The Todd County Central Rebels appeared to be in trouble Friday night. Not only as it applied to winning their matchup against Butler County, but also as it pertained to their hopes of making the Class 2A playoffs.
The Rebels had turned the ball over to the Bears six times in the contest, four of those coming in a brutal 2nd quarter. Of those four turnovers, three had come in the red zone, and one of those was in the end zone. Yet, still the Rebels had a shot. And Todd County Central would take advantage of the Bears inability to seal the win.
The Rebels scored twice in the final four minutes of the game, the last coming on a three yard Preston Moore run with 12 seconds to go, as Todd County Central stunned Butler County 29-22 in a huge district battle for both teams.
The evening began with great promise for the Rebels, who took the game’s opening possession and went right down the field. The drive was capped off by a 10 yard touchdown pass from Preston Moore to Nate Reding to give the Rebels a 7-0 lead with 8:18 to go in the opening quarter.
Butler County answered the Rebels on the very next possession. The Bears capped off the drive with a 27 yard touchdown run from Josh Morris. With the two point conversion, the Rebels took a 8-7 lead with 4:45 to go in the first.
Todd County got back on the board quickly. This time it was Ethan Tomerlin with a powerful 15 yard run with 2:25 to go in the first quarter. The two point try was no good, and the Rebels were up 13-8.
Butler County went quickly back to work and drove the ball right back at the Rebels. The Bears capped off their second scoring drive of the opening quarter with a 36 yard run from junior quarterback Jagger Henderson to take the lead back at 14-13 with 56.1 seconds left the offensively active first quarter.
While the game looked like a shootout in the first quarter, neither team could find the end zone in the 2nd. Not that the Rebels didn’t have their chances.
During the second, the Rebels fumbled the ball away at the six yard line. They were intercepted after reaching the nine yard line. They were picked off again at the 40 yard line. Finally, they were intercepted in the end zone with 1.4 seconds to go in the half. Yet, Todd Central was still just down by one going into the locker room at the break, and the Bears would ultimately pay the price for not converting on the Rebel mistakes.
Butler County took the opening possession of the second half and appeared to be ready to delived a knockout blow to the Rebels. With 9:29 to go in the third, Jagger Henderson found the Bears’ big tight end, Solomon Flener for a 42 yard score. With the two point conversion, the lead grew to 22-13, and nothing appeared to be going the Rebels’ way.
Two more lost fumbles in the first half of the 4th quarter did nothing to relieve the anxiety of the Rebel faithful in the stands. However, a defensive stop after the final turnover, appeared to ignite the Rebels and put some hope into a tough situation.
Todd Central drove the ball down the field, scoring on a 15 yard touchdown pass from Preston Moore to Nate Reding with 3:40 to go in the game. The two point conversion cut Butler County’s lead to 22-21.
The Rebels defense got a huge stop and forced the Bears to punt, taking over then at their own 24 yard line with just 1:32 to go.
Wisely using their timeouts, and taking full advantage of the Bears allowing them to get to the sidelines, play after play, the Rebels moved right down the field. Moore’s 3 yard run up the middle with 12 seconds left turned out to be the game winner, and essentially clinched a playoff spot for the Rebels.
Preston Moore finished the night with 15 carries for 105 yards and the winning score. Despite three interceptions, Moore finished the night with 194 yards passing and two touchdowns, both to Nate Reding. Reding ended up with 132 yards receiving. Omarion Riddick had 81 yard rushing, but left the game early in the second half and did not return.
In addition to their 194 yards passing, the Rebels also ran the ball for 215 yards.
With the win, the Rebels move to 3-2 on the season and 1-2 in the district. They will close out district play next Friday night then they travel to take on McLean County.
Butler County falls to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the district. With a game against Owensboro Catholic the only district game left, the Bears are effectively eliminated from playoff contention.
