Homecoming Thriller: East Holds On to Beat South in District Opener

One point.

After 48 minutes of football in a game filled with momentum swings left and right, the difference was just one point. The Lions(3-3, 3-1) and Bulldogs (4-2, 3-2) fought back and forth all day long. Each team came up with big fourth-down stops, clutch plays and big scores. 

In the end, it was the Lions who would end up on top, pulling out a 21-20 win in the Class 5, District 4 opener.

The deciding point came as the result of a failed extra point attempt by the Bulldogs. Following a scoring drive that cut the Lions' lead to 21-20, the Bulldogs went for the point after and the tie. A bad snap South holder Brett Simon and hit the tour. 

The Lions' defense swarmed like sharks to chum. The Bulldogs' kicker, Brett Smith, tried to scramble for a two-point conversion, but couldn't. East had the stop, and the one-point lead.

South had a chance get the win on the final drive of the game, but once again the Lions defense was ready. Facing a fourth and 10, East's Windsor Eaves picked off a pass from Simon with 32 seconds left to seal the victory.

"Our kids were just believing and not giving up," Lions head coach Scott Eacret said. 

South and East played to a scoreless tie in the first quarter. Neither offense could generate much and both defenses came up with big fourth-down stops. 

The Bulldogs finally gave the packed crowd on homecoming day a reason to cheer early in the second quarter. Following a successful fake punt where Dillon Bowman hit Cole Simon for a 26-yard gain, South was deep into the Lions' territory. With 7:40 left in the half, Brett Simons hit Marcus Smith in the back-right corner of the endzone for an 11-yard score and a 7-0 lead.

South tacked on another score on its next possession. Again after a successful fourth down try, the Bulldogs were staring at the goal-line. Chase Abbington punched in the rock from one-yard out and the Bulldogs had a 14-0 lead with 1:44 left before the break.

East, however, wasn't ready to go into the locker room down two scores. The Lions took the ball 80 yards in 1:15. Mike Mahoney had the big play for the Lions, snaring a pass 35 yards to take East deep into South territory. 

East quarterback Brandon Barrett then scored on a seven-yard run with 16 seconds left in the half. A blocked extra point made the score 14-6 in favor of the Bulldogs at the midway point. 

"It was huge," Eacret said. "It gave us the momentum heading into the locker room. This was a game of big swings."

The Lions were able to tie things up in the third quarter. Barrett scored his second touchdown of the day with a four-yard score. Barrett and Mahoney connected up the middle for two points to tie things up 14-14 with 3:02 remaining in the third. 

East was started the scoring drive at the Bulldogs' 29-yard line after a questionable call from the officials. On a fourth-and-five, the Bulldogs sent out the punt team. A hard snap count drew the Lions offside and appeared to give the Bulldogs a first down—at least that's what the referee signaled. After a debate, the ball was moved back a yard and the Bulldogs were inches away from a first. 

Zumwalt South went for the first, but failed, and turned over the ball. 

East nearly took a lead early in the fourth. The Lions' Tim Smith read a pass perfectly and picked off Simon. Smith rumbled to the seven before being hauled down. 

Unfortunately for the Lions, the Bulldogs defense wasn't ready to break. Four tries later, the Lions came away empty-handed and the Bulldogs had a big fourth-quarter stop. 

The Bulldogs couldn't turn the stop into points. East got the ball back and eventual took the lead. Led by backup quarterback Tommy Bryan—Barret injured his left knee in the contest—the Lions were able to get on top for the first time all day. Bryan made the best out of a blown play by fining 6-foot-6-inch

LaRoyce Eason for a 16-yard score and a 21-20 Lions lead. 

"We had a hitch called—I wish I could take credit for that," Eacret said. "We had hitch called, and it got blown up. The quarterback scrambled and the receiver made a nice adjustment. The quarterback just put it on him."

South answered right back. The Bulldogs marched down the field and Abbington punched in his second one-yard score of the day. The extra point was no good and the final drive failed to produce points.

"It's never any one persons fault—we didn't get it done when we needed to get it done," South head coach Scott Fulton said. 

South will take on Holt next week at 7 p.m. Oct. 7.

East will head home to take on Fort Zumwalt North in another Saturday game. The Lions will play at 1 p.m.