GLASGOW—Glasgow did not even convert a first down in the first quarter, and district foe Monroe County had all the momentum the entire first half.
But the Scotties quickly regained their footing, backup quarterback Tanner Abernathy stepped up after the injury to starter Dalvin Smith, and Glasgow put up 31 unanswered points en route to a 45-21 victory over the Falcons on Friday night.
“We played really well in the second half,” Glasgow coach Jeff Garmon said. “We hung in there in the first half and fought through some adversity, and I thought we really played well in the second half.”
Monroe County (6-2, 1-1 Class 2A District Three) led 7-0 at the end of the first period after an 18-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ty Mink to fellow senior Billy Michael Dyer, and the Falcons extended the lead to 14-0 on a 8-yard scoring run for Braden Murphy at the 11:08 mark of the second quarter.
The Scotties—who were yet to gain even a first down—then went on a rather impressive drive, capped off by sophomore Nick Mitchell’s 6-yard touchdown run.
After the teams traded punts, Mink’s pass was picked off by Glasgow senior Sielverio Rescontellio and returned 52 yards all the way down to the Monroe County 2-yard line. Mitchell then took it in for the score once again before Abernathy found junior Kris Horn on the two-point-conversion to knot it up at 14 apiece.
However the Falcons were not fazed.
Monroe County continued their offensive onslaught, driving deep in Scottie territory before Mink connected with Braxton Walker from eight yards out to give the Falcons a 21-14 lead with 28 seconds remaining in the half.
Glasgow (6-2, 2-0) then taught Monroe County a lesson on why you always play to the final whistle. The Scotties returned the ensuing kickoff into Falcon territory, and senior Griffin Murphy rumbled into the end zone from 36 yards out via a screen pass on the last play of the half to make it 21-21 at the intermission.
The remaining 24 minutes of the game would belong to Glasgow.
The Scotties went up for the first time on senior Noah Howard’s 27-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the third quarter, and Glasgow never looked back the rest of the way.
Abernathy continued his impressive performance by picking off Mink before a 36-yard run by Mitchell set up a first-and-goal. Mitchell then took the handoff and charged in three yards for his third score of the night to put Glasgow up 31-21 at the end of the third quarter.
Monroe County was given new life when it recovered a fumble deep in its own territory, but the Falcons were unable to score the rest of the way while the Scotties added 14 more points in the quarter to cap off their remarkable second half performance.
Abernathy led the Scotties in the win, completing 8-of-16 passes for 119 yards and a score while rushing for 154 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. The sophomore also recorded an interception on the defensive side of the ball.
“He played very well,” Garmon said. “We like those type of performances. It’s not a surprise, he’s done it before, and he’s a special football player.”
Mitchell also made a significant impact for the Scotties in the win, rushing for 100 yards and three touchdowns on 16 attempts.
Mink completed 23-of-34 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns while rushing an additional 60 yards, but the Falcons’ quarterback also tossed three interceptions in the loss.
Glasgow will now look to stay undefeated in district play, as the Scotties play host to Metcalfe County on Friday night.
“We have to play Metcalfe (Friday night) and that’s where our focus goes,” Garmon said. “We’ll enjoy tonight but be working on them tomorrow.”
Meanwhile Monroe County will look to return to the winning path against Green County.
