Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens quarterback Lane Lynch, who accounted for two touchdowns Oct. 27 against Italy, looks for a receiver.

KERENS–The Kerens Bobcats secured their second win in District 7-2A with an Oct. 27, 24-10 victory over the Italy Gladiators, which set up another must-win situation to qualify for the postseason in the Nov. 4 regular-season finale against Cross Roads.
Kerens struck first with 9:06 left in the first quarter, starting when quarterback Lane Lynch found receiver Ryan Priddy over the middle. Priddy fumbled inside the five-yard line, but Musiq Gunnell picked up the ball and carried it into the end zone for the Bobcats’ first touchdown.
Later, leading 7-0, Lynch found Priddy again, this time for a 26-yard touchdown pass with 5:55 left before halftime. Adrian Solis’ extra-point kick put Kerens ahead 14-0. Italy got on the board with 1:05 remaining in the first half to cut the Kerens lead to 14-7.
The Gladiators drove to the Kerens one-yard line on the first possession of the second half, but an errant snap lost yardage for Italy, who settled for a 32-yard field goal with 6:23 remaining in the third quarter. Kerens answered Italy’s long drive, beginning with a fourth-down conversion from the Italy 26-yard line on an end-around run by Mykel Lattimore as the third quarter expired. Lynch capped off that possession with a 15-yard quarterback keeper touchdown run with 10:57 left in the game.
With 8:36 remaining, the Kerens defense stepped up to stop the Gladiators on fourth-and-three from Italy’s own 30-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty moved the ball to the Italy 16-yard line. Eventually, Solis first missed a 29-yard field goal attempt, but another Italy penalty gave Solis a second chance. The Kerens kicker converted the 24-yard field goal to give the Bobcats a 24-10 lead with 6:08 left in the game.