It was a heartbreak homecoming at Finley Field Friday night as a Hail Mary as time expired dashed Russell County’s furious rally against the Casey County Rebels.
Casey County’s Ethan Willoughby lobbed a pass into the back of the end zone, and Rebel wide receiver Nate Goode came down with it in the end zone as time expired to give the Rebels the 40-35 victory.
It was a crushing end to the game for the Lakers, who trailed 34-14 early in the fourth quarter, but rallied to take a 35-34 lead.
After Casey County took a 20-point lead, the Lakers responded with a touchdown pass from Owen Loy to Trace Stringer, and then recovered an onside kick.
The Lakers were able to drive down the field and Loy ran into the end zone from two yards out to cut the lead to one score.
The Lakers recovered a second onside kick and were able to once again drive down the field, with Loy finding the end zone again, this time on a 16-yard run on third down where he dove for the corner of the end zone and reached the ball across the pylon. Yarley Medrano’s extra point attempt sailed through the goalposts to give the Lakers a one-point lead with 36 seconds left in the game.
The Rebels were able to use a couple short catch-and-run opportunities, including a critical 4th and 5 conversion on their own 25, to get into scoring position, and with just a few seconds on the clock, the Rebels were able to throw a Hail Mary from the Russell County 29 to come away with the win.
With the loss, the Lakers fall to 1-3 on the season as they prepare to head into the district portion of the schedule with a matchup against undefeated Warren East slated for next Friday at Finley Field.
Meanwhile, the win gave the Rebels their third win of the season to move to 3-1.
The Lakers had their best rushing performance of the season, racking up 224 yards on the ground on 53 carries and 4 touchdowns. Quarterback Owen Loy finished the night with 17 carries for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while running back Byron Kirkland added 67 yards on 16 carries with a pair of touchdowns as well. Tony Noyola rushed for 50 yards on 14 carries and Trystan Bennett added 15 yards on 16 carries.
Loy was 13-20 passing on the night for 188 yards and a touchdown.
Kinnett Wills led the receiver group with four catches for 57 yards with Trace Stringer adding three catches for 56 yards.
Kirkland had one catch for 34 yards and Parker Riggins had one catch for 24 yards.
Yarley Medrano as 5-5 on PAT attempts and had two successful onside kicks.
Defensively, Ashton Leclercq led the way with six tackles and a fumble recovery. Brandon Leach had four tackles and Larin Coffey had three. Bennett, Kirkland, and Weston Ryan each finished with a pair of tackles.
