BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Glenwood School’s defense came up with four interceptions, but the offense couldn’t turn enough of those chances into points in an 18-6 road loss to Russell County High School at Corbett-Mitchell Stadium on Sept. 24.
The Lady Gators (1-2) twice took over inside the 15 yard line in the first half and came away empty both times, while Jada Flournoy ran for three touchdowns for the Lady Warriors (5-3).
Glenwood played without starting quarterback Karrington Slocumb, who was sick, forcing head coach Ally Cadenhead to shuffle positions at the last minute.
“I feel like we’re getting there,” Cadenhead said. “We’re making the plays and we’re getting down the field. Now we just have to execute to score.”
Russell County struck first. McKenzie Word intercepted a pass on the game’s first play, and Flournoy scored on a 1-yard run less than 20 seconds in. The extra-point attempt failed.
Lillian Moody answered with an interception near Glenwood’s 28 yard line, but Zoe Battle picked off a pass near midfield to end that possession. Chloe Walden then intercepted a pass and returned it to the 19, and Lola Moncus scored on a 1-yard run with 6:05 left in the first quarter to tie the score at 6. The extra-point run failed.
Glenwood took over at the Lady Warriors’ 14 yard line late in the quarter after Russell County mishandled a punt snap, and Moody’s second interception set the Lady Gators up at the 7 in the second quarter, but they scored neither time.
“She’s a go-getter,” Cadenhead said of Moody, who also plays basketball and soccer. “She’s very aggressive, which obviously showed with the interceptions and her athletic ability.”
The Lady Warriors took the lead back for good with 1:47 left in the half when Flournoy used back-to-back spin moves on a 13-yard TD run before the extra-point pass failed.
Glenwood’s defense kept it 12-6 at halftime with a stop inside their own 10 yard line in the final 15 seconds.
“I’m proud of our defense,” Cadenhead said. “Russell County has a lot of fast, quick girls who can move, so I’m proud of [our defense] for holding them to 18 points.”
Brooklyn Sellers added Glenwood’s fourth interception deep in its own territory late in the third quarter, but the offense couldn’t close the gap.
Flournoy ultimately sealed the win with a 25-yard TD run with 1:01 left, and Jaliyah McCottrell intercepted Glenwood’s final pass as time expired.
“I just told them to flush it,” Cadenhead said. “We tried our best, and hopefully next week everyone is healthy and we’re able to get back to where we were last week with getting wins.”
The Lady Gators’ next game is at home against Trinity Presbyterian School (1-2) on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. at Sammy Howard Field.
