not convert.
Ponder turned the things around and scored on a 27-yard run to extend the lead to 16-7 after another good two-point conversion.
The Jackrabbits were able to get another drive going as early penalties backed them up in previous drives. Bowie drove all the way down to the goal line where Pullen scored from three yards out to cut the lead to 16-14.
Unfortunately, the Lions turned things around as their quarterback scrambled around for an 89-yard touchdown run. The Jackrabbits snuffed out the two-point conversion to make the score 22-14.
Bowie had another drive going, but a lost fumble near midfield put an end to that as the teams went into halftime.
The Jackrabbits needed a good start to the second half, but things did not work out that way. Ponder received the ball and scored on a 49-yard run in less than a minute to make the lead 30-14.
Bowie tried to respond on offense, but another drive stalled out at midfield with a failed fourth down conversion. The Lions capitalized as they threw a bubble screen to a receiver who took the ball 44 yards for a touchdown. The Jackrabbits trailed 36-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bowie’s offense struggled as the game went along as the limited playbook became predictable for a Ponder defense that keyed in on trying to stop Harris, who still was making plays with his legs, but they came less often the longer the game went on.
The Jackrabbits were finally able to complete a pass down the field as Harris threw a pass to Tyler Darland behind the defense for a 64-yard touchdown pass.
The lead was cut to 36-21, but with 3:37 left in the game, it would require a miracle of things for Bowie to have a chance to come back with so little time left. No such magic occurred as Ponder won.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.