LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
ARTHUR – A beautiful Friday evening blanketed Wilson Field at Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond High School ahead of Lincoln Prairie Conference football action. The Tri-County Titans, riding high after breaking a 13-game losing streak at home, took on the defending league champion Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Knights. The Knights came in undefeated after a 42-20 road win over Villa Grove. With a two-game home stand coming up, a win over the reigning champions would be a feather in the cap for the Titans. However, the host Knights showed they are not willing to give up the crown, using a precise, powerful running game to cruise to a 49-14 win.
ALAH took the opening possession of the contest with surgical precision, finding the end zone with 9:45 left in the opening quarter as Alex Rexroad thundered in from six yards out. The Titans did manage to block the extra point kick, making the score 6-0. Tri-County's first drive stalled out, turning the ball over on downs and the Knights went back to work on the ground hitting pay dirt again at the 4:47 mark as Payton Warrior drove in from two yards out. Jonah Birket notched the two-point conversion to increase the lead to 14-0.
The start of the second quarter started off with a bang for ALAH as Easton Fredrick escaped through tacklers from their own 37 yard line and found a hole to go 63 yards for another score with 11:46 left. Kaden Herschberger hit the extra point to make the score 21-0. The Knights recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff to get the ball right back.
More ground and pound for ALAH followed, using the short field to score again at the 8:37 mark as Rexroad scurried in from 14 yards out. Herschberger's extra point gave the Knights a 28-0 lead. Late in the quarter, the Knights were looking to work the ball down the field again, but the Titans got a huge defensive play as Garrett Pollock intercepted a pass attempt from Cruz Hale to give Tri-County the ball back at their own 47-yard line. The Titans used that momentum to capitalize with twelve seconds left in the half using a halfback pass as Myles Watson found Andy Houlihan for a 15-yard touchdown. Jimmy Dillon ran the two-point conversion in to cut the deficit to 28-8. That score held up as the team went into the locker room.
In the third quarter, the Knights answered after Tri-County's opening drive of the second half stalled out, going back to the ground and scoring with 8:52 left as Maddix Stirrett scored from two yards out. Herschberger hit the PAT to increase the Knight lead back up to 35-8. The host Knights weren't through. After a turnover by the Titans deep into ALAH territory on 4th and 24, they drove down the field scoring again at the 3:59 mark as Fredrick got his second touchdown of the game running the ball in from six yards out. The PAT missed wide, giving ALAH a 41-8 lead heading into the final twelve minutes.
The Knights put an exclamation point on the contest early in the fourth quarter with another touchdown run as Warrior fought through defenders to go 35 yards for the score at exactly the ten-minute mark. Stirrett ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 49-8, putting the contest into a running clock. Tri-County did manage to get the final scoring play of the contest with 1:08 left as Kaden Price found Joe Henricks for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The two-point run failed, making the final 49-14 in favor of ALAH.
Unofficially, Jimmy Dillon had 22 carries for 85 yards for the Titans while Landon Paugh had 10 carries for 41 yards. Myles Watson had seven carries for three yards and was one for one passing for 15 yards and a touchdown. Kaden Price was two for two passing for 38 yards and a touchdown. Garrett Pollock was one for 12 passing for five yards and an interception. Andy Houlihan had two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Easton Fredrick led the Knights with 10 carries for 145 yards and two scores. Alex Rexroad had seven carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns while Payton Warrior had seven carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Maddix Stirrett had four carries for 58 yards and a score. Cruz Hale was three of six passing for 45 yards and an interception.