In that old story about the turtle and the rabbit, it’s the slow and steady turtle that wins the race.

Friday night in Boyd, the Yellowjackets broke big plays that brought the home fans to their feet – but in the end it was Godley’s steady grind that clinched a 27-14 win for the Wildcats.

Godley used almost 5 minutes on their first drive, taking over after a three-and-out by Boyd and running off 11 plays before quarterback Jay Mathis dove in from the three for a touchdown.

Boyd fumbled the kickoff, but the defense held, highlighted by a Michael Partin sack on a third down that forced a Godley punt. The ‘Jackets were again unable to mount a drive and gave the ball back to Godley at the Boyd 29. Four plays later, Mathis scored again, this time from 10 yards out, and when he ran the PAT in it was 14-0 with 7 seconds left in the first quarter.

But true to form, Boyd did not quit. On a third-and-three, junior running back Fino Cardona burst through the line, spun out of two tackles and raced down the sideline for 79 yards, stiff-arming a would-be tackler the last 10 yards into the end zone.

Godley turned the ball over on downs after having a 39-yard touchdown run called back on a holding penalty, but Boyd punted after another three-play drive and Godley got the ball back with 5:57 to play in the half.

They promptly reeled off a 15-play drive. Even though another touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty, the drive ended in paydirt, again on a keeper by Mathis. After a failed kick it was 20-6 at halftime.

The Wildcats opened the second half with one of their few big plays of the night, a 48-yard scamper by junior Corey Anderson that put the ball at Boyd’s 17. Five plays and a PAT kick later, it was 27-6.

The ‘Jackets still fought back, answering with six seconds left in the half on a one-yard dive by Cardona. Along the way, Chris Carmona had a 64-yard run called back on an illegal block penalty – but two plays later quarterback Koby Lanier hit Partin for a 46-yard gain to set up the touchdown.

Cardona ran the PAT in too, and it was 27-14 going into the fourth quarter. But the final minutes were fruitless for both teams as Godley held on for the win.

Fourteen of Godley’s 19 first downs came in the first half; nine of Boyd’s 12 came in the second. Godley ran the ball 52 times for 291 yards: Mathis had 27 for 134 and Anderson had 23 for 133.

For the Yellowjackets, Cardona had 18 carries for 119 yards while Lanier lost 27 yards on eight carries, several of them scrambles as he tried to dodge the Godley rush.

Lanier hit on 10 of 20 passes, however, for 138 yards with his only interception coming as the clock wound down. Partin caught four balls for 76 yards, Cole Meador had three catches for 48 and Cardona had two catches for 46 yards.

The loss leaves Boyd 1-2 on the season as they get ready to hit the road the next two weeks to Sanger, then Bowie. Godley goes to 2-1.

GODLEY … 14 … 6 … 7 … 0 ….. 27
BOYD … 0 … 6 … 8 … 0 … 14

FIRST QUARTER

Godley – Mathis 3 run; kick failed
Godley – Mathis 10 run; run good

SECOND QUARTER

Boyd – Fino Cardona 79 run; kick failed
Godley – Mathis 1 run; kick failed

THIRD QUARTER

Godley – Mathis 1 run; kick good
Boyd – Cardona 1 run; Cardona run

GODLEY … BOYD

First Downs … 19 … 12
Rushes yards … 52-291 … 28-94
Passing yards … 10 … 138
Total yards … 301 … 232
Comp-Att-Int … 1-5-0 … 10-20-1
Punt-Average … 4-37 … 2-25
Fumbles lost … 0-0 … 2-1
Penalties … 8-50 … 3-25