Ozark juniors land last blow in 39-34 shootout
Ozark Hillbillies used the clock to hand the junior Blackhawks their first defeat of the year in a 39-34 victory.
The loss overshadowed tremendous running by Zaine Holley, who gained 246 yards on 17 carries.
After a quarter, the ’Billies never crossed mid-field though the ’Hawks had an opportunity on the Ozark 36 when Jonathan Pinto recovered a ’Billie fumble. After gaining a yard, they had to punt to end the threat.
Penalties and sacks by ’Hawk defenders Duncan Truesdell and Hunter Shackleford forced Ozark to punt on a fourth and 28.
A pass from Jakota Sainsbury to Truesdell gained 8; Britton Caudill picked up 5 for a first down. Holley broke through for a 40-yard gainer to the 17-yard line. Hunter Holtgrewe gathered in a pass from Sainsbury to strike paydirt, taking a 6-0 lead with 6:07 in the half.
Things were going the ’Hawks’ way as Sainsbury’s kickoff rolled down the west sidelines to the 6-yard line where Ozark covered it. Five plays later, the ’Billies faced a third and 13 on their 21 when their tailback broke tackles on his way to a 79-yard scoring dash. The kick was good to give the visitors a 7-6 lead with 3:45 before intermission.
That lead stood for 10 seconds as Holley burst up the middle on the first play following the kickoff to score. A 2-point conversion from Sainsbury to Truesdell gave the ’Hawks a 14-7 lead with 3:34 left.
The ’Billies came right back with a 22-yard pass, followed three plays later by a 36-yard pass to tie the game at 14-14 with 1:32.
On the first play from scrim- mage in the third quarter, the ’Billie tailback dashed 65 yards to score the go-ahead score. The kick was good again as Ozark took a 21-14 lead.
Holley ran for 13, 3, 34, 2 and 2 to give the ’Hawks possession on the Ozark 10. From there, Sainsbury connected with Truesdell to climb back to within 1 point. Holley rammed the 2-point conversion through to get the ’Hawks back on top, 22-21.
Missed tackles —’Billies ripped off runs of 11, 11, 17 and 30 back into the end zone and the lead. The kick was wide right as they assumed a 27-22 lead.
On the second play following the kickoff, Holley broke loose yet again, dashing 63 yards before being brought down on the Ozark 4. Two runs later and Holley scored again, giving the ’Hawks a lead at 28-27 with 7:16 left in the game.
The ’Hawks looked good on defense, putting the Ozarkers in a third and 7 situation, but a short pass and several missed tackles later had the ’Billies back into the end zone. The score left the guests on top by a 33-28 margin with 5:41 left in the game.
With the defense now keying on Holley, the ’Hawks countered with a 13-yard pass from Sainsbury to Caudill to get into Ozark territory. After a 7-yard pickup by Robby Pickthal, Sainsbury broke loose on a quarterback keeper which netted 33 yards and another touchdown. The score put the homeboys back on top by a tenous 34-33 margin with 2:52 in the game.
However, the ’Hawks hadn’t stopped the Ozark offense since the first quarter and there was too much time on the clock for the guests. Two runs of 21 and 30 yards caused the most damage as they scored again with the game nearly over.
The game ended at 39-34.