The Gibson Southern football program turned lemons into lemonade when they had an unexpected hole in their football schedule for September 11. When 5A Southport cancelled its trip to The Jewell on what would have been the Titans’ Fall Homecoming, head coach Nick Hart and his coaching staff needed to find a team to play. Luckily for them, they found Boonville in the same situation, so the teams agreed to face off.

The Titans won 43-35 over the Pioneers in a hard-fought battle on Friday night. The game was an offensive slug-fest with 915 total yards offensively. Titan quarterback Brady Allen had a total of 299 passing yards and 27 out of 43 completed passes. Devin Mockobee, the Boonville running back and Navy commit, finished with 415 rushing yards on 27 carries. Allen ended the night with four touchdowns, while Mockobee scored all five of Boonville’s touchdowns.

The Titans spread offense ended the game with 399 yards total, 299 of which were passing yards. The Pioneers beat the Titans in total yards, with 516 total and 428 rushing. Defensively, there were no turnovers for either team and only a few defensive stops the entire game. The two teams were close, but the Titans played better overall.

“I thought overall we played well,” senior Alex Breivogel said. “We struggled on defense, but offense as a whole played pretty good.”

The first quarter saw each team score two touchdowns. Mockobee and Allen each had two for their respective teams, but the real action came in the second half with Mockobee running a 97-yard touchdown to bring the game within one point. The Titans had to be more vigilant of Mockobee.

“They had Devin Mockobee, and he’s committed to Navy, so we just had to watch out for him,” senior Ryan Ziliak said.

The Titans were able to score before halftime and increased their lead to eight.

In the third quarter, the Titans struck first, putting more points on the board, but Mockobee responded with a touchdown of his own. Later in the third, the Titans had a chance to run away with the game, but the Pioneers defense held them to only one touchdown in the quarter.

The Titans scored first in the fourth. Mockobee responded, scoring his last touchdown of the night to bring the game within eight points. It wasn’t enough, though, and the Titans were able to hold the Pioneers off, securing the win.

“I think what we did really well was, we found a way to make enough plays to win the game,” head coach Nick Hart said. “That’s what really counts.”

One thing that hurt the Pioneers was penalties. They lost more than a hundred yards due to flags. This and the Titans’ spread offense were too much for the Pioneers to handle on Friday night, giving Gibson Southern its second win of the season, making them 2-2 so far.

Gibson Southern travels to Southridge on September 18.