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Bears hang on in Elkton

Last Friday, the Butler County Bears traveled to face a winless Todd County Central team. Although the Rebels had not scored double digits in a game all year, they put together a gutsy effort to scare the Bears, who escaped with a 27-23 district win.

 Early on, it was all Butler County. On the first defensive series, Dillon Brosnan and Conner Reed forced a fumble that Mason Barks quickly pounced on. Then, Blake Graham’s run off tackle from twelve yards out and Rex Henderson’s extra point put the Bears up 7-0.

 On the ensuing kickoff, the Rebels succeeded with pulling a reverse out of Coach Bryan Jones’ bag of tricks. However, Henderson stayed back and Kendall Cardwell never quit. They brought down the ball carrier at the Bears’ 25.

 John Payton and Barks stuffed two runs, consecutively. Henderson and Drake Embry made a swift tackle on a third down Rebel pass completion, which was well short of a first down. Todd County Central’s field goal attempt was unsuccessful.

 Shortly thereafter, Jake Martin took a wide receiver screen 63 yards for the next Bears’ score. The play was exceptionally executed by the offensive line. Cardwell, who runs well, was leading the way, hustling thirty yards downfield and making blocks.

 But, once again, the Rebels took a kickoff more than fifty yards. Finally, Martin took the return man’s legs out and the Rebel player spiraled down across midfield at the forty.

 Reed, who led Butler County with seven tackles (three for losses), negated a third down run and the secondary denied a fourth down pass attempt.

 After taking over on downs, Henderson knifed his way up the middle of the field for a 58-yard touchdown run. His extra point made it 21-0 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.

 Then, the Bears had difficulty stopping the running attack of the upset-minded Rebels. Quarterback Naytrimis Harris broke off a couple of long runs that left defensive backs Kory Johnson and Drake Embry having to make touchdown-saving tackles.

 Dylon Kirby, last week’s player of the game, contributed with significant stops to help the Bears hold the Rebels to a 32-yard field goal.

 Todd County’s special teams struck again when recovered an onside kick, which bounced high and tipped the hand of an outstretched arm of a Bear player.

 “It was a good test for us on special teams. Todd sold out to win on special teams and we made some uncharacteristic mistakes that hurt us. We have looked at the film and know where to make our adjustments,” Coach Emmick said.

 After a couple of pedestrian gains, Harris broke loose and went 27 yards up the middle for a touchdown to make the game 21-10 with ten minutes left in the first half.

 Jacob Hixenbaugh recovered the next onside kick and the Bears went to work on offense. They moved the ball inside the red zone, but a fumble kept points off the board.

 After a quick Todd County three and out, Butler County got the ball back. The Rebels, who were charged with 11 penalties for 95 yards, committed pass interference that moved the chains for the Bears on third down.

 On fourth and seven, Henderson led Graham for a 13-yard touchdown pass, putting the Bears up 27-10 going into the locker room.

 Butler County completed 5/13 3rd down conversions and was 2/2 on 4th down; whereas, Todd County was only 2/12 on 3rd and 1/3 on 4th throughout the game.

 The third quarter was all Todd County. They got touchdown runs of 31 and 21 yards from Harris, while the Bears punted on all their possessions and could not find any rhythm as the rain picked up considerably.

 “Mentally we let down after getting the 21-0 lead. That is a situation where we have to amp up the energy and finish instead of backing off. We have to find the killer instinct at the end of games and put the game away when we have the opportunity,” Emmick stressed.

 Coach Emmick adjusted in the fourth quarter and his Bears’ defense played solid. Jake Martin and Jacob Courtenay were inspirational in leading the defensive stand.

 “We recognized defensively where we were being attacked and adjusted our coverage and linebacker responsibilities. Our defensive backs did a great job in coverage and we were able to stop them when it counted most,” Coach Emmick praised.

 The Bears kept the ball on the ground as much as they could to eat up the clock, but they were forced to pass on third down with not much time left in the game. An interception gave the Rebels one last chance with the ball on the Bears’ 37.

 But, a personal foul pushed the Rebels back behind the fifty and the secondary played very well to prevent the big play. The Bears also got good pressure from up front.

 “At the end there was some frustration and we did a good job not responding. We played disciplined football which we have preached all season long,” Emmick concluded.

 The Bears (4-3) cannot take a break. They will face another difficult challenge this week as they travel to McLean County (4-3). The Cougars are coming off back-to-back losses against Hancock and Union Counties.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORES: Box Scores for Butler County @ Todd County Central.PDF

 Story by Greg Moore, photos by Jeremy Hck, Beech Tree News

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