Phil Campbell earns first win, holding on late at home to beat region foe Oakman 36-30

The Phil Campbell High School earned its first win of the 2025 campaign Friday night, holding on late to beat region opponent Oakman 36-30 in the Bobcats’ opening home game of the season. The win improved PCHS to 1-2 and 1-1 in Class 3A Region 5.

“It was a huge win and a win that we very much needed,” third-year Phil Campbell head coach Jacob Hamilton said. “I’m proud of our effort. We never give up, and we actually had a lot of fun tonight and that was fun to see. We always play hard, we always show great effort, but the big thing tonight is that we had a lot of fun. We had a swagger about ourselves and we were confident.

“It’s a great day to be a Phil Campbell Bobcat,” he added.

Phil Campbell got the scoring started in the first quarter on a 13-yard rushing touchdown by junior quarterback Hayston Scott to make it 8-0 after the two-point conversion.

Scott, whom Hamilton said was a bit banged up in the Bobcats’ previous contest at Vinemont, was healthy for Friday’s game and had a massive performance in the victory. He went on to finish the game with 159 yards rushing and completed 10 of his 12 passing attempts for 121 yards.

“Last week we were a little one-dimensional because Hayston was banged up. He could only really throw it. He ran a little bit but not much, but his legs are so important to us,” Hamilton said. “He was back to 100 percent healthy tonight and you could tell.”

Oakman responded with a touchdown of its own later in the first quarter to tie it up, and then, following a Phil Campbell turnover, took the lead 16-8 in the second quarter.

Phil Campbell would tie the game back up 16-16 right before halftime thanks to a five-yard touchdown rush by Braxton Downey, the first of his four rushing touchdowns on the night. Downey would finish with 134 rushing yards on 22 carries.

When Scott and Downey are healthy and playing well, Hamilton said, the Bobcat offense is tough to stop.

“When the ground game is working…it opens up the passing game and we’re not so one-dimensional. That’s the goal we’ve always had, and things were clicking tonight,” he said. “The only thing stopping us was ourselves.”

After the break, Phil Campbell surged, scoring 20 unanswered points to take a 36-16 lead with nine minutes left to play.

However, the visiting Wildcats were not quite calling it quits just yet, and some Bobcat mistakes allowed them to find a way back into the ball game.

“We were up 36-16 and had the ball and we got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I told them to calm down. We were celebrating and getting excited—and I love when the kids get excited and have fun, but we’re not good enough to be doing that yet. It’s not over til it’s over,” Hamilton said. “We got that unsportsmanlike penalty and then we fumble and they’re starting to get momentum.”

Phil Campbell’s 20-point lead evaporated quickly, transforming into just a six-point lead with 2:36 to play. Oakman, after scoring on a 17-yard passing touchdown to make it 36-22, recovered an onside kick and scored again a few plays later to make it 36-30. The Wildcats then recovered another onside kick to get the ball back with time to tie it up.

“I called a timeout and told our guys, ‘Whoa, we gotta lock back in,’” Hamilton said.

Having surrendered 14 points in just a few minutes, though, the Phil Campbell defense came through when it mattered most. With around a minute left in regulation, senior Keaton Baker locked in on an Oakman pass and came away with a huge interception to seal the game for the Bobcats.

“We were confident, we were efficient, we didn’t get a lot of stupid penalties, and we played as a team,” Hamilton said. “That’s why we won the game.

“There were a few mishaps…but we were confident, we had swagger, and it’s fun to play football like that,” he added.

That confidence and swagger and poise—another word Hamilton used to describe his team—during the game against Oakman was a byproduct, Hamilton said, of a great week of practice after a tough loss at Vinemont last week.

“After that loss I told (the players) that we’re not locked in and we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing, but we’re still a good football team, we’re just getting in our own way,” he said. “We had a great week of practice. This whole past week has been about poise…and being locked in.

“We felt good going in. I felt good about it going in. But I told the players, ‘It’s do or die. We have got to have this one. We need this one. All you have to do is go right from the get and do not let up. If you play to your ability and stay locked in, we will win,’ and they did,” Hamilton added. “We’re a good football team, we’ve just got to get out of our own way sometimes.”

The Bobcats will hit the road for their next game, a region contest at Winfield, on Friday, September 19.