Lebanon football beats Bow on final play of OT to clinch playoff spot

BOW – One playoff team entered the field at Bow High School Saturday afternoon. Two playoff teams exited.

Lebanon was able to win a hard fought battle 21-20 in overtime due to its conditioning. Lebanon head coach Chris Child stated,

“This team has played with their backs against the wall all season,” Lebanon coach Chris Child said. “We pretty much play iron man football with the same 11 guys on the field pretty much the entire game.”

Every last bit of conditioning was necessary in this overtime victory.

The scoring started on Lebanon-s opening drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Broughton to Nathaniel Perkins. Those two were able to combine for 70 yards through the air on the opening drive.

Perkins was not done catching touchdown passes, as he caught is second touchdown pass four minutes later, pushing the score to 14-0 still in the first quarter.

The momentum continued for the Raiders with an early interception by Ryan Milliken. But at this point, Bow began to dig its teeth in and the defense stepped up. The Falcons were able to get on the score board on a 30-yard TD pass from Matthew Harkins to Nate Alford, making the score 14-7 at halftime.

The third quarter was very back and forth with many punts and turnovers, but Bow finally broke through with a touchdown with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. This touchdown was a pass from Harkins to Borak.

Bow coach Paul Cohen said about his team, “We left it all on the field,” Bow coach Paul Cohen said. “It will be tough for our seniors if this is their last game on this field, but the faces I saw on their face after John Stark last week, I expect to see again next week.”

The only team with a legitimate scoring chance in the fourth quarter was a Lebanon missed field goal off a bad snap. Heading into overtime, both teams had a final possession, but both failed to cross midfield.

After winning the overtime coin toss Lebanon chose to go on offense first. This decision paid off as the Raiders scored on their first play with a 10-yard TD run from senior back Milliken. Lebanon added the extra point to go up 21-14, ready to go on defense.

Bow was also able to score on their first touch with a 10-yard TD run from senior Mac Kimball. For the point after, Bow lined up for an extra point, but the snap went over everyone’s head. The play was designed as a fake, but due to the snap it turned out to be unsuccessful two-point try, giving Lebanon the victory.

“We were the only team in our division to face five playoff teams,” Child said. “It is really special that we got here.”