Bowie got to send the home crowd at Jackrabbit stadium away happy the final time this season with its win against Ponder.
The Jackrabbits held on to win 28-21 as the Lions made a late push to tie the score in the final seconds of the game.
Bowie overcame its second half woes, shutting out Ponder in the second half and taking the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Lions proved to be a tough team early in the game. They ran the wishbone offense that leaned heavily on the run and was unlike anything the Jackrabbits had played against.
Requiring every defender to cover their assignments, big plays can happen if one defender is out of position. Early on, Bowie was making those mistakes.
Ponder scored on its first possession as Terrance Clark scored on a 30-yard run up the middle to take a 6-0 lead. The Jackrabbits immediately answered back as running back Ty Harris scored on a 65-yard run. The extra point from Alan Miranda put Bowie up 7-6.
The two teams defenses got a hold of themselves after allowing the big plays, exchanging turnover on downs at around mid-field.
The Lions then scored on another big run from Clark, this one from 37 yards away. Ponder converted a two-point conversion to go up 14-7 as the game headed to the second quarter.
After the Jackrabbits punted the ball back to the Lions, Clark again scored on a big run from 57 yards away. Bowie’s defense just seemed a step behind the offense with all of the different options on each play.
Down 21-7 and with both the offense and defense struggling for consistency, it looked like it was the start of a long night for the Jackrabbits.
Bowie’s offense responded with its most effective drive of the game. Outside of Harris’ one big run, the Jackrabbits had not done much up to that point.
At Ponder’s 21-yard line, quarterback Colby Miller threw a pass up to receiver Ryder Richey, who was one-on-one on the outside. Richey went up and caught the pass and scored on the play, cutting the lead to 21-13.
The Lions were threatening to score once more before halftime. With time running down and timeouts limited, the run heavy offense tried to connect on some deep passes.
Thinking its taller receiver could make a play on Jackrabbits cornerback Camden Starnes, Starnes made Ponder pay as he intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the first half, keeping the game within one score for Bowie.
This was familiar territory for the Jackrabbits. In three of their recent losses Bowie had trailed by only one or two scores heading into halftime only to lose by much more after a lackluster second half.
At this point in the season it seems both players and coaches are at a loss for the exact cause of this trend, but the Jackrabbits looked to reverse it on Friday.
Bowie took the opening drive down the field and Miller scored on 24-yard run. Harris converted the two-point conversion and just like that the Jackrabbits had tied the score 21-21 early in the third quarter.
The teams defenses kept the other from doing much with the ball. Bowie’s defense tightened its hold on Ponder’s wishbone. The big running plays from the first half were nowhere to be seen for the Lions as the Jackrabbits seemed to have made the proper adjustments to the attack.
While Bowie’s offense had trouble scoring with its passing attack being conservative, one thing that worked was handing the ball to Harris. The senior seemed to consistently make positive things happen with the ball in his hands.
Still, he wasn’t enough to overcome some untimely negative plays to keep scoring drives going.
The Jackrabbit defense created an opportunity for the offense late in the third quarter. Ponder went for a fourth down on its own 31 yard line and was stopped.
The Jackrabbits took advantage as Harris punched the ball in from four yards out to give Bowie its first lead 28-21 since the first quarter.
With almost nine minutes still to play, there was still plenty of time for the Lions to respond. With both teams mostly moving the ball through running the ball though, that time would go by fast.
After the defense got the ball back, the Jackrabbits’ offense looked to take as much time off the clock as they could. A score would potentially put the game out of reach. Early in the drive, Bowie had a big decision.
The Jackrabbits faced a fourth down and only had to pick up one yard. The problem was it was on their own 30-yard line. A turnover on downs would give the ball to Ponder with a short field and big momentum burst.
With Harris and the running game humming, it seemed likely Bowie would pick it up, but Coach Cory Mandrell still spent a time out to think about it. He went for it and the Jackrabbits converted.
Bowie made the Lions use all of their time outs as the clock wound to less than two minutes. The Jackrabbits’ offense stalled at Ponder’s 34-yard line, unable to convert another fourth down.
Needing to drive 66 yards with no time outs and 1:42 left in the game, against an offense that is designed to run the ball and had found little success in the second half, it looked like Bowie’s defense would seal the game.
The Lions’ offense found some life with their backs up against the wall. Some big plays started to spring including the first two pass completions of the night.
One was for 24 yards that went right through the hands of a Jackrabbit defender and moved the ball to Bowie’s five-yard line with 11 seconds left after a spike.
Unfortunately for Ponder, there was an unsportsman like penalty on called on them after the spike the moved the ball back to the Jackrabbits 20-yard line.
Still after several improbable plays had moved the Lions down the field, there was still a feeling Ponder could pull off some magic.
That was put to bed as linebacker Jre Donnell came around unblocked from the blindside and sacked the Lions’ quarterback to end the game. Bowie hung on to win 28-21.

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