ATHENS - In a huge Henderson County rivalry game, the Brownsboro Bears and Athens Hornets played as hard as teenagers are able.
Tied at halftime, the Hornets pulled away in the second half to score 32-13 victory over the Bears on Friday at Bruce Field.
The Bears end their season at 2-8 overall and 2-4 in District 8-4A Division I play, while Hornets finish at 3-7 and 2-4.
Fumbles by both teams stopped scoring drives in the first quarter. However, the second quarter produced 13 points by each team. The Bears scored first on a touchdown pass from Jamal Bell to Clayton Orr for 27 yards. Luis Suarez kicked the PAT and Brownsboro led 7-0.
Xavius Fulton broke loose on a 65-yard touchdown jaunt to make the score 7-6.
The Bruins came back, and Saul Williams powered in from seven yards out to put the score at 13-6.
Not to be outdone, Hornet Noah Bush ran in from one yard out. Dakota Anderson kicked the PAT and Athens tied the score 13-13 just before half.
The Bears had one more chance with only seconds to go from the Hornet 22-yard line. Two end zone passes went just off the receivers hands and the bands came on to perform.
Bush, for Athens, started off the second half with a four-yard touchdown run. The Bears had three straight penalties to deny a touchdown, and an Athens interception ended the threat on the goal line.
The fourth quarter was highlighted by a long drive by the Hornets, ending in a 20-yard touchdown run by Javiry Bowman. The kick was missed to bring the score to 25-13 in favor of Athens.
After the Bears were stopped in their end of the field, the Hornets' Bush scored from 15 yards out. Anderson kicked the PAT and Athens had a hard-fought 32-13 victory.