By John Gallagher
The game opened poorly for the Cougars with a fumble on their opening play. Battle was badly injured in the play. The Titans went on to score early in the first and take the lead 7-0
.
With Battle out, the Cougars struggled through the first half. On their second drive, the Cougars missed a long field goal. They opened their third drive with a fumble and a three-and-out. Fortunately, the defense kept the Titans from scoring again in the first half. West scored on a long run late in the second. The half ended with the score tied 7-7.
In the middle of the third quarter, an 80-yard run set the Cougars up for another touchdown run by West. But Gadsden City answered right away, and this time, the Titans drove right down the field and scored in under a minute to tie the game 14-14.
The game turned gritty, tense and hard fought late in the third and deep in to the fourth, with one Titan player being ejected.
Clay-Chalkville was unable to convert a long fourth down in the Red Zone. The Titans had a long drive, which ate up the clock and ended with a missed field goal from 23 yards. With 1:01 left in the fourth, the Cougars got the ball back at the twenty and went three and out. A bad punt gave the Titans the ball with a 40-yard field and 18 seconds to play. Even with one second left, the Titans were unable to reach the end zone.
photo by John Gallagher
