The Allen County-Scottsville Patriot offense stayed on the field for most of the game, but it was the Greenwood Gators who came back for a 22-19 victory on their home field, aided by timely rushing offense.

“They did some things to us defensively that we didn’t take advantage of early in the game,” Greenwood coach William Howard said. “We had some things that were there, we just didn’t coordinate it well enough.”

ACS coach Brad Hood said he was proud of his team, even in defeat.

“My kids played with everything they had and then they found some more,” Hood said. “We’re beat up, we’re banged up, but boy, we’re gonna fight till the end.”

The Patriots struck first, ramming the ball down the heart of the Greenwood defense. ACS was aided by a fourth-down pass interference call that gave the team the ball at the Gator 15, and Trace McIntyre scored on a quarterback keeper the ensuing play.

The score was the only offense in the first quarter, giving the Patriots a 6-0 lead after Greenwood blocked the extra point, then stalled offensively on the next drive.

The Gators took the lead in the second quarter, on a 41-yard score by David Odom, who took the ball on an end around and juked out an ACS defender before winning a foot race to the end zone. The extra point by Ben Patterson was good.

“Coach gave me the ball,” Odom said. “I saw a hole and I took it.”

The Patriots took the ball down the field with a 15-play drive late in the half. However, an untimely penalty stalled it out and ACS turned the ball over on downs. Then, on the first Greenwood offensive play, Zane Ward picked off Gators quarterback John Morrison and went over 40 yards to the end zone with less than a minute remaining in the half.

After the Gators forced an incompletion on the ACS conversion try, Greenwood embarked on a drive deep into Patriot territory. However, a fumble in the red zone kept the score 12-7 in favor of ACS at the break.

In the fourth, Greenwood’s Reed Slone took the ball 19 yards to the end zone on a handoff, then caught the two-point conversion pass from Morrison to give the Gators the lead with 10:59 remaining. A quick defensive stop gave Greenwood the ball back. Morrison then escaped pressure and scrambled for a 15-yard score.

“That was just a rush of adrenaline,” Slone said. “That was really exciting to get points on the board, it always is. I was just glad to run the score up and give us the lead.”

A 3-yard plunge from Dylan Rookstool brought ACS within one score, but the Gators got the ball back and drove down the field, going deep into Patriot territory to end the game on top.

The Gators, now 3-0, will take on Warren East next week. The Patriots, now 0-3, will play Glasgow.

“We’re gonna come out and show everybody something,” Greenwood’s Christian Hernandez said. “South Warren, Bowling Green coming up. It’s gonna be good matches.”

ACS 6 6 0 7– 19

GHS 0 7 0 15 – 22

First quarter

ACS – Trace McIntyre, 15 run (kick failed) 3:42.

Second quarter

GHS – David Odom 41 run (Ben Patterson kick) 8:34.

ACS – Zane Ward 40 interception return (conversion failed) 0:56

Fourth quarter

GHS – Reed Slone 19 run, (Conversion good), 10:59.

GHS – John Morrison 15 run (Patterson kick), 6:43.

ACS – Dylan Rookstool 3 run (Thorny Walker kick), 3:36.{&end}