It appeared the Bearcats had reached halftime in a tie game Friday night in Ozark.
Conner Droemer had run 6 yards for a touchdown with 26 seconds to go in the half.
Following the kickoff Ozark had a snap issue and the clock ran down to all zeroes.
Streams of players from both teams started toward their dressing areas. They were brought back and told there was one second remaining when a time out was called by the home team.
Ozark scored the next play and led 22-14 and would lead the rest of the way, eventually winning by a 34-27 final.
The Bearcats (0-2) had scored first on a 1-yard run by Tayden Washburn, who got the start under center and was operating the offense more than efficiently until forced from the game with an injury.
Washburn (shown) ran 7 times for a team leading 54 yards despite the second quarter injury.
Washburn’s touchdown at the 4:02 mark of the opening quarter capped an 11-play, 81-yard drive on the heels of a fumble recovery by Hayden Daniel.
With 10:40 left in the first half Ozark cut the lead to 7-6 with a 72-yard run but Callen Montalvo intercepted a 2-point conversion pass attempt.
The Bearcats turned the ball over on downs in Ozark territory on the ensuing possession and the Hillbillies would take a 14-7 lead with 2:32 to play in the half.
Montalvo got loose for 44 yards one play after the kickoff and Droemer completed the drive with the touchdown 26 second before the break. Oliver Loaeza’s PAT tied it at 14.
The Bearcats got the football to start the second half and had a first down but lost possession on a fumble and Ozark converted back-to-back fourth downs on the way to a 2-yard scoring run to make it 28-14.
One of the fourth downs was created partially by a sack by Braxton Hubble and Cutler Haller. For Hubble it was one of his nine total tackles, second only to the 13 by Seth Wilson.
Daniel, then at quarterback, cut it to 28-21 with a 13-yard run with 2:58 left in the third quarter, completing a six play drive after a short kickoff.
Ozark converted another fourth down on the final play of the third quarter then went up 34-21 on a halfback pass that covered 35 yards.
The Bearcats converted a fourth down of their own on the way to a 1-yard Wilson touchdown run with 6:21 to play to get back within one score at 34-27.
Ozark began using all of the play clock after a failed onside kick, inducing the Bearcats to burn all of their time outs saving the final 2:16 to try to engineer some magic after Hubble and Devon Ritchie combined on a fourth down stop at the Bearcat 17.
Four downs later the Bearcats turned the ball over on downs and Ozark went into victory formation for the first time in the series since 2019.
The Bearcats will next face Paris to close out nonconference play in what will also be the home opener on Friday. Paris is 2-0 after a 34-2 win over Lavaca and a 27-0 win over Waldron in week 0.
