Callaway 20 LaGrange 14 OT

Around 10 minutes before airtime, a Cavalier supporter said he expected the score to resemble a lopsided basketball game. I don't know about you, but I have never seen a lopsided basketball game turn out scoreless at the half. To use a highly technical term, this game was a slobber knocker.

LaGrange was forced to punt on its opening possession, but the Granger defense caused the Cavaliers to fumble on there's. LaGrange then turned the ball over on downs at the Callaway 21, and the Cavaliers had to punt. The teams battled to a stalemate, but Lagrange put together a long, drawnout drive. Four minutes into the second quarter, Lagrange had a 50 yard drive in 13 plays that took more than 5 1/2 minutes. But they could not turn it into points. Callaway's second turnover came with 48 seconds left to go in the half but Ahmad Ogletree threw his first interception of his career on the very next play. Tristian Dozier returned the favor, picking off a Dre Martin pass. The first half ended with the score knotted at zero.

I did not keep up with the yardage, but by my math Lagrange had around 15 minutes time of possession to Callaway's nine.

The second half started out much like the first half went. Callaway turn the ball over on downs while the Grangers were forced to punt. The Cavaliers coughed the ball up on the first play of their second drive, and this time Lagrange capitalized. A seven play, 36 yard drive ended when Kimani Barnes found the end zone from one yard out. 7-0 Grangers. Callaway went three and out, and LaGrange only needed six plays to go 57 yards. An eight yard run by Jeremiah Wright found paydirt, and it was 14-0 Grangers with 9:22 left in the game.

After an exchange of punts, the Cavaliers struck quickly.  It only took three plays to go 69 yards. Terry Godwin caught a 27 yard touchdown pass and the Cavaliers were down by one score. On the next Granger possession, Ogletree took a third and five play and made a miracle out of it. He was bottled up, escaped, and scampered to the Callaway 30 yard line. But LaGrange fumbled the ball away on the very next play. And Callaway would make them pay for it. An 80 yard drive in nine plays ended when Eddie Culpepper scored from five yards away with 21 seconds left in the game. 14-14 and on to overtime we go.

LaGrange started OT getting a first down to the 4 yard line. On third down, Mon Denson leaped over the top and almost broke the plane of the goal line. On fourth down, the Grangers went for it but was stopped right at the goal line again. Callaway took over in the bottom of the overtime, and it only took three plays to find the end zone. Martin ran it in from four yards out and Callaway wins 20-14.

It was definitely a hard fought battle both ways. The Cavalier players and fans acted like they won the Super Bowl when the touchdown was scored. There was a lot of upside to how both teams played. Now the Grangers host Troup in the first non-region game since 2003. That means this game doesn't mean anything, right?

Even I know better than that.