Cypress Berry Center Stadium on Thursday, December 8, 2022 -
The Timpson Bears 2022 Varsity Football season fell just one game short of the state championship game when they lost by a 24-21 score to the Refugio Bobcats (14-1), on Thursday, during the Texas Class 2A Division 1 State Football Semifinals. Timpson's record finished at 14-1 this season. The Bears and coach Kerry Therwhanger's staff have a combined 40-3 record and a school record three state football semifinal appearances for the past three seasons.
Neither team scored during a hard-fought defensive first quarter of play. On the first play from scrimmage of the second period Bear's junior quarterback Terry Bussey ran on a sweep around the right side 85-yards for a touchdown with 11:48 remaining. Tyler Lane added an extra point conversion kick and Timpson led 7-0. Moments later Amare Bruton recovered a onside kick near midfield to give THS possession of the football once more. Bussey hit Bruton for a 49-yard reception which went for a touchdown and gave the Bears a 14-0 advantage after another Lane kick with 10:49 minutes left in the first half.
Refugio answered when senior quarterback Caleb Hesseltine hit junior wideout Ernest Campbell for a 13-yard touchdown reception. Bobcat Jordan King added an extra point kick to cut Timpson's lead to 14-7 with 7:16 left in the second stanza. Hesseltine hit Campbell for another score with just 1:24 left before the midway break and the game was tied 14-14 at the intermission.
Bussey scored a 75-yard touchdown to start the second half and helped give the Bears a 21-14 advantage with 11 :46 left in the third quarter. Each team held the other in check for the remainder of the third period.
The fourth quarter saw Refugio tie the game at 21-21 on a 3-yard Jordan King run with 7:43 left in the game. A 24-yard field goal by Alex Placencia in the final seconds proved to be the difference as Refugio took the 24-21 win and they move on to the finals. The Bobcats will face the 15-0 Hawley Bearcats at ATT Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Thursday, December 12, at 11 a.m. for the 2022 Texas State Division 1 Class 2A Football Championship.
