For the first time since 2015, the Gibson Southern Titans are Regional Champions. The Titans defeated the Lawrenceburg Tigers in a close battle, ending in a score of 31-29 in the class 3A 

Regional Championship on Saturday.

“It feels great to be a Regional Champion,” coach Nick Hart said.

The Titans came out and had a quick stop against the Lawrenceburg offense and then received a punt on their own two-yard line. They then drove up the field quickly. The Titans took advantage of this early offensive drive and scored on a 28-yard pass from senior quarterback Brady Allen to sophomore Sean DeLong. This put the Titans up 7-0 with four minutes to go in the first quarter. 

“I was honestly so out of breath and gassed from the first couple of drives, I just wanted to go to the sidelines to get some water,” DeLong said. “I was mostly just glad we got on the board to get our offense more comfortable for the rest of the game.” 

Lawrenceburg got the ball on their own 28-yard line. After a couple of first downs, Lawrenceburg got inside the Titan’s 20. Lawrenceburg scored on a 20-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7, with under a minute to go in the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, the Titans were forced to punt the ball, giving the ball to Lawrenceburg on their own 20 yard line. After a defensive stop by the Titans, the Tigers punted the ball back to Gibson Southern, giving them the ball on their own 45-yard line. After a long pass from Allen, the Titans quickly got up the field, moving them to the Tiger’s 39-yard line. The Titans scored off a 14-yard catch by Brayden Malone from Allen with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. Titans defense forced another punt, giving them the ball back with five minutes to play in the second quarter. 

Allen took a hard hit and came out for a play at the end of the second. He came back in the game and completed a 10-yard pass to senior Adrean Lukeman, putting the Titans up 21-7 with two minutes to go in the second. The Titans recovered a fumble by Lawrenceburg, before halftime. 

The Titans received the ball in the third quarter and scored on a 22-yard pass from Allen to senior Levi Dickerson on that drive. Lawrenceburg received the ball and then scored on a 76-yard passing touchdown, making the score 28-14. After several defensive stops by both teams, the third quarter came to an end. 

Lawrenceburg scored early in the fourth quarter after a 30-yard passing touchdown and then scored a two-point conversion, making the score 28-22. Lawrenceburg then intercepted the football and scored on that drive with a 55-yard touchdown pass making the score 29-28, giving the Tigers their first lead of the game. 

With eight minutes to play, the Titans drove up the field. They ended up on the 4-yard line with a fourth down. The Titans sent out senior kicker Chris Spear, hoping for the field goal to give them a small lead late in the fourth. 

“I was a little nervous; me and coach Deer practiced situations like that during practice all the time,” Spear said. “He did a really good job preparing me for moments like that, then it was just time to execute what we have practiced.”

Spear hit the 19-yard field goal to give the Titans a slim lead, 31-29,with four minutes left on the clock.

“It felt great; I never expected to be in a moment like that,” Spear said. “But, scoring the field goal and hearing everyone cheer was amazing. I’ve never felt that excited about a game before.”

Lawrenceburg got a first down on their own 44-yard line with a minute to go. The Titans defense shut down the Lawrenceburg offense. leaving the Tigers with a turnover on downs, giving the Titans a 31-29 win and a Regional Championship. 

The Titans face Tri West Hendricks on Saturday, November 20.