Aberdeen overcame a 6-0 halftime deficit with an inspired second-half performance to defeat Shelton 26-19 on Friday in Aberdeen, securing third place in the 2A Evergreen League in the process.

After a lackluster first-half offensive performance hindered by two referee calls, the Bobcats (6-3 overall, 4-2 2A Evergreen) rode a power-running game tidal wave in the second half to emerge victorious over the Highclimbers (3-6, 2-4).

Aberdeen’s first-half misfortune started with its first offensive touch of the game when senior Aidan Watkins picked up a rolling Shelton punt and scooted down the sideline for what appeared to be a big gain for the Bobcats. But the referees blew the whistle as if the ball was downed by Shelton, though no Highclimbers player touched the ball. After a lengthy discussion, the punt was replayed due to the inadvertent whistle, taking a big play off the board for the Bobcats.

While Aberdeen’s offense struggled in the first quarter – going three-and-out in three possessions – the Cats defense held firm and made a splash when senior linebacker Jakob Bowers intercepted a pass from Shelton quarterback Gabe Conklin at the Bobcats’ 34-yard line.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen linebacker Jakob Bowers (12) tackles Shelton quarterback Gabe Conklin during the Bobcats’ 26-19 victory on Friday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

After another Aberdeen three-and-out, Shelton got on the scoreboard when Conklin broke free on a read-option around the left edge for a 51-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead.

Aberdeen avoided another three-and-out on its next possession, but a lost fumble ended a drive in Highclimbers territory.

With time winding down in the first half, a Shelton fumble was recovered by Aberdeen at the Highclimbers 37-yard line, one of three Highclimbers turnovers in the game.

Two plays later, Aberdeen quarterback Grady Springer completed a pass to Watkins across the middle. Watkins sprinted into the Shelton secondary and flattened a Highclimbers defender with a perfectly-placed stiff arm on his way to what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown. But the back judge flagged Watkins for a face-mask penalty, taking an Aberdeen touchdown off the scoreboard.

One play later, an incomplete pass ended the first half with the Cats down 6-0.

With the prospect of a guaranteed playoff spot and avoiding a potential Kansas tie-breaker, the Bobcats asserted their will in the second half.

Aberdeen took the second half kickoff and quickly drove downfield, scoring when Springer cut loose for a 36-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 6-all.

After the Bobcats defense forced a punt, the offense embarked on a 11-play, 73-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown run by sophomore Micah Schroeder.

After the extra point was blocked, Aberdeen held a 12-6 lead with 3:50 left in the third quarter.

Shelton drove to the Aberdeen 15-yard line on its next possession, but a missed field goal from 33-yards out ended the Highclimbers threat.

The Bobcats responded with a 5-play, 80-yard drive capped when Springer hit a wide open Marcus Hale in the seam for a 35-yard touchdown and an 18-6 lead.

“That’s a Rob King touchdown,” Bridge said of his assistant up in the booth. “(King) saw it and Marcus said, ‘Hey, there is nobody covering me,’ and Rob said, ‘Yeah, he’s open.’ So credit to (assistant coaches) Brent Hollatz and Rob King for picking that up.”

“We said in the first half that I was wide open, and Coach Hollatz called the play and me and Grady looked at each other and we knew it was going to be wide open,” Hale said. “We both got really excited.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen senior Marcus Hale (2) breaks a tackle during a run in the Bobcats’ 26-19 win over Shelton on Friday in Aberdeen.

Shelton answered back with touchdown drive ending in a Conklin 2-yard scoring run to make it an 18-12 game with 8:52 to go.

The Bobcats appeared to nail the door shut a few plays later when Watkins found running room off the left tackle for a 32-yard touchdown.

A Springer pass to Schroeder for two points put the Cats up 26-12 with 6:34 left in the game.

But disaster struck on the subsequent kickoff when Shelton returner Colton Fisk mishandled the ball, went back to his own 10-yard line to pick it up, then scampered 90 yards for a touchdown to get Shelton right back into the game.

But Aberdeen would not be denied as the Cats offense produced a character-revealing drive when they needed it most.

The Bobcats offense – which didn’t record a first down until the second quarter – had three first downs in its final possession to kill off six minutes of clock, feeding the ball to the shifty and spinning Watkins to pick up the final first down and secure the 26-19 victory.

Bridge said his halftime speech revolved more around X’s and O’s rather than some fiery pep talk.

“All the discussions at halftime were completely cerebral,” he said. “We started to kind of bump into something on a particular play that overloaded one side of the ball and (Shelton) didn’t adjust.”

“We really wanted to focus on pounding the rock and getting our running game going and it worked. They couldn’t stop it,” Watkins said. “We probably ran the same play 20 times in a row on two separate drives.”

“We wanted to play for our seniors and we came back out and were a brand-new team,” said Hale, who had 58 rushing yards in the game. “A lot of people doubted us on the season and we keep proving them wrong.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen quarterback Grady Springer (4) runs for a touchdown in the Bobcats’ 26-19 win over Shelton on Friday in Aberdeen.

Watkins led the way with another MVP-worthy game, rushing for 192 yards on a workman-like 29 carries and had 237 all-purpose yards.

As a team, Aberdeen rushed for 313 yards – 265 in the second half – and held Shelton to 66 yards of offense over the final 24 minutes of the game, including a mere 13 rushing yards.

“We gave up the big touchdown run by (Conklin) and a big kickoff return, other than that it was a fantastic performance by our defense,” Bridge said.

The win locks up third place in the 2A Evergreen Conference for the Bobcats, who will play in a 2B crossover game next week (opponent, time and location to be determined).

“It’s our last time here and we wanted to go out with a bang,” Bowers said of the win. “So that’s what we did.”

“I don’t know if our kids are really fired up to win six games, I know that I am,” Bridge said, eluding to Aberdeen’s propensity during his tenure as head coach to compete in three-way Kansas tie-breakers. “I know our coaching staff is extremely elated that we get the weekend off as far as we don’t have six hours of practice before a Monday tiebreaker.”

“It means the world. I love it,” Watkins said of playing in the Bobcats’ first crossover game since the 2021 season. “I’m so excited for next week. I haven’t been in a crossover game since I was a sophomore and I think we have a real good chance to win it.”

Shelton 0 6 0 13 – 19

Aberdeen 0 0 12 14 – 26

Scoring

First quarter

None

Second quarter

S – Conklin 51 run (kick fail), 10:53

Third quarter

A – Springer 36 run (kick blocked), 9:28

A – Schroeder 4 run (pass fail), 3:50

Fourth quarter

A – Hale 35 pass from Springer (run fail), 10:28

S – Conklin 2 run (PAT fail), 8:52

A – Watkins 32 run (Schroeder pass from Springer), 6:34

S – Fisk 90 kickoff return (Wier kick), 6:17

Passing leaders: S – Conklin 9-24-1-89. A – Springer 7-14-0-70.

Rusing leaders: S – Conklin 12-89, Nichols 3-18, Fisk 6-4, Brotherton 2-4. A – Watkins 29-192, Springer 9-59, Hale 13-58, Schroeder 1-4.

Receiving leaders: S – Cordova 3-58, Fisk 2-4, Henry 1-13, Zepeda-Soto 1-6, Leth 1-6, Brotherton 1-2. A – Watkins 3-24, Walsh 2-8, Hale 1-35, Schroeder 1-3.