NINTH LIFE

The Bluffton Bobcats haven't used up all their lives yet. Follow them all season long here...


WELCOME BLOGCATS

WELCOME BLOGCATS
TRACKING THE 2010 BLUFFTON HIGH SCHOOL BOBCATS

by Christopher C. Wuensch


click the "headlines" below the picture for the full story


11.28.2010

OUT, BUT NOT DOWN


Photo by Scott Schroeder.

On a muggy, opening night in August, we were introduced to hope. And the uncertain promise that things could be better.



When it all ended, on a wet evening in Bluffton, there were plenty tears and enough heartbreak to flood the South Carolina Lowcountry.


In the 97 days between, the Bluffton High School football team rehabilitated its image as gridiron pushovers, while reinventing the imagination and morale of the Bluffton community.


It’s easy to rattle off the “firsts” accomplished by the Bobcats this season:


There was the first defeat of rival Hilton Head — they beat them twice to open and close the regular season. There was the first winning season in seven tries — they won 12 of 14 games. And their first postseason victory — that is to say their first three playoff wins.


But the exploits of the Bobcats transcend that of Xs and Os and the obliteration of the program’s history books.


Each week brought new highs and impossibilities beyond the mind’s comprehension.


Every Friday as the Bobcats’ win-loss record swelled to epic proportions, so, too, did the post-game huddle on the field. It became the place to be, a unified meeting of players, coaches, parents and fans.


Each week there were tears and laughs, hoots and hollers and always enough hugs for even the toughest of players in these huddles.


Some called it a ‘team effort.’ In reality, it was a community, if not a family, endeavor.


Do not shed tears of sorrow for the Bobcats’ dream deferred. This raisin that was the Bluffton football season didn’t not shrivel in the sun or prune on the wet nights in the face of unreasonable odds.


The season didn’t end with the storybook ending and a state title that Bluffton would’ve preferred.


But it did follow an incredible path of heart, character and triumph that the finest of fiction writers couldn’t have penned to paper.


And that makes the Bobcats a champion in my book.

11.27.2010

BOBCATS' DREAM DEFERRED


photo by Scott Schroeder

The Bobcats' miraculous season came to an end Friday night with a 47-0 loss to Myrtle Beach at Bluffton High School. Stay tuned for a full recap.


11.26.2010

CLASS 3A LOWER STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: MYRTLE BEACH SEAHAWKS (12-1) at BLUFFTON BOBCATS (12-1)

 
Two of the top quarterbacks of South Carolina present and future square off against one another tonight when C.J. Frazier and the Bluffton Bobcats play host to UNC-commit Everett Golson and the Myrtle Beach Seahawks.

AND THE WINNER IS...

 
CHRIS TILLOTSON
 
The offensive line gets some love this week as Chris Tillotson earns BT Game Ball honors. The senior is part of a quiet, but scrappy unit that has helped the Bobcats to an average of 35 points per contest.

11.20.2010

BOBCATS 40, RED FOXES 35

 

Bluffton needs a miracle finish to beat Hartsville 40-35 to advance to Class 3A Lower State Finals against Myrtle Beach High School.

BLOG CATS


Bobcats raise their helmets skyward at Kellytown Stadium. Photo by Christopher C. Wuensch
 

Relive the Bobcats' 40-35 win over Hartsville via the Bluffton Today's play-by-play blog.

11.19.2010

CLASS 3A LOWER STATE SEMIFINALS: BOBCATS (11-1) at RED FOXES (9-3)


 
Ken Cribb and Jeff Calabrese are all too familiar with each other. Now the former Florence coaches (Cribb - South Florence HS and Calabrese - West Florence HS) rekindle an old rivalry with a trip to the Class 3A Lower State Semifinals on the line for Cribb's Bobcats and Calabrese's Red Foxes of Hartsville.

AND THE WINNER IS...


JOSH BLACK

Josh Black is a man of very little words. He'd prefer to let his play on the field do all the talking. When we talk about the Bobcat defensive lineman, we like to call him the Bluffton Today Game Ball winner of the week. Stepping up and in for the injured LaDarius Hughes, Black registered 8 tackles (5 of them solo), two of them for losses and a sack in the Bobcats 34-30 win over A.C. Flora in the Class 3A Lower State quarterfinals. Six of Black's tackles came in the first half, before the Falcons wised up and began to double-team the junior.

11.14.2010

CLASS 3A LOWER STATE QUARTERFINALS: BOBCATS 34, FALCONS 30


C.J. Johnson (25) and C.J. Frazier (9) watch the Bobcat defense fend off the Falcons of A.C. Flora. Photo by Christopher C. Wuensch. 
 

Bluffton's magical season lives on with a thrilling 34-30 Class 3A Lower State playoff victory over A.C. Flora that wasn't decided until the game's final play.

11.12.2010

CLASS 3A PLAYOFFS: FALCONS @ BOBCATS


Tony Burns Jr leads the Bobcats in a pre-game stretch. Photo by Ed Meyerink.
 
 
Stamina has been a major factor in the Bobcats (10-1) rise to the Class 3A Lower State quarterfinals, which concludes tonight with a home matchup against A.C. Flora High School. Will it be enough to hang with a fast-paced Falcon (10-1) squad?

AND THE WINNER IS...


MARQUIS WEBBER

Marquis Webber was Bobcat quarterback C.J. Frazier's favorite target against Lakewood High School. Webber caught two acrobatic touchdown passes (32 and 21 yards) from fellow sophomore Frazier in Bluffton's playoff win. His exploits on the field earned him this week's Bluffton Today Game Ball.

11.09.2010

GARDNER, BLACK GET NOD

Bobcat lineman Lewis Black and defensive lineman Anthony Gardner have been named to the North-South All-Star game in Myrtle Beach.

11.06.2010

BOBCATS 24 GATORS 21



Sophomores C.J. Frazier, Mallie Sprouse and Marquis Webber help power the Bobcats past Lakewood High School in the first round of the Class 3A playoff; give Bluffton first postseason win in program history.

11.04.2010

LAKEWOOD GATORS @ BLUFFTON BOBCATS



The Bobcats enter the Class 3A playoffs for the first time in four years, thanks in large part to the team's defensive linemen.

AND THE WINNER IS...

TRAVIS RAMSEY

The Bobcat safety is this week's Bluffton Today Game Ball winner. Ramsey had six tackles, five of them of the solo variety. When you're a safety, a solo tackle is often a touchdown saver.

(mug shot to come)

CONTACT CHRISTOPHER C. WUENSCH

Enjoy Ninth Life? Anything you'd like to see added or improved? You're a Seahawks fan and you hate it? Tell me all about it by e-mailing me at:



BTGAMEBALL@YAHOO.COM



more writing from Christopher C. Wuensch is easily available by visiting:

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PICTURE PERFECT

2009 Photos by Scott Salisbury. Contact him at SSALISBU@ALUMNI.NMU.EDU

FIND MORE OF SCOTT'S PHOTOS at

http://www.scottsalisburyphoto.com/