Allen County-Scottsville and Glasgow knew that they both couldn’t win Friday.
What they probably didn’t know is that they would compete in a slugfest and the team who scored last would escape with the victory.
The Patriots and Scotties battled from the time of the opening kickoff to the final horn on Friday night at Patriot Stadium, and after a contest that consisted of eight lead changes, ACS protected its home field and won 39-35 in front of a packed crowd.
Glasgow scored the game’s first points just 13 seconds in, but Allen County-Scottsville responded. That rhythm remained the same for the entire contest.
“What an awesome game,” Allen County-Scottsville head coach Brad Hood said. “I’m still a little shaken. Glasgow came out on fire … we fought back. When I thought we were gonna be able to move it around a little bit, they fought back. I’m just really proud of our kids.”
The Scotties (3-1) led 14-6 after the first quarter and the Patriots held a 20-14 advantage at halftime. Similar to the first half, Glasgow was up 29-26 after three before Allen County-Scottsville ultimately came out on top by scoring 13 points in the fourth.
“It’d be far-fetched to go out and find a high school football game better than that,” said Hood. “Two teams that are not that far apart and it’s a big rivalry. There’s pride on the line and I think the people that paid admission tonight got their money’s worth.”
The Patriots, who are now 4-0 for the first time since 2010, were led by the explosive duo of quarterback Chase Wilson and wide receiver Cayden Ross. Wilson completed 22-of-40 passes for a school-record 373 yards and five touchdowns while Ross had seven catches for 133 yards and three scores.
Defensively, Ross also tallied a pair of interceptions.
“You’ve just gotta have faith in your kids and have faith that they’re gonna step up,” Hood said. “This is new territory for us. They’ve got the guts and they’ve got the heart – and this group, led by these seniors, have changed so much in four years. I’ve put them up against anybody when it comes to heart and dedication. “
In Glasgow’s loss, quarterback Dalvin Smith threw for two touchdowns and ran for a pair of scores while receivers Griffin Murphy and Kris Horn had a score each. Running back Sielverio Rescontellio rushed for nearly 100 yards and a TD.
After receiving the opening kickoff, Glasgow’s offense quickly went to work.
On the very first play of the game, Smith hit Murphy from 46 yards out to put the Scotties up 7-0 at the 11:43 mark of the first quarter. Smith took the snap, stepped back and threw a high ball deep downfield to the open Murphy, who caught it and marched into the end zone.
Allen County-Scottsville responded with a 43-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Ross on its first drive. The Patriots’ two-point conversion attempt failed and kept Glasgow up 7-6 with 6:09 remaining in period.
Just under five minutes following ACS’ score, the Scotties pushed their lead to 14-6 on a 41-yard run by the versatile Smith. In shotgun formation, he decided to keep it himself and shifted to the line sideline. On the play, Smith juked a few defenders and broke a few tackles before sprinting for his first rushing score of the night.
“It was an exciting game,” Glasgow coach Jeff Garmon said. “Tonight we gave up some big plays and that’s one of the things that we talked about that we tried to eliminate. We were worried about eliminating (Allen County’s) big plays and keeping them out of the end zone … and we didn’t do that tonight.”
Wilson and Ross struck again midway through the second. Wilson took a handoff and tossed a 14-yard pass to Ross, who shook off two defenders and dove across the line to make it 14-12 at the 6:02 mark.
ACS used an eight-play, 81-yard series in the final minutes of the first half to go into the locker room with plenty of momentum. While a majority of the plays on the drive were passes from Wilson to wide receiver Warren Bray, on the eighth-play Wilson hit Jacob Lightfoot from 24 yards out.
Lightfoot’s first touchdown reception – and a successful two-point try — gave the Patriots their first advantage of the contest – a 20-14 lead at halftime.
Glasgow retook the lead on a two-yard run from Smith at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter, but Allen County wasted no time following up with a score of its own.
On the Scotties’ kickoff to the Patriots, Kelly Wager used nearly the entire distance of the field to record a return touchdown and make it 26-21 with four minutes left in the period.
Smith struck Horn with a 26-yard pass just before the end of the third to give Glasgow a slim 29-26 advantage entering the final quarter.
The Patriots began the fourth with a 20-yard toss from Wilson to Ross, The score put ACS back in front at 32-29 at the 8:24 mark, but a 15-yard run by Glasgow’s Rescontellio suddenly had the Scotties leading 35-32 with 3:41 remaining.
“I thought they played hard all night long,” said Garmon of his team’s effort. “They never panicked and stayed right there. We came back and took the lead back. We had some momentum going and gave it right back to them. There’s some things that we’ve gotta clean up.”
Trailing by three with just minutes left, Wilson sent a deep ball to Andrew Bomar, who reeled in the pass and sprinted into the end zone. The 61-yard play put Allen County-Scottsville on top at 39-35 – and that’s where it remained for the final 3:28 en route to the marquee victory.
“Our kids never give up; they keep fighting,” said Hood. “I’m lucky to be standing here 4-0. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Patriots return to action Friday in a tough test against Class 5A Pulaski County while Glasgow will travel to Warren East. Both games are scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m.
— Follow Sports Insider Tyler Mansfield on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield. —
