WINFIELD - With its offense struggling immensely and down two scores late in the game, Lincoln County looked lifeless and seemingly on its way to another defeat.
WINFIELD, W.Va. - With its offense struggling immensely and down two scores late in the game, Lincoln County looked lifeless and seemingly on its way to another defeat.
However, the Panthers somehow dug deep and responded with two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 46 seconds remaining, to earn a shocking 18-14 victory on the road at Winfield Friday night. It broke a three-season, 12-game losing streak for the Panthers.
After taking over possession at its own 33-yard line with 1:32 remaining in the game and trailing 14-12, Lincoln County marched 67 yards on seven plays in just 48 seconds.
Senior quarterback Tyler Browning capped off the come-from-behind victory with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Lucas with just under a minute to play, leaving the Winfield sideline and stands shocked.
On the play, Browning was under a solid Winfield pass rush, but eluded several defenders, stepped up in the pocket, and fired down the left sideline to a streaking Lucas for the TD.
"I wasn't so much scrambling but I saw a huge hole in the pocket, stepped up and saw Jacob have a step or two on the corner. I just let it go," Browning said.
"That's the thing about having two great athletes - one at QB who can pull the trigger, and one who can make a play after the catch," said Lincoln County coach Corey Beck. "Sometimes that's what sports are all about: having great athletes at the right place."
Winfield had one last chance to escape with a win on a last-minute drive, but after driving to the Lincoln County 37-yard line, General quarterback Taylor Farley's heave fell incomplete as time expired.
Browning completed 16-of-28 passes for 224 yards and three touchdown passes, but also had two interceptions.
WINFIELD, W.Va. - With its offense struggling immensely and down two scores late in the game, Lincoln County looked lifeless and seemingly on its way to another defeat.
However, the Panthers somehow dug deep and responded with two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 46 seconds remaining, to earn a shocking 18-14 victory on the road at Winfield Friday night. It broke a three-season, 12-game losing streak for the Panthers.
After taking over possession at its own 33-yard line with 1:32 remaining in the game and trailing 14-12, Lincoln County marched 67 yards on seven plays in just 48 seconds.
Senior quarterback Tyler Browning capped off the come-from-behind victory with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Lucas with just under a minute to play, leaving the Winfield sideline and stands shocked.
On the play, Browning was under a solid Winfield pass rush, but eluded several defenders, stepped up in the pocket, and fired down the left sideline to a streaking Lucas for the TD.
"I wasn't so much scrambling but I saw a huge hole in the pocket, stepped up and saw Jacob have a step or two on the corner. I just let it go," Browning said.
"That's the thing about having two great athletes - one at QB who can pull the trigger, and one who can make a play after the catch," said Lincoln County coach Corey Beck. "Sometimes that's what sports are all about: having great athletes at the right place."
Winfield had one last chance to escape with a win on a last-minute drive, but after driving to the Lincoln County 37-yard line, General quarterback Taylor Farley's heave fell incomplete as time expired.
Browning completed 16-of-28 passes for 224 yards and three touchdown passes, but also had two interceptions.
Lincoln County took the opening kickoff and drove right down the field and scored to take a 6-0 lead. Browning completed 4-of-5 passes for 67 yards on the drive.
However, Browning and the rest of the offense struggled thereafter, not scoring a point in their next seven possessions and looking lifeless until the last five minutes of the game.
Before Browning and Lucas' TD pass with 46 seconds remaining, the Panthers still had to get within a score and did so with 4:56 remaining in the game to cut the Winfield deficit to 14-12.
It came on a 30-yard TD pass from Browning to Zach McCormick. On the 2-point conversion attempt that could have tied the game, Browning lofted a pass in the back of the end zone to a wide-open Jacob Ashworth but it was overthrown.
"He started off hot and then went cold with two picks," Beck said of Browning. "We tell him all the time we love the fact that he has the Brett Favre gunslinger mentality but we don't want the interception part."
Browning knew the offense was struggling but never lost confidence in himself or his teammates as they were able to pull it together in the fourth quarter and earn the win.
"It was crunch time and we stepped up," Browning said. "We started playing like we wanted to and we wanted it more than they did."
For Lincoln County (1-1), the victory was a long time coming, according to Beck.
"Our kids have worked so hard this year and we've been aiming towards this first win," Beck said. "Our emotions took over and a rush of adrenaline kicked in late in the game. The kids deserve this."
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