Late miscues leave Harris County with 28-27 loss

In Harris County’s back-and-forth showdown with Callaway Thursday, two fourth-quarter mishaps ultimately dashed the Tigers’ hopes in a 28-27 loss.

Harris County (2-3, 0-0) kept pace with Callaway (5-0, 0-0) throughout the night and grabbed a late lead when Cal’von Harris broke a 52-yard run with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter. The snap on the extra point, however, was bobbled, and the kick was missed.

The Cavaliers scored two plays later and took a 28-27 lead, leaving the Tigers with plenty of time to respond. Disaster, however, struck again on third down of their ensuing drive.

Quarterback Davion Mahone’s pass attempt was deflected back in the direction of the speedy sophomore. He caught the ball well behind the line of scrimmage, cut to his right looking for open space and was dropped for a loss of 17 yards.

Harris County had no choice but to punt the ball, ending what was ultimately the last offensive possession for the Tigers.

Despite the loss, Harris County head coach Zac Howard spoke highly of his team and the way the players responded after a 49-22 drubbing by Perry last Friday.

“I told them although we lost by a point, we didn’t play anything like that embarrassment we had last Friday,” Howard said. “I think everybody understood we’re a tough team and we’re hard to deal with. I told them even though it was a loss, it didn’t feel like one. We fought, we were behind and kept fighting. I’m proud of them.”

Howard said he challenged his players on Monday after the Perry loss, specifically saying he held off blowing the whistle when his running backs got the ball. It seemed to work Friday, as top tailback Cal’von Harris took 18 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns. AK Wortham did his part as well, rushing for 55 yards, while Mahone registered 35 rushing yards and the first touchdown of the game.

The Tigers needed Harris and Wortham to match a strong Callaway run game that made the Harris County defense pay throughout the night. Cavaliers running back DJ Atkins rushed for 129 yards and one touchdown and had plenty of help from his teammates in the ground game.

As Harris County came together postgame, Howard stressed that one particular play late in a game isn’t the reason for a win or a loss. Howard said afterward that Mahone’s impromptu catch could have theoretically led to a big play, had everything gone exactly right.

Ultimately, breaks like those just didn’t go Harris County’s way.

“It happens,” Howard said. “It’s football. It’s a crazy, crazy game.”

This story was originally published September 21, 2017 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Late miscues leave Harris County with 28-27 loss."