The Bowie Jackrabbits earned their first district win in front of their home crowd against Boyd on Friday night.
The Jackrabbits won 25-18, withstanding a second half comeback from the Yellowjackets to pull out the win.
Bowie came into the game feasting for a win. Despite a 3-4 record, the Jackrabbits were 0-3 in district play, with two of those games being winnable on the night.
They thought they could get one against a young Boyd team that came in with a 1-5 record and also looking for its first district win. Still, that record proved to be deceptive since the Yellowjackets showed they could play from the opening kickoff.
The pooched kickoff was sent sky high and Bowie’s player failed to call fair catch in a fashion that caught the referee’s eye. Boyd recovered the onside kick and then went down and scored on its opening possession when a wide receiver screen scooted 11-yards into the end zone.
The Jackrabbits responded immediately, marching down the field with ease and scoring in just more than two minutes. Running back Justin Clark scooted his way for a six-yard touchdown run. The extra point put Bowie up 7-6.
Bowie’s defense recovered from the shocking first drive to buckle down on Boyd’s pass happy offense. From the beginning the Jackrabbits did not allow the Yellowjackets to get anything on the ground so Boyd threw the ball as much as any team Bowie had faced all season, but with limited success for the rest of the half.
The Jackrabbits got the ball back and still in the first quarter, Rayder Mann bought time with his legs before finding Tyler Richey wide open. Richey made a move past a closing defender and ran the rest of the way in to complete a 37-yard touchdown pass.
Bowie led 14-6 heading into the second quarter, having recovered from the opening knock down well.
The defense gave the Jackrabbits a good chance to score to start the second quarter. Cornerback Mo Azouak intercepted two passes on consecutive drives. On the second one he returned it inside of Boyd’s 10-yard line.
Unfortunately, this would be the start of when Bowie’s offense seemed to run into some hiccups that would last the rest of the night as drives seemed to find ways to stall.
This one did too, but the Jackrabbits were close enough for kicker Nick Salazar to make a 23-yard field goal. Bowie led 17-6 and despite some good play from the Jackrabbits, that was the score at halftime as well.
Boyd came out ready to still fight in the second half despite its offense being neutered since its opening drive. The short screen passes were not consequential and any deep passes had not been on target enough to routinely hurt the Jackrabbit defense or had been broken up.
To start the third quarter, the Yellowjackets drove their deepest into Bowie’s territory since the start of the game. It looked like the Jackrabbit defense was going to get a stop as they had Boyd in a fourth and long situation.
The Yellowjackets were able to find their slot receiver just open enough for a 23-yard touchdown pass on a go-route, finally connecting on a deep pass. It cut Bowie’s lead to 17-12 and showed the team it was not going to coast to an easy win.
Frustration mounted as the Jackrabbit offense continued to struggle. The rhythm just was not right at the beginning of drives and after the first quarter big plays were few and far between to keep the chains moving if one play went off script.
It went into the fourth quarter with Bowie still up 17-12, but one big play from the Yellowjackets could upend that.
It turns out it was a disappointing sequence. The Jackrabbits offense decided to go for it on fourth down since they were in Boyd’s territory, but too far for a field goal attempt.
The Yellowjacket defense came up with the stop and then their offense hit on another big play.
It was a wide receiver screen on the left side of the field that broke open for a 58-yard touchdown catch and run. Boyd had its first lead since the beginning of the game 18-17.
While there was still plenty of time in the quarter, Bowie’s spirits were as down as it had been to start the game. With its offensive sputtering leading directly to the Yellowjackets next score, momentum was on Boyd’s side and the Jackrabbits would have to find a way to make a big play.
They found it on their next drive. Facing its first third down of the drive, Mann looked deep and found Hunter Rodriguez wide open behind the defense on the home sideline. He reeled it in and took it into the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown.
The good two-point conversion put Bowie up 25-18.
The score had happened fast so Boyd still had multiple attempts to respond.
The Yellowjackets drove into the Jackrabbits red zone on their next drive. Bowie’s defense held and on fourth and goal cornerback Boston Farris intercepted the pass in the end zone for a touchback and to complete the crucial goal line stand.
Later Boyd’s defense turned the ball over on downs near midfield.
The dagger came when punter Zac Harris nailed a punt to the Yellowjackets four-yard line with 17 seconds left.
Bowie won 25-18.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6869929&T=1