West Central Cougars fall after Carrollton Hawks rally
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Freshman Jeffrey McIntire makes one of numerous tackles on the night for the Cougars. (Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times)
When he wasn’t throwing the ball as quarterback, Chance Little was on defense making tackles such as this one. (Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times)
West Central’s Nolan Melanson has a firm hold on Carrollton’s Lucas Howard as he tries to gain yardage. (Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times)
Conner Turner does a ballet-worthy pirouette to bring down this ball from the quarterback. (Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times)
When he wasn’t throwing the ball as quarterback, Chance Little was on defense making tackles such as this one. (Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times)
By KENT COULTAS
Carrollton rallied to beat West Central 30-26 in football Sept. 8 at Carrollton.
The Cougars (2-1) host Calhoun Friday at 7 p.m. The Warriors (2-1) beat North Greene last week.
West Central fumbled the opening kickoff, and Carrollton had a first down at the Cougars’ 22-yard line. The Cougars did not allow a first down and forced Carrollton to turn the ball over on downs.
Chance Little scored on a 78-yard run three pays later, and West Central 6-0 with 9:01 remaining in the first quarter.
Conner Turner intercepted a pass on Carrollton’s next possession to set up West Central’s second offensive possession.
Landyn Woods caught a 10-yard pass from Ryker Ford for West Central’s second touchdown of the game. Little caught a pass from Ford for the conversion, and the Cougars led 14-0 with 3:34 remaining in the quarter.
Ford had a 19-yard run and completed a 19-yard pass to Nolan Melanson during the drive.
Carrollton faced a third-down and 20 on its next possession but completed a 62-yard pass for a touchdown. They also scored on the conversion to cut West Central’s lead to 14-8.
West Central fumbled on its next offensive play, and Carrollton had first-and goal at the 9-yard line. Carrollton scored three plays to tie the game with 11:56 remaining in the second quarter.
The teams remained tied until Carrollton scored on a three-yard run with 2:57 remaining in the third quarter. They added the conversion to take a 22-14 lead.
West Central cut the lead to two with 10:36 remaining in the game.
Mason Berry caught a nine-yard pass from Ford to narrow the margin to two points. Carrollton stopped the conversion try to maintain a 22-20 lead. The touchdown was set up by a 54-yard pass from Ford to Little.
West Central recovered an on-sides kick but turned the ball over on downs at their own 40-yard line. Carrollton scored on a 2-yard run and added the conversion to take a 30-20 lead with 6:24 remaining in the game.
The Cougars forced a punt on Carrollton’s next possession. West Central blocked the punt, and Woods returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Carrollton stopped the conversion and led 30-26 with 2:37 remaining in the game.
West Central forced another Carrollton punt and got the ball back with 13 seconds remaining. Little gained 15-yards on a pass play, but the Cougars could not get another play off before time ran out.
Carrollton finished with 181 yards of offense in the game. They rushed 99 yards on 43 attempts and passed for 92 yards.
The Cougars gained 164 yards rushing on 31 attempts and passed for 107 yards. They finished with eight first downs.
Little ran for 91 yards on five attempts. Ford ran for 38 yards on six attempts, and Turner ran for 32 yards on 15 attempts.
Ford completed five of 12 attempts with two touchdowns and one interception. Little caught two passes for 69 yards. Melanson caught one pass for 19 yards, and Woods caught one pass for 10. Berry caught one pass for nine yards.
Jeffrey McIntire had 12 tackles for West Central’s defense. Carson Brown had 10 tackles, including one for a loss. Little and Jake Bangert each had nine tackles, including one tackles for a loss. Owen Barber had nine tackles.
Berry and Turner each had one interception.
