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Seven years of frustration were erased in one night as the No. 5 Ava Bears (3-0) knocked off the No. 3 Mountain Grove Panthers (2-1) 22-19 Friday night at Panther Stadium.
“This is a program-defining win for us,” Ava head coach Dan Swofford said. He knows what this rivalry means – he’s been on both sides of it.
Junior quarterback Caleb Johnson led Ava with 69 yards on the ground and ran in the game winning touchdown with 1:59 to play on a fourth down play from the one-yard line.
“We’re a family,” Johnson said of his Bears.
He helped lead his squad down the field on an impressive opening drive capped off by a Quincey McDonald touchdown run to give Ava a 7-0 lead.
Carter Otwell’s Panthers came back with a drive that seemed to stall around midfield, but the senior quarterback pulled another rabbit out of his hat and avoided multiple sacks while finding Chance Barbe for a first down. A few plays later he converted a 3rd and 18, and then tied the game with a short scamper with 1:42 left in the first quarter.
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Johnson didn’t wait until he was back on offense to strike again, however.
The Panthers squibbed the ensuing kickoff right to Johnson, and the junior hugged the Mountain Grove sideline for a 56 yard touchdown to put Ava back on top seconds after they lost their lead. They went for two and came away with a 15-7 lead near the end of the first quarter.
Mountain Grove went back to work in the second quarter and Will Gourley brought the Panthers back within 15-13, but a penalty turned their two point conversion attempt into a seven-yard gamble, and the Panthers came up short.
After a scoreless slugfest of a third quarter, tensions rose in the fourth. Mountain Grove was inching towards a go-ahead touchdown, but the Bear defense shut the door on fourth down. They carried that momentum forward on a long drive that sucked the clock down to the two minute mark on a fourth and one when Johnson carried Ava to a near insurmountable lead.
Near.
Otwell and the Panthers fought back and marched down the field in just over a minute to cut the deficit back to three. A euphoric Ava sideline and fan section were suddenly quiet. Mountain Grove lined up for the onside kick with just over 40 seconds left in the game. The ball bounced around, and each team had a shot at it, but the Bears recovered. Euphoria resumed as the Bears took a knee to ice the game.
They waited seven years for this moment. What was one more onside kick?
Ava 15 0 0 7 22
Mountain Grove 7 6 0 6 19
