***This article was written by Kendall Vincent, a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.
In a closely contested game last Friday, the Titans narrowly lost to the Stark County Rebels 13-14.
Both teams started slowly, with neither able to gain a significant edge in the first quarter. The Titans, led by quarterback Maddox Heitzler, struggled to break through the Rebels’ defense, while Stark County’s offense, directed by Dillion Stealman, faced similar challenges.
The game saw its first score in the second quarter when Rebel’s quarterback broke through for a touchdown, giving the Rebels a 7-0 lead. The Titans responded with a strong drive by Devon Horrie, scoring a touchdown and converting the extra point to up the score, 7-7.
The second half was a defensive battle, with both teams tightening up their play. Amidst the struggle, Devon Horrie’s strong drive shone through as he skillfully pushed past defenders to score a crucial touchdown, making the score 13-7. Unfortunately, the attempt for an extra point was unsuccessful.
With just a few minutes left in the game, the Rebels offense was able to break through the Titans defense scoring another touchdown and extra point, pushing the score to 13-14. As time was ticking off the clock, the Titans made a valiant effort to retake the lead, but a critical stop by the Rebels’ defense in the final moments sealed the victory for Stark County.
Despite the loss, Titans’ Coach Tony Gripp commended his team’s effort and resilience.
“We started a bit slow and flat in the first half, but the second half was better,” he said. “ Like last year, an early season loss woke us up a bit. We used it as motivation to improve and have more of a killer instinct week in and week out.”
The Titans will look to build on their performance and capitalize on key moments in their upcoming games.
