Bozeman falls short in quest for .500 season

SAND HILLS — Bozeman’s seniors didn’t have one more comeback left in them.

In their final game as Bucks, they rallied all Friday night, finally coming within a field goal of a win with 9 minutes left. At that point, the red uniforms appeared to be working their magic yet again.

But Travis Register could only throw so far, and his 371 yards weren’t enough to get Bozeman past Sneads, 38-30, in District 1-1A. The final margin was decided when Mark Lawson returned Register’s last final pass 44 yards as time expired.

The loss eliminated Bozeman from playing in a postseason bowl and  ended its season at 4-6, 3-5.

Register’s career game also helped teammate Jace Wade have a final night to remember, with 240 yards receiving on six catches. All three of Register’s touchdown passes went to Wade, who is Register’s catcher on the Bucks’ baseball team. Register also threw three interceptions.

“The running game wasn’t working,” Bozeman coach Loren Tillman said. “So we were going to ride him as much as we could.”

Register ran for one touchdown and Tillman credited Bozeman’s offensive line for giving the second-year starter enough time in the pocket, despite allowing six sacks.

Sneads coach Don Dowling knew from the start that the Pirates (5-4, 5-3) were in for a long night, despite running out to an 18-0 lead behind two touchdowns from Lawson, who finished with 144 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.

The Pirates haven’t defended the pass well all season, and were concerned with giving up big plays. Sneads’ Jeff Davis also rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries.

“They’ve been like that (all year) and it’s mainly when one leads the way,” Dowling said. “It’s great that you have two backs” like that.

Whenever Bozeman closed in on Sneads, it gave up costly plays. Joey Brannen’s 25-yard field goal with 7:55 left in the third quarter made it 24-17. But Sneads used four-and-a-half minutes to score and go ahead 32-17.

The Bucks scored twice to make it 32-30, and then held Sneads to three-and-out. The ensuing punt grazed Bozeman senior Aaron Hadley as he attempted to block, and Sneads took possession with less than 2 minutes left.

• Sneads     18 6 8 6 - 38
• Bozeman 0 14 3 13 – 30
• First quarter
• SHS: Lawson 10 run (kick blocked), 8:14
• SHS: Lawson 53 run (kick blocked), 4:46
• SHS: Dawkins pass from Green (conversion failed), :37
• Second quarter
• BOZ: Wade 27 pass from Register (Brannen kick), 5:51
• BOZ: Wade 89 pass from Register (Brannen kick), :54
• SHS: Davis 14 run, (conversion failed), :22
• Third quarter
• BOZ: Brannen 25 FG, 7:55
• SHS: Lawson 2 run (Lawson run), 3:16
• Fourth quarter
• BOZ: Wade 35 pass from Register (block kicked), 11:51
• BOZ: Register 2 run (Brannen kick), 9:24
• SHS: Lawson 44 interception return, 0:00