Bledsoe County coach Josh Owensby is going to enjoy the next week.
It's the final week of the season and his football squad isn't even beginning to think about basketball season. It's still football season for the Warriors.
With a 14-12 Region 3-2A win at Brainerd on Friday night, the Warriors kept alive hopes for reaching the state playoffs. They'll need to beat Meigs County next Friday in a game that pits Owensby against his former head coach, Jason Fitzgerald.
"He's my former coach and their offensive coordinator is my former OC," Owensby said. "Add in the fact that we have a chance to go to the playoffs, and that makes for a fun week."
The Warriors weren't having much fun on offense against the Panthers. The same can be said for Brainerd facing the Warriors defense. The teams combined for 127 yards in the first half.
Following a few halftime adjustments, both offenses were able to move the ball with a little more ease in the second half.
"We started playing our game," Brainerd coach Brian Gwyn said. "It just didn't open up enough."
Bledsoe running back Caleb Smith scored two touchdowns and gained 57 yards on 12 carries. He also made a fourth-quarter interception on fourth down after the Panthers faced first-and-goal from the 5-yard line.
"I saw him drop back and I read his eyes," Smith said. "Our defense played a heck of a game."
Bledsoe County (4-5, 3-3) held Brainerd to 24 yards in the first half, but the Panthers (3-6, 3-3) finished with 250 yards of offense, including 185 yards rushing on 32 carries.
Robert Evans scored two touchdowns in the second half and totaled 123 yards on 17 carries. Quarterback Malik Beavers had 14 carries for 67 yards.
"We've been riding our defense all year," Owensby said. "The difference in the two points is the six points they stopped in the fourth quarter when Brainerd had it first-and-goal."
Smith covered the final 1 yards of the opening drive with a plunge through the middle of his offensive line for the touchdown.
The Warriors were able to keep the Panthers out of the end zone and prevent them from threatening in the first half. Brainerd earned its initial first down of the game with less than three minutes to go before the bands took the field.
Evans took the first snap of the second half 68 yards through the middle of the line and down the right sideline 68 yards. But the extra-point attempt hit a lineman.
Bledsoe County went 63 yards on the ensuing drive, and Smith scored from 8 yards out for a 14-6 lead.
The Panthers pulled close on an 8-yard run by Evans with 4:35 to play in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter yielded no points, thanks to Smith's interception.
"It took a while for us to react," Beavers said. "It was tough to move the ball."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.