Coming into Friday night off back-to-back losses, New Madrid County Central gave their homecoming crowd a night to remember against visiting Potosi. After nearly ending the game on the last play of regulation, the Eagles used a goal-line stand on an overtime two-point conversion to hold off Potosi (3-4) for a 38-36 win that sent NMCC’s sideline rushing the field in celebration. “We took a step back last week,” Eagles’ head coach Tyler Fullhart said. “But we really challenged ourselves as coaches and the kids to come be better and respond better to different things. It just paid off for us tonight.” NMCC (5-2) never trailed in the contest, leading from the opening minute of the contest until a Potosi touchdown and two-point conversion tied the game, 30-30, with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter. An ensuing kickoff out of bounds gave the Eagles the ball back on their 41-yard line with 2:32 and a chance to end the game in regulation. Relying on the run game forced NMCC to chew up the clock as they moved the ball to the Trojan’s 34-yard line, leaving just 13 seconds left. Quarterback Christen Phillips dropped back to pass, and when he couldn’t find an open man, then took off downfield and sprung across the field to the right sideline. With zeroes on the clock, Phillips was finally brought down at the four-yard line by a couple of Potosi defenders to force overtime. Fullhart won the coin toss, electing to receive the ball first. “We knew with the style of offense they run, and it’s an offense that is built to sustain,” Fullhart said of wanting the ball first. “We didn’t want to let them get comfortable. That was the goal all night, to try and keep them uncomfortable. Our guys played their tails off.” A pair of short runs were followed by a nine-yard pass from Phillips to Kenyon King at the 11-yard line to give NMCC a fresh set of downs. Quazavion Jackson finished the drive on his next and final carry of the night, an 11-yard run, to put his team up 36-30. Phillips faked a handoff before running the two-point conversion in himself to give the Eagles an eight-point edge. With no room for error, Potosi’s next drive started with a bang when Brayden Isgriggs took the first carry for 17 yards to the eight-yard line. Isaac Gaghen capped the drive with a six-yard run into the endzone that left the Trojans needing the two-point conversion to extend the game. Potosi burned their only timeout to talk over the play, resulting in a missed handoff up the middle that quarterback Andrew Coleman ended up taking himself. Coleman’s push ended under a sea of NMCC defenders close to the goal line with officials rushing in to determine the spot of the ball. After conferring that Coleman was deemed short of the goal line, the call sent the Eagles into a celebration, having just clinched their fifth win of the season. “We missed the handoff,” Trojans’ head coach Edward Haar said of the final play. “Our quarterback fell into the endzone, but they said he was down. Tristan Murdick was supposed to get the handoff.” The finish was an excellent turnaround for NMCC, who lost last week 50-6 to Kennet, and fell 34-30 after having a chance to win the game on a final play against Hayti. “If that’s not how they drew it up, they ought to put it in their playbook,” Fullhart said. “Because that was kind of a nice play. I saw the quarterback try to hand it off and go up the middle. Get your Semoball fix in one daily email Your email address “I’m not sure which of our guys stepped up, but we preach to our defense to be fearless and come downhill and attack.” If Trojan players and coaches went into overtime with other things on their minds, there was forgiveness. On NMCC’s final drive of regulation with under a minute to play, Potosi saw defender Kyle Miller go down with a head or neck injury on a play where the Trojans were coming in to intercept a Phillips pass. Miller got carted off the field on a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance, while his team had to regroup and finish the game. “We had guys worried about that,” Haar said. “The coaches and I were too. It just deflates whatever you had going right there. We were playing pretty good at that point, and it took a bit out of us. “I was real proud of the kids to come back there. We just came up short on the two-point conversion.” NMCC edged out Potosi in totals yards 491-479, rushing 42 times for 332 yards. Phillips threw for 159 yards and two scores on 9 of 15 passing while also scoring on the ground as part of a 176 yard-effort on 12 carries. Jackson scored twice, both in the second half, while gaining 149 yards on 27 attempts. Austin Davis hauled in both touchdowns from Phillips, finishing with three receptions for 72 yards. “Our offense was really good tonight,” Fullhart said. “Our offensive line played outstanding, and our wide receivers blocked their tails off. They knew it was going to be a wet game and took the challenge of being an extra lineman out there. “Giving Q the rock and switching it up between him and Bryshawn Williams and Christen (was our plan in) trying to keep them off-balance. The guys played their hearts out. That’s all you can ask for.” Potosi did most of their damage ground, rushing 60 times for 449 yards while attempting the only pass, a 30-yard completion by Coleman. Isaac Gaghen led the Trojans with 167 yards and a score on 14 carries. Isgriggs rushed for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 16 attempts. Potosi 16 0 14 0 8 – 38 NMCC 6 8 8 8 6 – 36 First Quarter N – Christen Phillips 44 run (Quazavion Jackson run), 10:33 P – Tristan Murdick (Blake Henson kick blocked), 7:11 N – Austin Davis 34 pass from Christen Davis (Bryshawn Williams run), 3:16 Second Quarter P – Kyle Miller 6 run (Isaac Gaghen run), 10:46 Third Quarter N – Quazavion Jackson 10 run (Corvel Williams run), 9:50 P – Brayden Isgriggs run), 5:00 N – Austin Davis 32 pass from Christen Phillips (Christen Phillips run failed), 2:19 Fourth Quarter P – Brayden Isgriggs 16 run (Brayden Isgriggs run), 2:32 Overtime N – Quazavion Jackson 11 run (Christen Phillips run) P – Isaac Gaghen 6 run (Andrew Coleman run failed) TEAM STATISTICS P N Total yards 479 491 Rushes-yards 60-449 42-332 Passing yards 30 159 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – Potosi, Isaac Gaghen 14-167, Kyle Miller 10-68, Tristan Murdick 7-20, Wade Mercille 9-81, Brayden Isgriggs 16-110, Andrew Coleman 2-(-7), Bryce Reed 1-3, Blake Henson 1-7. NMCC, Quazavion Jackson 27-149, Bryshawn Williams 3-7, Christen Phillips 12-176. PASSING – Potosi, Andrew Coleman 1-1-0 34. NMCC, Christen Phillips 9-15-0 159, Bryshawn Williams 1-2-0 23. RECEIVING – Potosi, Kyle Miller 1-23. NMCC, Austin Davis 3-72, Bryshawn Williams 2-8, Quazavion 1-7, Kenyon King 2-36, Jaden McFerren 1-13, Christen Phillips 1-23.