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Another Side of Homecoming

After pouncing Breckinridge County on crowning night, the Butler County Bears visited Leitchfield for the Grayson County Cougars’ homecoming this past Friday night. The Bears would bow to the 5A Cougars by the final score of 54-24, despite a hard fought effort.


Both teams traded out punts on their opening possessions. The Cougars hit pay-dirt after taking over at the Bears’ 36-yard line thanks to two consecutive losses that pinned Jake Martin to punt from deep within his own end zone.


Down 6-0, Butler County roared right back when Rex Henderson found Drake Embry across the middle on 3rd and 11. After Embry’s fine catch for 29 yards, Ian Embry bounced it out from the thirty to tie the score, 6-6.
Grayson County coughed up the football on their next possession; however, the Bears could not take advantage of the exceptional situation. Much credit to the Cougars’ pass rush, who brought pressure on a consistent basis all night.


Senior quarterback Talon Gary executed a drive the length of the field after the Bears’ special teams downed a Martin punt inside the five. Gary capped off the drive, which consisted of some good spots by the side judges, on a 29-yard scamper to go up 12-6 just before the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was all Grayson County on the scoreboard, but the outcome could have easily been different. Caleb Deweese and Blake Graham helped move the chains and the Bears appeared as if they were going to tie the score. Unfortunately, Henderson’s scramble came up just shy of another first down and the Cougars took over on downs.
Gary, who had one passing and three rushing touchdowns on the night, pushed the Cougars’ advantage out to 19-6 with ten minutes to play in the first half on a six-yard scoring run. Gary rushed for 124 yards, also.


“Our gameplan was responsibility based to stop the veer. They did a great job taking advantage of our mistakes. We must learn our responsibilities better and understand where we are supposed to be defensively,” Coach Emmick exclaimed. 
Butler County almost recovered another fumble on a fair catch that was mishandled, but the boys in orange maintained. They proceeded to march 59 yards over the next four and a half minutes, converting two fourth downs in the process.
On the second of the two, a 4th and long, Gary found Taylor Wright for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Wright also had two scoring runs in addition to 143 yards on the ground. He had two interceptions on defense, too.


“Grayson did a great job taking advantage of our mistakes and that freed up Wright. He is an excellent football player and our mental mistakes and lack of execution gave him an opportunity to excel in this game. Credit to Grayson, they played a solid fundamentally sound game and we did not,” Coach Emmick continued.
Martin made a terrific tackle to force another fourth down attempt on Grayson’s next possession. Gary slipped before he could pick up an additional conversion, but the Bears were out of time to narrow the margin before the half.


Down 26-6, Butler County came thriving back to start the second half. Graham, who caught ten passes for 116 yards on the night, picked up a quick first down on a catch in the flats. Martin picked up another on a hard-nosed run; then, Drake Embry’s reception resulted in the third first down of the drive.
Kory Johnson took a late hit that drew a flag. This set up a 13-yard Henderson run down to the two. Graham pounded it in from there and the game was within two possessions, 26-12.
Then, Grayson County went on a scoring frenzy. They outscored the Bears 28-6 over the next six minutes and the running clock took over to help erase any comeback thoughts. Graham made several defenders miss when he took a Henderson pass 58 yards for the lone score during that stretch.


Conner Reed, who led the Bears with seven tackles, recovered a fumble late in the game. Jacob Courtenay and Caleb Deweese both continued their defensive presence with six tackles, apiece. Jake Martin also contributed with six, one for a loss. Dillon Brosnan got into the backfield for two tackles for losses, as well.


Coach Emmick’s team (2-2) will start district action this week against Owensboro Catholic (4-1). Catholic brings a versatile squad to Morgantown that can run and throw the football. They are not as big across the front as Grayson, but are always a challenge for the Bears. The Aces routed a good Hancock County team, 60-14 last week.

 

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORES Box Scores for Butler County @ Grayson County.pdf

Story by Greg Moore, Beech Tree News

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