Pats fall 42-35 to East Jess. in OT
Published 1:01 pm Thursday, September 5, 2019
EAST JESSAMINE quarterback Turner McHolan is dropped for a 6-yard loss by Lincoln County's Darren Griffin. McHolan rushed for four touchdowns in the Jaguars' 42-35 overtime win at Lincoln Friday night.
Photos by Nancy Leedy LINCOLN COUNTY quarterback Nick Harris stretches out a rushing carry against East Jessamine Friday night in the Patriots’ 42-35 overtime loss to the Jaguars.
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STANFORD — Lincoln County’s quest for a second straight victory fell short Friday night at Death Valley Stadium.
In an exciting night of high school football action, Lincoln showed grit and toughness as the Patriots battled right down to the wire in a heartbreaking 42-35 overtime loss to visiting East Jessamine..
“They fought us hard and they ended up coming out on top,” Lincoln coach Spencer Crutchfield said. “They just wore on us. They have more depth than us. We got out of position a couple times offensively and defensively and that’s what killed us. And they’re athletic enough to make big plays.”
The loss was Lincoln’s first overtime loss since Nov. 10, 2006 when the Patriots were edged 28-27 by George Rogers Clark in the Class 4A state playoffs.
Lincoln (1-1) scored the first touchdown Friday just three minutes into the game and the scoring battle was on. The game was tied 14-14 after the first quarter, 21-21 at the half, 28-28 after the third and 35-35 at the end of regulation. However, after a night of trading scores, Lincoln couldn’t answer at the end with East the only team getting in the end zone in the overtime period.
Senior quarterback Turner McHolan scored four rushing touchdowns to help lead the Jaguars (1-1) to the win, tallying each score on a short run. McHolan who had just eight yards rushing on eight carries, scored on runs of 5, 9, 1 and 1 yards, the final 1-yard plunge coming in the overtime to edge East past Lincoln.
East got the ball first in overtime and Lincoln was unable to answer on its OT drive, with a 4th-and-goal pass intended for Clayton Davis broken up in the end zone.
“They’ve (Patriot players) got tears in their eyes. I told them it should hurt a little bit when you put your heart and soul into it,” Crutchfield said. “Definitely proud of my guys and the effort that they gave. I can’t fault their effort.”
Lincoln posted the first lead of the game, with Dylan Burchfield capping off a six-play, 51-yard drive with a 6-yard run with 9:19 still to play in the first quarter. Loren Melton booted the first of his five point after kicks to make it 7-0.
The Patriot lead lasted just short of five minutes, with McHolan answering with his first TD, a 5-yard score, with 4:20 showing. Jon Alverson, who made six point after kicks, put through his first for a 7-7 tie.
East was back in the endzone just 19 seconds later, as Jaylen Taylor returned a Lincoln fumble off the ensuing kickoff to the goal line on a 22-yard scoop and score to make it 14-7.
Less than three minutes later, the game was tied again. Rodney Alcorn, who led the Lincoln rush with 47 yards on 13 carries, took the ball in from 2 yards out for a 14-14 score.
Harris, who went 12-for-17 through the air for 203 yards, completed first-down passes of 23 yards to both Davis and Levi Daugherty on the drive.
Davis, who was Harris’ leading receiver with five catches for 127 yards, gave the edge back to Lincoln, 21-14, midway through the second quarter. Lincoln took over on downs at its own 16 and the drive culminated in a 27-yard pass from Harris to Davis. Harris also threw first-down passes of 10, 24 and 21 yards to Troy Gowins, Davis and Zack Hazlett on the drive.
East, which amassed 512 yards total offense, 355 rushing, stuck to the ground game on its next scoring driving – nine plays, 80 yards. Dylan Moore, who ran for 139 yards on 28 carries, scored on a 24-yard run with 1:43 left in the first half to tie the game at 21-all.
The two longest-sustained leads in the game were held by Lincoln in the second half.
