Division II Middle Tennessee Christian School (1-4, 1-2) rolled into Frog Bottom to face the seventh-ranked Cornersville Bulldogs (3-2, 2-0) in a non-region matchup Friday night.

The Cougars were pushing down the field as time ticked away in the fourth quarter, trailing by eight points when Cornersville’s Jackson Mitchell intercepted a Jackson Green pass to secure a 22-14 Bulldog victory.

“As many young guys as we have this game helped them to know that with hard work, determination, and staying the course we can pull together and get a victory.” Cornersville coach Gerard Randolph said.

The strong running of Cougar tailback Kamari McGowan, who ran through, over, and around the Bulldog defenders for 128 yards on the ground and 42 more yards via pass receptions, led statistically in almost every category but one – the final score.

After taking a handoff, McGowan would hesitate for a split second, see the hole his offensive lineman had made for him, then with a burst of speed he would be past the line and the Bulldog linebackers and defensive backs would have to make the tackle.

The Cougars won the coin toss and elected to receive with McGowan fielding Jackson Williams’ kick at the Cougar 15-yard line, returning it to the 22-yard line.

A first down pass from Greene to Trey Harris was good for 6 yards.

McGowan and Harris went to work, slashing off runs and the Cougars drove down the field on a 14-play drive that culminated with a McGowan 2-yard touchdown run and Garriot Scott’s PAT was good for a 7-0 lead.

Scott’s kickoff went to Cason Warner at the 34-yard line and the Bulldog running back moved it out to the Cougar 49-yard line.

The Bulldogs began a nine-play drive with Brady Calahan and Warner mirroring the Cougars’ running attack.

The only pass of the drive was when Jackson Farler hit Mitchell for a 15-yard gain that put the ball on MTCS 25-yard line.

From there, Calahan carried the ball twice to the Cougar 7-yard line as time ran out in the first quarter.

The first play of the second quarter saw Warner plow up the middle for the touchdown and with Williams’ PAT splitting the goal posts, the Bulldogs tied the game at 7.

The Cougars began their second possession from their own 20-yard line as Williams’ kick sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

This time the Bulldogs front line stiffened and the Cougars were forced to punt after Green’s third-and-five pass fell incomplete.

“That’s what it’s all about, the big guys up front willing their way,” Randolph said.

Green’s punt went to the Bulldogs’ 46-yard line where Cornersville tried their hand.

A second-and-seven pass from Farler to Mitchell moved the ball to the MTCS 35-yard line where Calahan rushed for one yard, and Rhett Woodard and Alex Hillard each gained eight as the ball rested on the MTCS 18-yard line.

On a second-and-two play, Cornersville had the ball stripped and the Cougars recovered on their own 7-yard line.

The Cougars began an 11-play drive that covered only 37 yards, but used up six minutes.

The Bulldogs defensive unit with Dylan Baus, Devon Massengill, Tracy Wood, and Michael Bungay leading the way delivered punishing blows to halt the Cougar drive at the 44-yard line to force a punt that was covered at the Bulldogs’ 20-yard line.

Hindered by a holding penalty, the Bulldogs could not move the ball and Cameron Estes punted the ball back to MTCS with 2:10 left in the first half.

MTCS, sensing that time is running down, changed tactics as Green tried the passing game, but found no success as three passes fell incomplete to force another punt.

The Bulldogs began the ensuing drive at their own 35-yard line with 1:45 left until halftime, but a holding penalty slowed progress and the clock expired before those 10 yards could be gained back.

The Bulldogs received the ball to begin the second half and the drive commenced at their own 37-yard line after an 18-yard kickoff return by Woodard.

The Bulldogs used the bruising running of Brady Calahan and Warner as the hard-nosed offensive line opened holes to give the Cougars a taste of their own medicine.

“We saw some things (at halftime) that we felt we could exploit and the guys did a great job doing that,” Randolph said about the second half start.

Moving the ball down field and aided by an unsportsmanlike penalty, the Bulldogs scored on a one-yard run by Farler, who found a hole on the left side.

Williams’ kick was good and the Dawgs led 14-7 at the 7:50 mark of the third quarter.

MTCS began a 14-play drive at their own nine-yard line and after a block in the back penalty, they ate up 91 yards and over seven and a half minutes with McGowan accounting for 55 yards and Lusk carryied the ball over the goal line to knot it up at 14-14 with four seconds left in the third quarter.

