Lewisburg Middle School football fans witnessed one of the wildest and most exciting games in the history of the program on Tuesday night, as the LMS Tigers (3-1) rallied from a 20-point first half deficit to win an epic 62-60 shootout at home against the Tullahoma Wildcats in overtime.

Tullahoma (1-2) got off to a red hot start offensively and held a 46-26 lead late in the second quarter before taking a 46-34 lead into halftime. The Tigers tightened up their defense in the second half and outscored the Wildcats 20-8 over the next two quarters to send the game into overtime tied at 54-54.

Overtime

With both teams getting four plays to score from the 10-yard line in the overtime session, Lewisburg grabbed a 62-54 lead thanks to a 10-yard touchdown jaunt and a two-point conversion run by Kamron Liggett-Hightower.

Tullahoma narrowed the gap to 62-60 on a 15-yard touchdown reception by Kobe Burks, but LMS defensive back Wesley Walker broke up Wildcat quarterback Nicolas Barstad's two-point conversion pass to give the Tigers the hard fought victory.

"They ran the same play that they scored on the play before, but Walker was where he was supposed to be and broke it up," said LMS coach Elliot Cook. "We definitely developed some character tonight. The kids found out that you're never out of it if you keep fighting."

Power running

Led by the dynamic backfield duo of Caleb Fields and Hightower-Liggett, the Tigers churned out 369 yards rushing on 38 carries en route to racking up 402 yards of total offense.

Fields accumulated 370 all-purpose yards and accounted for five of Lewisburg's nine touchdowns, as he rushed for 203 yards and three scores on 12 carries, returned a pair of kickoffs for 143 yards and two TDs, and caught one pass for 24 yards.

Hightower-Liggett rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries as well, and Walker toted the ball five times for 74 yards. LMS quarterback K.J. Johnson also added a three-yard touchdown run and completed 2-of-3 passes for 33 yards, while Matt Runions had one catch for nine yards.

Wildcats claw away

The Wildcats finished with 331 yards of total offense overall, which included 200 yards rushing on 26 carries.

Tullahoma running back Amari Burks nearly matched Field's exploits on the gridiron and also reached the end zone five times overall, as he rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, returned a kickoff 76 yards for a score, hauled in a 29-yard TD reception, and completed a couple of successful two-point conversion passes.

Barstad riddled the LMS secondary for much of the evening and completed 15-of-19 passes for 131 yards and four touchdowns. Matthew Meadows was Barstad's primary target and snared six passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, while Malik Braston had four catches for 31 yards to go along with 20 yards rushing on eight carries.

Liggett Hightower recorded 10 tackles from his linebacker position to pace Lewisburg's defense. Hunter Cummings also notched five tackles, while Hunter Lancaster, Caleb Estes, Dave Roberts, and Miciah Greer had four tackles apiece with Estes recovering a fumble.

Opening surprise

Tullahoma knocked the Tigers on their heels at the start of the game, as Amari Burks recovered an onside kick attempt by the Wildcats at the LMS 44. After picking up three first downs, Tullahoma took a 6-0 lead when Brenden Adkins caught a one-yard TD pass from Barstad.

Fields quickly tied the game at 6-6 by returning the ensuing kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown, but the Wildcats stopped Liggett-Hightower short of the end zone on the two-point conversion run.

On their second possession, the Wildcats marched from their own 20 to the Tiger 2 in six plays with the help of a 42-yard run by Amari Burks before Barstad hooked up with Meadows for a two-yard TD pass. Amari Burks then ran in the two-point conversion to give Tullahoma a 14-6 advantage early in the second quarter.

Lewisburg narrowed the gap to 14-12 on a 31-yard touchdown jaunt by Fields, but the Tigers failed on the two-point conversion attempt before Amari Burks returned the ensuing kickoff 76 yards for a score. Barstad then found Amari Burks in the end zone on the two-point conversion attempt to stretch the Wildcats lead to 22-12 with 5:01 left in the second period.

Tullahoma leads

Tullahoma quickly got the ball back when Michael Duncan recovered a Tiger fumble at the LMS 39. The Wildcats cashed in on the Lewisburg miscue, as Amari Burks scored on a four-yard touchdown run five plays later before Barstad found Adkins in the end zone on the two-point conversion try to push their lead to 30-12 with 1:58 left in the half.

Fields returned the kickoff 77 yards for a score to trim the deficit to 30-18, but Amari Burks broke loose for a 40-yard touchdown run on Tullahoma's next possession prior to connecting with Kobe Burks on the two-point conversion try to stake the Wildcats to a 38-18 advantage.

The Tigers closed the gap to 38-26 on their ensuing offensive series when Fields scored on a 20-yard touchdown scamper before Johnson hit Runions in the end zone on the two-point conversion.

Tullahoma continued their break neck scoring pace in the first half and stretched their lead to 46-26 with :22 left in the stanza on the strength of a 29-yard touchdown catch by Amari Burks and a Braston two-point conversion run.

Tigers catch up

Fields then gave Lewisburg the momentum going into the locker room when he raced 65 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the half before Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to slice the deficit to 46-34.

The Tiger defense finally bowed its neck at the start of the third quarter and stopped Tullahoma on downs at the LMS 45 to start the second half.

Lewisburg then faced a 3rd and 20 situation on their ensuing possession due to two penalties and a sack, but Walker ripped off a 31-yard run to give the Tigers a fresh set of downs at the Wildcat 34. Liggett-Hightower then scored on a six-yard TD run four plays later to narrow the gap to 46-40 late in the third quarter, but Tullahoma stopped Johnson short of the end zone on the two-point conversion run to keep the deficit at six.

LMS' defense set the offense up with good field position once again when Estes recovered a fumble by Amari Burks at the Wildcat 45. The Tigers then picked up three first downs before Liggett-Hightower rumbled into the end zone from 14 yards out to knot the game at 46-46 midway through the fourth quarter.

After the Wildcats stopped Lewisburg on the two-point conversion attempt, Liggett-Hightower recovered an onside kick attempt by LMS at the Tullahoma 45.

One more 'Cat' lead

The Tigers were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, as Wildcat defensive lineman Kaine Bost recovered a Lewisburg fumble on the next play. Amari Burks then raced 47 yards for a touchdown a few moments later prior to hooking up with Kobe Burks on the two-point conversion try to put Tullahoma up 54-46 with 2:44 left in the fourth quarter.

LMS once again battled back and put together a five-play, 55-yard scoring drive, punctuated by a three-yard touchdown plunge by Johnson, before Liggett-Hightower ran in the two-point conversion to retie the contest at 54-54 with 1:24 left in regulation.

Lewisburg then stopped Tullahoma on downs and advanced to the Wildcat nine yard-line on their final drive of regulation before running out of time.

Ahead to stay

After bursting up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown run on the first play of LMS' overtime possession, Hightower-Liggett bulled his way into the end zone on the two-point conversion run to stake the Tigers to a 62-54 advantage.

The Wildcats lost five yards on the first two plays of their offensive series, but Barstad hit Kobe Burks for a 15-yard TD strike on 3rd down to whittle the deficit to 62-60. Barstad then tried to hit Amari Burks in the left corner of the end zone on the two-point conversion try, but Walker leapt up and batted the ball away to set off a wild celebration by the Tigers.