Those weren't fair-weather sports fans that made their way to Warrior Stadium in the drizzling rain Friday night; they were die-hard gridiron fans in search of an exciting football game and that's exactly what the Whitesboro Bearcats and the Bonham Warriors gave them.

 

Both teams were always just one play away from putting this one in the win column, but when time ran out it was Whitesboro with a well-deserved 15-7 victory.

 

Bonham drew first blood when Blaine Dunlap followed the block of his right tackle into the end zone with 5:30 showing on the clock in the first quarter.  The PAT by David Toznman gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

 

Whitesboro's first points came on a safety.  Bonham, facing a fourth-and-10 at their own 10-yard line, tried to punt, but a low snap got away from the punter and went out of the back of the end zone.  At the end of the opening period, Bonham held a 7-2 advantage.

 

Whitesboro threatened early in the second stanza, however the drive was thwarted when Braylon Mitchell went high in the air and came down with an interception in his own end zone.

 

That play enabled the Warriors to take a 7-2 lead into the locker room at halftime.

 

Things were soon to change, though.

 

Whitesboro took the second-half kickoff and methodically marched down the field. 

 

Bearcat sophomore John Wood went in standing up from six yards out to give Whitesboro an 8-7 lead they never relinquished.

 

The Bearcats stretched their advantage to 15-7 late in the third period when running back Jerrid Caffey took a pitchout from Whitesboro quarterback Jordan Gill and scampered 55 yards to paydirt. 

 

Going into the fourth quarter, Whitesboro had a touchdown lead.  Bonham was always just one play away and that play almost came with 5:49 left in the game when a Whitesboro fumble found the hands of playmaker Josh Price as he raced across the line of scrimmage.  Price was one man away from an open field, but the Bearcat player made a sure tackle.

 

The Warriors had one last try when the Bonham defense forced Whitesboro to punt with 1:07 on the clock. 

 

On fourth-and-long, Bonham quarterback Kyle Washington hit Daine Dunlap over the middle and a Bearcat slammed into Dunlap just after the pass arrived.  The senior wide receiver help onto the ball, but the play came up just short of a first down, allowing Whitesboro to run out the clock and chalk up a 15-7 win on the road.