Lions won't bow down, but Bowdon is too much in region showdown

Oct. 15—With a fourth-quarter stop, things might have been different in Christian Heritage School's home Region 7-A Division II showdown with Bowdon on Friday.

The Lions responded to a Bowdon score with a touchdown drive to cut a deficit to 7 with 8 minutes left.

Christian Heritage (3-5, 0-1 Region 7-A Division II) didn't bow down, but that stop never came against Bowdon (7-1, 1-0 Region 7-A Division II). Led by do-it-all quarterback Robert McNeal and a bruising running attack, the visiting Red Devils scored two late touchdowns to pull away from Christian Heritage 42-21 in the region opener for both teams.

After the third of McNeal's four rushing touchdowns gave Bowdon a 28-14 lead with 11:38 left in the game, Christian Heritage punched right back to cut the deficit back down to one score.

Eli Thomason returned the kickoff to the Bowdon 42, and Jaylon Gay capped the answer with a 22-yard rushing touchdown on an option pitch from quarterback Carter Triplett.

Bowdon got the ball back with the goal of bleeding clock and putting the game away, and they did just that.

McNeal and running back TJ Harvison essentially traded carries in the back field as the 10-play march continued. Every chance to get Bowdon off the field was met with one of the two bowling for just enough yards to get a first down. McNeal capped the drive with a 2-yard plunge, his fourth rushing score, with 3:27 to play.

The Lions were unable to move the chains in four plays on the next drive, and Harvison finished off Christian Heritage by sprinting through the defense for a 44-yard game-capping touchdown.

McNeal rushed for 135 yards and the four touchdowns on 14 carries, while the bruising-but-speedy Harvison galloped for 247 yards.

When McNeal wasn't running, he passed for 113 yards and a touchdown while hitting on 5-of-6 throws.

Half of that yardage came on a 59-yard backpedaling touchdown strike to Cameron Holloway early in the third quarter.

Christian Heritage took the opening kickoff and chipped down the field on a 12-play drive, all on the ground.

Gay took the pitch from Triplett for a 5-yard touchdown to give the Lions the early 7-0 lead.

Bowdon needed four plays to answer, after a big Harvison run led to McNeal's 45-yard scamper.

The score remained locked at 7-7 for most of the second quarter, when a late touchdown drive by Bowdon was capped with a McNeal touchdown with just 12.3 seconds before the half.

Christian Heritage came into the third needing a stop, but McNeal's passing score put the Lions in a 21-7 hole.

After a pair of long pass plays from Triplett, Sam Wooten got in for a 13-yard score for Christian Heritage.

McNeal and the Bowdon offense were back at it again though, taking that lead early in the fourth.

Gay led a mostly ground-heavy attack for the Lions with 106 yards and the two touchdowns. Thomason, who set a school record for rushing yards in a game last week with 268, had 67 yards on his 15 totes.

It was the first region game for both teams after seven straight non-region games to start the season.

Region 7-A Division II contains just three football-playing teams, with Mount Zion being the other.

Christian Heritage steps back out of region play next week. The Lions travel to play Asheville Christian Academy in Swannanoa, North Carolina, on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Christian Heritage will close the regular season with a game against Mount Zion on Oct. 28.

Bowdon hosts Pike Liberal Arts next week.