Trailing by three points with less than a minute left in regulation, Kosciusko’s defense pounced on a Choctaw Central fumble at the 50-yard line.
With new life, the Whippets’ offense took the field and attempted to win the contest in the final seconds. The opportunity dissipated when Ethan Wood’s last-second heave to Antonio Harmon fell to the ground in the end zone.
Choctaw Central escaped with a 38-35 home win on Friday in Kosciusko’s Region 4-4A opener.
“It came down to where we had to take a shot into the end zone, and Antonio actually got his hands on the ball,” Kosciusko coach Kelly Causey said. “The guy just did a good job putting his hands on the ball and knocked it out. It was a great effort by Antonio.”
Harmon injured his ankle on the play, and Causey said the receiver will undergo evaluation early this week. His status for Friday’s contest against West Lauderdale is unknown.
The loss dropped the Whippets to 1-5 on the season.
Harmon's injury is just one of many that have plagued Kosciusko this season. Causey said he believes his team is without five starters due to them.
“We looked at our starters for the year and who has become a starter, and we lost five starters throughout the year in some capacity,” Causey said.
Kosciusko led 21-17 at halftime and built an 11-point lead in the third quarter, but the Warriors outscored the Whippets 21-14 over the last 24 minutes to secure the win.
Choctaw Central’s Eli Joe opened the night’s scoring with a 2-yard run with 7:14 remaining in the first quarter, but Harmon returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Will Carter’s extra-point kick tied the score at 7 with 6:56 left in the opening quarter.
Whippets running back Kentaveus Washington pushed Kosciusko ahead with a 1-yard scoring run at the 7:51 mark of the second quarter, which Carter again followed with another successful PAT.
Choctaw Central responded with a pair of scores to regain the lead.
Receiver Kashdem Bell pulled in a 68-yard touchdown pass from Gerald Isom, a converted quarterback, and kicker Graviel Velasco booted a 23-yard field goal to give the home team a 17-14 advantage with 3:39 left before halftime.
Not to be outdone, Washington tallied his second touchdown of the contest on a 5-yard run with 1:05 left to play in the second quarter. Carter’s extra-point attempt sent the Whippets into halftime with a four-point lead.
“I thought we played a lot better than we played Choctaw County,” Causey said of his team’s last opponent. “The kids gave great effort. Choctaw Central is not a bad ball club — they really aren’t.”
The Warriors regained the lead in the third quarter after a 12-yard touchdown pass from Joe to Isom, but Harmon and Wood connected on a 6-yard touchdown throw and catch at the 5:35 mark in the third quarter to take a 28-24 lead after Carter’s PAT.
Washington rushed for his third touchdown of the game on a 21-yard run, which Carter followed with a successful extra-point kick, to build Kosciusko’s advantage to 35-24 with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter.
Two long touchdown passes from Joe to Isom (37 yards) and Azalius Lewis (27 yards) in the third and fourth quarters, were enough to complete the Choctaw Central comeback.
“We had him in double coverage, to be honest with you, and he went up and got it,” Causey said of Isom. “He’s a heck of a player. They’re a good ball club… we’re struggling. We looked at today, and right now, we have three seniors starting on offense and three seniors starting on defense. We’re still young. But that’s no excuse. We need to be performing a lot better than we are.”
Washington finished with 82 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. Harmon tallied 69 yards receiving and one touchdown on eight catches. Wood was 16 of 24 for 116 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.
The Whippets finished with 182 yards of offense, while the Warriors accumulated 444 yards (314 passing and 130 rushing).