Cornersville started the fourth quarter at their own 43-yard line, this time mixing in passes to Mitchell and Wes Calahan, but still using Brady Calahan and Warner to pound the ball as they moved down to the Cougar two-yard line where Calahan crashed into the end zone for the touchdown.

The Bulldogs converted on a two-point conversion as Warner carried the ball over the goal line, pushing the Cornersville lead to eight at 22-14.

MTCS received the ball and began play at their own 31-yard line, but after gaining a first down the drive stalled at midfield when Green’s fourth down pass fell incomplete and the Bulldogs took over with 3:56 left in the ball game.

MTCS’s defense stood up and with the aid of a Cougar timeout, stopped the Bulldogs and Estes punted with 1:38 left in the game.

With the game on the line, the Cougars began the final drive of the game from their own 8-yard line.

Green found Harris for a 13-yard pass for a first down and three incompletions followed, but the Bulldog defense committed a roughing the passer penalty on third-and-10 and MTCS had a first down at their own 37-yard line.

Green found McGowan streaking down the left side and the running back caught the ball and was tackled at the Bulldogs’ 16-yard line.

With both teams racing to get set, Green was flagged for an intentional grounding that stopped the clock with 38 seconds left and an incomplete pass and a false start penalty bled the clock down to 18 seconds.

With fans on both sides on their feet, Green dropped back to pass and with the Cornersville rush bearing down on him, his pass headed for the right side of the Bulldogs’ defense.

That was when Mitchell stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted the ball and ran around enough to kill the clock.

“I knew there wasn’t much time left and I probably should have gone down but in the heat of the moment I ran around some,” Mitchell said.

The ball game was over, Cornersville had prevailed.

The Bulldogs travel to Fayetteville (4-0, 6-0) with first place in Region 5-A on the line Friday night.

MTCS 7 0 7 0-14

Cornersville 0 7 7 8-22

Scoring

First Quarter

MTCS-Keman McGowan 2-yard run, Garriot Scott PAT, 4:56.

Second Quarter

Cornersville-Cason Warner 7-yard run, Jackson Williams PAT, 11:54.

Third Quarter-Jackson Farler 1-yard run, Jackson Williams PAT, 7:50.

MTCS-Drew Lusk 4-yard run, Garriot Scott PAT, 0:04.

Fourth Quarter

Cornersville-Brady Calahan 4-yard run, Cason Warner 2-pt. run, 7:14.

Total Offense: MTCS 304, Cornersville 210.

Rushing: MTCS 208, Cornersville 168.

Passing: MTCS 96, Cornersville 42.

First Downs: MTCS 19, Cornersville 15.

Penalties: MTCS 7-60, Cornersville 5-55.

Turnovers: MTCS 1, Cornersville 1.

Time of Possession: MTCS 27:35, Cornersville 20:25.

Cornersville Offense

Rushing: Brady Calahan 16-86-TD, Cason Warner 13-64-TD, Rhett Woodard 1-8, Alex Hillard 1-8, Wes Calahan 2-1, Jackson Farler 1-1-TD.

Passing: Jackson Farler 6-10-42.

Receiving: Jackson Mitchell 3-24, Wes Calahan 2-9, Eli Welch 1-9.

Kicking

PAT: Jackson Williams 2-2.

Punting: Cameron Estes 2-86.

Returns

Kickoffs: Rhett Woodard 2-41, Cason Warner 1-15.

Defense

Tackles: Rhett Woodard 4.5 (.5TFL), Devon Massengill (1.5TFL), Cameron Estes 4.5, Tracy Wood 4.5, Jackson Mitchell 4 (INT), Cason Warne 4, Dylan Baus 3.5 (.5TFL), Michael Bungay 2.5, Trenton Posey 1.5, Boone Solomon 1.5 (.5TFL), Houston Williams 1, Wes Calahan 1, Blake Jones 1, Bryson Alexander 1, Alex Hillard .5, Hunter Fitzgerald .5.

Region 5A Standings

Fayetteville 6-0, 4-0

Cornersville 4-2, 2-0

Mt. Pleasant 3-2, 1-2

Huntland 3-3, 0-1

Richland 3-3, 0-2

Moore County 2-4, 0-2