Penalties at inopportune times and a punt that should have been fielded but wasn't may have cost the Cougars (5-4; 2-3 in district play) a chance to beat the Panthers (5-5; 5-1) and virtually assure themselves of a postseason playoff spot.
Daviess County was on the board first, taking the opening kickoff and moving 59 yards in 12 plays. Facing a third-and-five situation at the Cougar 24, the Panthers' Alex Johnson carried near a first down, but the Cougars were flagged for a late hit and the Panthers were awarded a first down at the nine. Three plays later, Johnson carried in from the three. Johnson then kicked the extra point to make it 7-0 at the 6:08 mark.
Blake Newton returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to give the Cougars good field position at their own 41, but they were unable to pick up a first down. Gavin Logsdon's punt went into the end zone for a touchback, but the Panthers were flagged for a block in the back and were backed up at their own 5-yard line.
On third down the Cougars got a big break when Panther quarterback Timmy Wimsatt never got a handle on a snap and the Cougars recovered the loose ball at the Panther 11. It took Grayson County just two plays to score from there as Newton took the handoff on a counter play and went in from six yards out. Logsdon tacked on the extra point, and with 2:36 left in the first period, things were knotted at seven apiece.
The Cougars defense held on the next Panther possession and Grayson County took over at their own 27 at the 11:30 mark of the second period. On a third-and-10 play, Kevin Phelps ran for 13 yards and a first down. The Cougars picked up another first down to move into Panther territory, but the drive bogged down at that point and Logsdon punted again, pinning the Panthers at their own seven with 7:19 to play in the half.
Grayson County had the Panthers in a tough, third-and-eight situation, but Johnson rambled for nine yards and the Panthers were on their way. From there they drove steadily downfield, picking up five more first downs, the last one coming at the Cougar eight. But Grayson County stiffened at that point as time was expiring and forced the Panthers to use their time outs.
Facing a fourth-and-goal at the four, Daviess County called a timeout with :33.8 showing on the clock. Back on the field, they handed the ball to Nathan Logsdon, and the sophomore running back carried up the middle for the go-ahead score. Johnson's kick was good, and with 29 seconds left to play, the Panthers led 14-7.
Opening the second half, Newton had another fine return, taking the ball at the nine at coming all the way out to the Cougar 42. Brian Sandlin picked up 17 yards on first down, then on a fourth-and-two, Newton gained 10 yards to set the Cougars up at the Panther 23.
Two plays later, Sandlin carried to the Panther eight to give Grayson County a first-and-goal and it looked as though the Cougars would tie things up. However, a holding penalty moved the Cougars back to the 20, where they had first-and-goal.
On the next play, Phelps was intercepted by Panther safety John Worth and the scoring opportunity was lost.
The teams traded punts on their next two possessions, but during the exchange, the Cougars hurt themselves again. Daviess County punted from their own 34. When the Cougars failed to field the punt at about their own 35, the ball rolled all the way back to the 13. When the Cougars were flagged for an illegal block in the back, they were backed up at their own seven.
On third-and-three, Sandlin appeared to be breaking into the open, but was just chipped and brought down short of the first down, forcing another punt.
The punt died at the Cougar 41, and the Panthers took over there and began moving for the deciding touchdown. Taking over with 1:03 left in the third quarter, they faced a second-and-inches at the 20 as the fourth quarter began.
Daviess converted, then took just four more plays to find the end zone. Nathan Logsdon carried in again, this time from four yards out and Jon Flaspoehler added the extra point to make it 21-7 at the 10:21 mark.
Needing to score quickly, Grayson County got another great, 35-yard return from Newton, setting them up at their own 41. Three straight running plays moved the ball inside the Panther 15 and forced the Panthers to call a timeout.
As a time out did last week against Owensboro, this call seemed to take all the steam out of the Cougar drive and they turned the ball over on downs at the seven.
The Cougar defense was up to the task and kept the Panthers bottled up. The two teams traded punts, with the Cougars eventually taking over at the Panther 34 with 2:14 left to play.
Lightning then struck on second down, as Phelps hit an open Newton near the sideline. The shifty receiver faked one man completely out of the play, then picked up a key block on the sideline and raced 34 yards for the score with 1:56 remaining.
The Cougars tried for the two-point conversion and Sandlin seemed to have it, but he was denied.
That brought up an onside kick attempt, and the Cougars executed perfectly, except they didn't come up with the ball. Gavin Logsdon's kick had just passed 10 yards when a pair of Cougars fell on the ball, but neither player could come up with it and the ball squirted forward into the arms of a Panther player.
Using their timeouts, the Cougars got the ball back one more time, but time ran out before they could advance across midfield.
Next week's final game will be at home against Greenwood. Game time for Cougars' Senior Night is set for 7:30 p.m.
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