The JV Bearcats lost a home game to Marvin Ridge on Thursday night.

The game looked promising for Anson early on, with the Bearcats earning a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. When quarterback Weston Carpenter suffered injuries midway through the game, Marvin Ridge quickly moved in.

Carpenter was replaced by a backup for the second half, but the game fell apart for the Bearcats, and they lost 26-6.

Coach’s thoughts

Coach Marshall Taylor noted the stark difference in the team’s performance following Carpenter’s injury.

“We did come out in the first half, and the guys were like lightning,” he said. “They came out and they played hard. They played like a team; they all played together.”

But the team just didn’t recover for the second half.

“It’s like a completely different team the second half,” Taylor said. “We just weren’t making the same plays.”

The coach said the drop in confidence affected his team’s ability.

“Every time you lose a star player on your offense or defense, it kind of kills your whole vibe for your team,” Taylor said. “So from that point, the team just started making mistakes as well. The team started turning the ball over, made mistakes they weren’t making the first half — we just weren’t playing sound football.”

While he understood the reason for the loss, Taylor didn’t want to make excuses for the team.

“You try do what you can, but you’re limited with what you can do with a backup quarterback, so that hurt us a little bit,” he said. “But at the same time, the guys have just got to come out in the second half and play regardless of — no excuses, you’ve got to come out and play — regardless of whatever happens.”

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the Bearcats will face the Spartans on the road at Sun Valley High School.

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Team now has a 3-5 season

By Imari Scarbrough

iscarbrough@civitasmedia.com

Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.