By Cade Cromer

Cordele Dispatch contributor

The Dooly County Bobcats came away with their first win of the season on Friday night when they visited the Dodge County Indians.

The Bobcats found themselves trailing early on in the first quarter after Dodge County drove down the field and punched in a quick touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

The Bobcats came back with a nice drive of their own, led by quarterback Bo Lawson, who scored on a short touchdown run to get Dooly on the board. The subsequent extra point tied the score up at 7 apiece just over halfway through the first quarter.

The Indians were able to put together a decent drive following the Dooly touchdown, but the Bobcat defense stood strong and forced Dodge to settle for a 43-yard field goal. The field goal gave the Indians a 10-7 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Bobcats received the following kickoff and drove 85 yards led by Lawson, who capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass. Dooly added the PAT and led by a score of 14-10 with just a few seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The second quarter would prove to be a rough one for the Indians, as the Bobcats dominated on both sides of the ball. The teams traded punts to open the quarter before Dodge County found themselves in poor field position to begin their next drive.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, the snap sailed past the Dodge quarterback and into the end zone where multiple Bobcat defenders were on hand for the recovery. The defensive score put the cats up 21-10 early in the second quarter.

Things got no better for Dodge County from there, as they could not get anything going on the offensive side of the ball. The Bobcats added to their lead just before halftime when Bo Lawson ran in a touchdown from about 18 yards out. Dooly tacked on the extra point and went in at halftime with a 28-10 lead.

Dodge County came out strong in the second half as they hoped to get themselves back in the game.

The Indians scored on a short run just over two minutes into the second half that cut into the Dooly lead and made the score 28-17.

The teams again traded a few punts until Dodge tacked on another score to start the fourth quarter. The Indians subsequently added a two-point conversion that made the score 28-25 in favor of Dooly.

The Bobcats tried to extend their lead with a long drive down to the four-yard line, but the Dodge County defense forced a turnover on downs that gave their offense the ball back with just over six minutes remaining in the game.

The Dooly defense came right back with a solid stop of their own as they forced a punt with just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Bobcats would cash in offensively after the stop, as running back Stevie Rhodes ran in a touchdown from four yards out. The extra point was missed, but the touchdown put the game out of reach for the Indians, as Dooly led 34-25 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

The big first half by the Bobcats helped them pick up their first win of the season. They will be back home this Friday night as they take on region opponent Schley County.