Monitor Photo/Russell Slaton
Kerens receiver Muziq Gunnell catches a 61-yard touchdown pass for his team’s first Sept. 23 score.

KERENS–The Kerens Bobcats overcame an early-game deficit Sept. 23 then held off a late charge by the Itasca Wampus Cats on homecoming night, winning 48-42.
Itasca struck first with a 14-yard touchdown pass on fourth down, but an extra-point miscue kept the score at 6-0. The Wampus Cats later recovered a Kerens fumble and followed on the next play with a 67-yard touchdown run to lead 13-0 with 5:35 left in the opening quarter.
Kerens came to life when quarterback Lane Lynch found Muziq Gunnell for a 61-yard touchdown pass with 3:22 left in the first quarter. After a failed Itasca fourth-down attempt late in the first quarter, Kerens capped off its next drive with a 25-yard Nehemiah Massey touchdown run to take a 14-13 lead with 10:39 left before halftime.
The next Wampus Cat drive was dashed by a Bobby Williams interception deep in Kerens territory. Kerens running back Brayden May finished the ensuing drive with a two-yard touchdown run with 5:32 left in the second quarter to give Kerens a 21-13 lead. Itasca struck quickly with a 47-yard touchdown pass and two-point conversion to tie the game at halftime, 21-21.
The second half saw an explosion of offense, which started with a 27-yard Lynch touchdown pass to Mykel Lattimore. Kerens grew its lead to 35-21 when Massey ran 80 yards for a touchdown with 5:55 left in the third quarter.
Itasca crept back with a 16-yard touchdown run that cut the Kerens lead to 35-28 late in the third quarter, which was quickly followed by a 39-yard touchdown pass to Lattimore with 1:01 left in the third quarter.
Itasca threw a 34-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to get back within 42-35, but on the first play from scrimmage thereafter, Kerens’ Lattimore caught another touchdown pass, this time for 52 yards. The extra-point attempt failed, leaving Kerens with a 48-35 lead.
The Wampus Cats returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown with 8:22 left in the fourth quarter, which moved Itasca within 48-42. The Kerens defense next stopped two more Itasca drives around midfield to secure their homecoming win.