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It was a back and forth contest in Effingham, Kansas on Friday night between two teams that desperately needed a win, but when the dust settled it was the McLouth Bulldogs coming away with a big 24-12 win over ACCHS in week 2 of Class 3A district play.
In a game where both teams so desperately needed a win, it was McLouth that came out strong to begin the ballgame taking the opening kick and driving it right down the field into the endzone on a 22 yard scamper by senior runningback Jace Carlton to give them the first points of the evening and a 6-0 lead at the end of one quarter of play.
The two teams would trade possessions for most of the second quarter as both defenses played tough until late in the quarter. The Bulldogs finally were able to get something going late in half after intercepting a Tiger pass setting them up in great field position all the way to the ACCHS 34 yard line. After a few short run plays the Bulldogs got all the way down to the Tiger one with just 11 seconds to go in the half and on the ensuing play Carlton would dive into the endzone for his second touchdown of the half and give McLouth a 12-0 lead heading into the break.
Coming out of halftime ACCHS needed to put some points on the board before things got out hand. The Tigers would have their chance as they would have the opening possession of the third quarter and they would make it count. After getting a good return on the kickoff ACCHS would decide to go the air attack. Sophomore quarterback Lane Bowen was able to shake off his 0-5 passing in the first half and complete three of his first four attempts of the third quarter with the third completion being a 24 yard touchdown to senior Logan Bowen to put the Tigers on the board and pull them within one score with 9:39 left in the third quarter.
It was then up to the Tiger defense to make something happen and they were able to come out and stop the Bulldogs on a fourth down play to give their offense the ball back and a chance to tie. Lane Bowen would continue his hot passing completing his next four passes and the fourth one being another 24 yard touchdown to Logan Bowen to tie things up at 12 with just 2:31 to go in the third.
The Bulldogs would then have their chance to respond but the ACCHS defense forced another three and out and made another big play blocking the McLouth punt to give them the football right back at the Bulldog 34 yard line with just 1:38 left in the quarter. It was now turn for the McLouth defense to come up big and they were able to hold the Tigers on three plays to get the ball back to begin the fourth quarter.
After going back to the run game the Bulldog offense was able to run off the first 5:24 of the fourth quarter before finding the endzone on another run by Jace Carlton, his third score of the evening, to put McLouth back on top 18-12 with 6:36 left in the ballgame.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bulldogs kicked it short and after two Tiger players ran into each other the ball rolled around on the ground and McLouth recovered the loose football giving them a chance to run out the clock and come away with a win. ACCHS did have a chance to stop the clock and get the football back but on a key fourth down play Carlton would convert before quarterback Jack Courtney found the endzone from one yard out to put the Bulldogs up two scores with just 1:48 to go. The Tigers still had a chance but after a crucial holding penalty the McLouth defense was able to sack Lane Bowen twice to end any hope ACCHS had to come away with the 24-12 win.
In the win for McLouth, senior runningback Jace Carlton finished the evening with three touchdowns on 36 carries and 182 yards. Senior quarterback Jack Courtney was 11-16 through the air for 104 yards with no passing touchdowns but he did have one score on the ground for McLouth. The Bulldogs move to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in district play which puts them in a must win situation next week as they will be on the road at Maur Hill Mount Academy to finish up the regular season.
For the ACCHS Tigers sophomore quarterback Lane Bowen finished 8-14 passing for 101 yards and two touchdowns both coming on 24 yard passes to Logan Bowen but they just weren't able to put anything else on scoreboard which resulted in the loss. The Tigers season will come to an end next week with another home game as they will play host to Pleasant Ridge.
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