For the second straight week, Levi Daugherty scored on a strip-and-score. Fifty-nine seconds into the third quarter, Daugherty stripped the ball away and ran 55 yards to the goal line to put the Pats up 28-21. It took East until just 47.8 seconds remained in the period to answer. McHolan scored the game-tying TD with a 9-yard run.
Harris ran in a 3-yard touchdown with 10:54 to play in the fourth quarter to put the Patriots back up 35-28 and the team held the lead until just 1:12 remained on the clock. McHolan tied the game back up to force overtime on a 1-yard score.
“We moved the ball offensively, especially early,” Crutchfield said. “You’ve got to give East credit. They made some adjustments and was able to stop us a couple times. We go back to the depth. I’m not making excuses, but we’ve got kids cramping up, trying to piece and part stuff together.”
“We were right there. We’ve just got to continue to come in and get better. That’s what I told these guys. I said we’ve got to stay on the process. We’re not where we’re going to be and that’s the main thing. We’re going to continue to get better. We’re going to continue to work. I want them to stay positive.”
Lincoln had 298 offensive yards, including 95 on the ground. Burchfield rushed for 40 yards on seven carries.
Valdon Miles led East’s rushing game, picking up 152 yards on 17 carries.
Defensively, Burchfield, Gowins, Davis and Rafe Shelton led Lincoln with double-digit tackles. Burchfield had 13 tackles (11 solos), Gowins had 12 tackles (6 solos), and Davis and Shelton both had 10 tackles. Davis had six solos and Shelton, five. Darren Griffin had nine tackles (5 solos).
at Lincoln Co.
East Jess. 14 7 7 7 7 – 42
Lincoln 14 7 7 7 0 – 35
Scoring
1st Qtr
Lincoln: 9:19 – Dylan Burchfield 6-yard run (Loren Melton kick).
East Jessamine: 4:20 – Turner McHolan 5-yard run (Jon Alverson kick).
East Jessamine: 4:11 – Jaylen Taylor 22-yard fumble recovery (Alverson kick).
Lincoln: 1:24 – Rodney Alcorn 2-yard run (Melton kick).
2nd Qtr
Lincoln: 5:26 – Clayton Davis 27-yard pass from Nick Harris (Melton kick).
East Jessamine: 1:43 – Dylan Moore 24-yard run (Alverson kick).
3rd Qtr
Lincoln: 11:01 – Levi Daugherty 55-yard fumble return (Melton kick).
East Jessamine: :47.8 – McHolan 9-yard run (Alverson kick).
4th Qtr
Lincoln: 10:54 – Harris 3-yard run (Melton kick).
East Jessamine: 1:12 – McHolan 1-yard run (Alverson kick).
OT
East Jessamine: McHolan 1-yard run (Alverson kick).
Game Stats
EJ LC
Rushing 59-355 28-95
Passing 5-10-0 12-17-0
Yards 80 203
Total Off./Yds 69-512 45-298
First Downs 19 11
Fumbles/Lost 4/2 1/0
Penalties 4/35 4/40
Individual Stats
Rushing
East Jessamine
Valdon Miles: 17 carries, 157 yards.
Dylan Moore: 28 carries, 139 yards, TD.
Turner McHolan: 11 carries, 34 yards, 4TDs.
Jaylen Taylor: 3 carries, 30 yards.
Lincoln
Rodney Alcorn: 13 carries, 47 yards, TD.
Dylan Burchfield: 7 carries, 40 yards, TD.
Nick Harris: 8 carries, 8 yards, TD.
Passing
East Jessamine
Turner McHolan – 5-10-0, 80 yards.
Receiving
Dylan Moore – 2-25 yards; Jaylen Taylor – 1-25; Derek Bokros – 1-16; Caleb Smith – 1-14.
Lincoln
Nick Harris – 12-17-0, 203 yards, TD.
Receiving
Clayton Davis – 5-127 yards, TD; Levi Daugherty – 1-33; Zack Hazlett – 3-21; Troy Gowins – 2-18; Rafe Shelton – 1-4.
