Towns County falls in overtime to Mount Zion 21-20

The Towns County Indians (2-2) hosted the Mount Zion Eagles (3-0) in a non-conference match up this past Friday night on a rain-soaked field.

The Indians came into the matchup with a 2-1 record after a win over Lumpkin County the prior week. With the momentum of making short work of Lumpkin, the Indians looked to continue their success, but were plagued with penalties early on and continued to plague them throughout. 

Mt Zion won the toss and deferred till the second half allowing Towns the chance to strike first.  Towns moved the ball on their first possession but was stopped by Mt. Zion after a few short gains through the air. Mt Zion gained control after Towns County punted the ball and had great success after scoring on a 26-yard touchdown, but unfortunately for the Eagles there was a holding called and the touchdown was called back. The first quarter was filled with back and forth running and passing, but neither team was able to get in the endzone.

Scoreless heading into the second quarter, this is where Towns penalty troubles started. After getting called on several false starts the Indians were facing a 2nd and 20 from their own 27-yard line. Towns County quarterback Mason Thomas was able to connect with Collin Crowder on a 32-yard strike which seemed to change the tone for the Indians. Then Thomas connected again on a 9-yard reception to Garrett Oakes getting them inches from the first down. The next play was a handoff to Kyle Oakes which came up short after getting an official measurement and missing on a huge fourth down conversion. The turnover on downs gave the Eagles a chance to strike first and after getting a huge gain on the ground it looked like they may get in the endzone, but the Indians were able to knock the ball loose and recover deep in the own territory. With another shot the Indians struggled again and after going four and out the Eagles were able to finally strike on a 33-yard touchdown. The Indians were not giving up though, after making several passes to both K. Oakes and Collin Crowder there were able to move the ball down field. Looking at fourth down inside the Eagles 30-yard line, G. Oakes caught a 27-yard pass with .37 left in the half tying it up at seven apiece to end the second quarter.

The second half of play was much like the first. The rain was a huge factor in all facets of the game. The tackling was a huge issue as was the handling of the ball. The Eagles came out hungry and moved the ball as such, but then Indians Payton Ivester grabs an interception and gets brought down at the Eagles 47-yard line. Short lived the Eagles forced another fumble giving them good position. The Eagles were able to move the ball and score on the back of a 25-yard run. The PAT was missed and at nearly the end of the third quarter the Eagles took a 13-7 lead. The Indians were able to get a solid nine-yard run before the end of the third quarter.

Towns with the ball at there own 44-yard line made a few good attempts at moving the ball but came up just shy and had to punt the ball. Mt. Zion was unable to capitalize and turned the ball over on downs. The Indians Kyle Oakes was a huge part of offense, especially in the final quarter. After moving the ball down field, both in the air and ground, the Indians found the endzone on a K. Oakes one yard run with about a minute and a half left in the game. After missing the PAT, the score was tied up 13-13. The Eagles with one last chance went four and out giving the Indians a chance with about thirty seconds on the clock. Again K. Oakes was able to run picking up several first downs, marching the Indians closer to the win. With just half a second left Towns decided to kick a field goal from 44 yards out and was short ending the game and forcing overtime.

Each team was given a chance to score and Towns did not disappoint. After finding the endzone but coming up short on the 2-PT conversion, the Eagles also were able to score and was successful with the 2-Pt conversion winning the game 21-20.

Towns will be traveling to Lakeview Academy on October 10, 2020.