LOUISA —
For Perry County Central, it was perhaps divine intervention. For Lawrence County, it was one gamble that just didn’t pay off.
Senior quarterback Austin Pray quickly silenced the crowd at Luke Varney Memorial Field Friday night with an 83-yard touchdown pass to Robert McClain in the game’s final seconds as the Commodores picked up their first win of the season in a 50-49 shootout with the Bulldogs.
Lawrence County (2-2) didn’t have another late-game surge in them. Last week, the Bulldogs narrowly escaped Prestonsburg, 42-41, when junior Ricky Goble scored a game-winning 2-point conversion with no time remaining.
The Bulldogs’ defensive woes were evident most of the night. All but one of Perry Central’s scoring drives was less than one minute. The most pivotal came in the final minutes when Lawrence County quarterback A.J. Cyrus fumbled deep in Perry Central territory, setting up the game-winning drive which included back-to-back gains by McClain.
“We have some athletes, and we know that anytime we have the football, we have a chance to score quick,” said Perry Central coach Justin Haddix. “Those were some seniors out there making big time plays.”
The Commodores improved to 1-3.
Lawrence County (2-2) seemed to be in control in the second half when a 25-yard TD run by freshman Bryce Skaggs put them ahead 43-28 with 6:24 left in the third.
Everything seemed to be going right for the Bulldogs. They recovered three squibbed kicks, including one to open the game and were 4-for-5 on fourth-down conversions.
But it was Pray’s 66-yard punt return that gave the Commodores a prayer as it trimmed their margin to 49-43 with 3:24 left in the game.
During the game-winning score, Lawrence County coach Joe Cecil said his heart sunk to his feet.
“You just hurt for your kids,” he said. The Bulldogs won all facets of the game, including a lopsided time of possession (38:36) and total plays (57 to 33). “It’s just a roller coaster as a coach. You can’t get too high or too low.”
The Bulldogs lost sophomore running back Morgan O’Brian in the first half. He is scheduled to have a MRI today. One bright spot was the play of senior Blake Price, who rushed for 114 yards on 14 carries and reeled in three catches for 54 yards and two touchdowns.
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