Soddy Daisy football coach Josh Owensby and kicker Calum Williams had some confessions to make after Friday night’s home game against Red Bank was decided in the final minute.
They were probably easier to admit considering the host Trojans won 24-23 in a key game for TSSAA Region 3-4A positioning.
Owensby said his team hasn’t been very good when it comes to lining up and kicking simulated potential winners in practice.
“It never goes good,” he said, adding that Friday night he told his staff: “‘We’ve got to trust it. We have literally (practiced) it since July two days a week.'”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Williams, meanwhile, shared that something has been wrong with his kicks recently.
Good thing there are such things as second chances.
After just missing a 22-yard attempt three minutes beforehand and with no timeouts, Owensby called for his field-goal unit to take the field again with less than 40 seconds left on the clock. Williams ran out, set his kicking tee down and took a deep breath.
“That might have been like the most scary moment of my life,” Williams said of the winning 20-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to play in the game.
Following the ensuing kickoff, Red Bank tried a hook-and-lateral play that was ultimately went out of bounds.
Soddy Daisy (6-1, 3-1) snapped a five-game losing streak to Red Bank (3-2, 2-1) in the process.
“That’s another test we had to pass,” Owensby said. “That’s a big win for us.”
The final points were set up by Alex Pinson’s pass to Max Bowman. With a Red Bank defender in his face, Pinson hit a streaking Bowman, who took the football 53 yards to the Lions’ 15. A penalty for roughing the passer pushed the ball even closer to set up the final kick.
The two nearly evenly matched rivals traded blows throughout the night.
Red Bank scored on its first two possessions by spreading out the Soddy Daisy defense. Lions running back Josiah Featherstone took an option pitch from quarterback Logan McGinnis 46 yards, tiptoeing his way along the sideline to get the team’s first score.
Red Bank was able to take a 20-14 lead into halftime after a busted play as McGinnis scooped up a botched snap, rolled to his right and found Cayden Loveless behind the defense for a 65-yard touchdown pass.
However, the Trojans rallied defensively in the second half, holding Red Bank to three points.
Featherstone led the Lions on the ground with 17 rushes for 130 yards and a touchdown.
Tucker Ross had 16 carries for 84 yards for the Trojans, while Gage Welch had 74 yards on 13 carries, including two touchdowns. Bowman had two catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Contact Robert Holder at sports@timesfreepress.com.