Friday night, the Industrial Cobras traveled up Highway 59 to take on the East Bernard Brahmas. The Cobras lost 28-7, making their district record 3-2 and their overall record 3-6.
The game began with the coin toss, which the Brahmas won and deferred, followed by a kickoff to the Cobras. Both teams came out strong, going back and forth until Ryan Riddle brought in the first touchdown of the game for the Cobras. The Brahmas offense quickly answered, taking the ball in for a touchdown of their own.
“I thought we had a decent game,” Cobra Head Football Coach Matthew Luddeke said. “We didn’t play a full four quarters, but we had moments of good on both sides of the ball. We just have to maintain it for a four quarter game.” The Cobra offense, which had a total of 157 yards, was led by Gaziah Lopez, Ryan Riddle, Cooper Francis, and Easton Larew. Francis and Larew split quarterback duties, with Francis going five for 11, throwing 53 yards, and Larew went one for two, throwing 11 yards.
“Our offense had some good moments in the first half, moving the ball in and getting a big score early on,” Luddeke said. “But ultimately, I thought East Bernard had a great defensive game against us and we struggled a little bit offensively against them in the second half.”
As for the Cobra defense, they held strong against the Brahma offense for 285 yards. The Brahmas, who have a passing offense, were shut down by the Cobras, only allowing them only 54 yards through the air.
“I think we played with a lot of effort, everyone was trying to get to the ball every play,” Cobra cornerback Mason Galbraith said. “We gave a lot of effort in this game on defense.”
Looking forward to the game against Brazos, the Cobras will be playing to earn their seed in the playoffs. The Cobras and Brazos have locked up playoff spots. The winner of this game will enter as the number three team with the loser being fourth.
“I feel like we could work on having a good defense against a run team, especially since Brazos is a good running team,” freshman Weston Kucera said. “And on offense, I feel like if we just execute everything, then it’ll be a good game.”
The Cobras (3-6) will fire it up to play the Brazos Cougars (7-2) in the Snake Pit for the last home game of the season and their final district game. Kickoff is at 7:30.
