Bears Take Down Chiefs
By: Nick Hall
The Plainview Bears won the turnover battle with the North Jackson Chiefs Friday night and came away with a hard-fought 36-35 win in overtime. The first quarter, which was marked by numerous turnovers and stalled drives, remained scoreless.
After runs of 61 yards by Brody McCurdy and 18 yards by Marcos Vega to close the first quarter, McCurdy came in from 2 yards out to put the Bears on top to open the second quarter. Geovanny Chaparro’s PAT made it 7-0.
The Chiefs answered immediately with a 58-yard touchdown run by Johnny Gilliam on the Chiefs’ next drive. The PAT was wide right, leaving the Bears up 7-6 with 10:52 remaining in the half. Plainview was forced to punt on their next drive but got the ball back when Noah White intercepted a pass at the Chiefs’ 30-yard line. Unable to advance the ball, the Bears punted again. This time, Carter Gass caught an 89-yard touchdown strike and North Jackson elected to go for two. The 2-point conversion was successful, and the Chiefs took a 14-7 lead with 3:30 left until halftime.
The Bears went back on defense where Logan Bell had a 75-yard pick-six. After a penalty pushed Plainview back on their PAT attempt, the Bears elected to go for two and were successful again. Plainview took a 15-14 lead to the locker room at the half.
The second half was more of the same as the Bears once again won the turnover battle. The last one set Plainview up at North Jackson’s 22-yard line. McCurdy ran for his second touchdown of the night, and the PAT was good to put the Bears back up 22-14 with 5:10 left in the third. The Chiefs answered with another Gilliam touchdown, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed to leave the score at 22-20.
Plainview put together another long scoring drive to end the third quarter with another McCurdy touchdown. Chapparo’s PAT was wide leaving the score at 28-20 heading into the final quarter. Gilliam scored again from 3 yards out with 4:07 left in the game. The Chiefs converted their two-point attempt, and the game ended tied 28-all.
The Chiefs received the ball first in overtime and quickly scored on a Gilliam run. The PAT was good, and North Jackson led 35-28. On Plainview’s possession, Noah White hit Brody McCurdy in the back of the endzone on a fourth-and-8 pass. In a bold move, the Bears elected to go for two and the win which they got when McCurdy barreled up the middle to give Plainview the 36-35 victory.
“Were very proud of our football team,” said Plainview head coach Nick Ledbetter. “We challenged our team to create turnovers, and we challenged them to be the toughest team. We told our guys the toughest team has never lost, and they responded. They fought their guts out and found a way to win.”
Chiefs head coach Chandler Tygard wasn’t happy with the turnovers. “When you play on the road, have five turnovers and 19 penalties for 155 yards, you usually won’t even be in the game,” said Tygard. “All the credit goes to Plainview’s coaches and players. All the little things we’ve harped on all summer showed their ugly head Friday night. I think our players finally understand that those little things add up to a 1-point loss.”