BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
SMITHS STATION — Glenwood School had two chances to win the game in the closing seconds, but both fell short in a fiercely-contested game against Valley High School.
The Lady Gators (2-4) erased a 14-point deficit and led in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Rams (4-7) scored with 2:02 left and held on for a 26-21 win at Sammy Howard Field on Oct. 14.
“I can’t be sad about tonight’s game or performance,” Glenwood head coach Ally Cadenhead said.
Trailing by five, Glenwood drove to the Valley 10 and faced fourth down with one second left. Karrington Slocumb’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete and appeared to end the game, but a penalty on Valley gave Glenwood one untimed down. Her final pass also fell incomplete.
Glenwood had taken a 21-20 lead with eight minutes left when Lola Moncus caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Slocumb. Paisley Bailey caught the extra point from Slocumb.
The Lady Gators’ defense then made a big stop with 3:44 remaining, holding a Valley fourth-and-6 run just short of the goal line. But Valley got the ball back, and Ka’Mora Prothro caught a 31-yard TD pass from Kailee Harris. The Lady Rams’ two-point try failed.
Glenwood dug an early hole. Aniyah McCullough scored on a 17-yard run off a fake play in the first quarter, and Harris ran in the extra point. McCullough added a 50-yard TD catch from Harris early in the second, and Shylar White caught the extra point for a 14-0 Valley lead. Glenwood’s defense kept it from getting worse with a fourth-down stop at its own 5 yard line late in the first quarter.
The Lady Gators then rallied. Brooklyn Sellers caught a 55-yard TD from Slocumb with 9:40 left in the half, and Lillie Moody caught the extra point to make it 14-7.
Moody intercepted Harris at the Valley 38 with 4:54 left in the half, then tied the game on a 27-yard TD catch with 38 seconds remaining. Valley appeared to pull her flag, but it had fallen off, and Moody outran a confused defense to the end zone. She also caught the extra point to tie it 14-14 at halftime.
Prothro intercepted Glenwood nine seconds into the third quarter. A penalty wiped out a 6-yard TD run by White, but Zorriah Simpson caught a 5-yard TD pass from Harris with 3:56 left in the quarter to put Valley ahead 20-14. Glenwood drove into the Valley red zone late in the third and early in the fourth but came away with no points.
Cadenhead said the biggest growth since the season opener has been trust.
“The girls have really learned to trust each other and to trust themselves too, learning how to play flag football,” she said. “I think our defense has always been solid, but offensively we’ve made a lot of improvements, with our quarterback moving, getting in the pocket, and our girls understanding their routes and knowing when to keep going or when to stop based on the defensive coverage.”
Glenwood is one of three teams in its region, and all three advance to the playoffs, seeded by record. Cadenhead said a close finish like this one will help her team prepare for postseason environments.
“We haven’t really been in a moment like that, where it came down to the end,” she said. “I could tell they were all angry, but competitive. It shows that they can compete, and in the playoffs we need to compete in order to win.”
She added that she wished some calls had gone differently. “But we can’t help that,” she said.
While multiple players have emerged for the Lady Gators, Moncus in particular has made an impact on both sides of the ball.
“Lola’s a natural-born athlete,” Cadenhead said. “She’s very quiet and she leads by example. But she’s everything to our team on offense and defense.”
The coach also pointed to Moncus’ competitive streak.
“She’s got a little attitude,” Cadenhead said. “She’s not afraid to start a fight, even though she’s only 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds. We’re really lucky to have her.”
Glenwood hosts Northside Methodist Academy at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The Lady Gators then travel to Valley for a rematch at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Ram Stadium.
