Todd County’s football team has waited a long time to celebrate a victory, making Friday’s season opening win over Breckinridge County that much sweeter. The Rebels went winless in 2016, Coach Les Broady’s first season in charge, and hadn’t won a season opener since 2010.
Todd County kept the ball on the ground and allowed its defense to do the heavy lifting, holding the Fighting Tigers to only 6 points in route to a 14-6 win in Elkton.
False starts and procedural penalties tripped up the Rebels for parts of the night, and cramps and fatigue hobbled them in the second half, but they showed heart and determination down the stretch to hold on for the big win.
Sophomore JaTwan Graham got the Rebels on the board first when he dove in from 2 yards out after a couple of strong runs to get the Rebels in scoring position. The drive began after the recovery of a Breckinridge fumble, and Todd County took full advantage. However, Todd County’s 2 point conversion failed. Later in the first quarter, senior Isaiah Fingers picked off Breckinridge quarterback RJ Bentley and returned it for a touchdown, but it was called back for a penalty on the return.
With 8 minutes left before half, Breckinridge recovered a Todd County fumble, but were unable to move the ball and had to punt. Just before halftime, junior quarterback and defensive back Asa Young intercepted Bentley, but the half expired without the Rebels being able to turn the turnover into points.
The 3rd quarter began with Breckinridge turning the ball over on downs. On the ensuing possession, Todd County converted on 4th down, but ended up having to punt. Senior Nick Tutor made a great play to down the punt on the 3 yard line, leaving Breckinridge in a precarious position, but they were able to work out of the shadow of their end zone and flip the field on the Rebels. As the quarter wore on Todd County began to have multiple players suffering from cramps and seemed to be losing momentum. With 5 minutes left in the quarter, Breckinridge quarterback RJ Bentley again used his legs to get the Fighting Tigers in the end zone from 14 yards out, tying the game at 6 after a missed PAT. False starts again doomed a Rebel drive and they were forced to punt, but once again their defense stood strong and the Rebels got the ball back with time running down in the 3rd quarter. With just 50 seconds left on the clock, JaTwan Graham once again got the Rebels in the end zone with a 10 yard scamper. Coach Broady then dipped into his bag of tricks with a direct snap to Graham to convert the 2 point conversion and put the Rebels up 14-6.
Todd County continued to have trouble with cramps and injuries and seemed to be running out of gas, but the defense continued to stand strong, forcing punts and turnovers on downs throughout the final quarter. With just under 2 minutes left in the game and Todd County looking to run out the clock, tempers boiled over leading to the ejection of a Todd County lineman. However, soon after that Breckinridge used their last timeout and Todd County ran out the clock, sending the players and fans into a celebration a long time in the making.
