Lake County rallies, falls short against Gleason

 



Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

A tough first half left the Falcons just two points shy of a running clock in the second half on Friday night, but a strong third-quarter effort by Lake County turned things around as the green and gold gave Gleason all the Bulldogs wanted before falling 50-34 on Friday night in Tiptonville.

“At the end of the day, we had a lot better attitude and effort in the second half,” Lake County Head Coach Hunter Short said. “There’s two things in this world you can control no matter what – your attitude and your effort.

“Our attitude and effort was not very good in the first half and it clearly showed.”


Trailing 36-8 heading into the second half, the Flacons were able to get back onto the board for the first time since the opening quarter late in the third frame. Ka’Devnon Gross capped a Lake County drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 3:30 left in the frame. The two-point conversion failed, but the Falcons cut the Gleason lead to 36-14.

“We went in at halftime and I didn’t yell, didn’t scream,” Short recalled. “I just told them how it is.

“I didn’t do anything magical in the second half to stop them or score more points. We just played football and it is what it is.”

With about 15 minutes of gametime left on the clock, the Falcons went for a big play on special teams – and got it in the form of a Randy Demo recovery of an onside kick.

Lake County made the most of it quickly as sophomore quarterback Cade Lanier found an open Demo for a 44-yard touchdown pass. The two-point attempt failed but the Falcons now trailed 36-20 with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

For the Falcons, the only thing better than one onside kick was a second – which was also recovered by Demo to give the Falcons life again at the Gleason 48-yard line. With key runs from Gross, the Lake County offense rode Gross down the field to the 3-yard line where he scored with 35 seconds left in the quarter. Gross then tacked on the two-point conversion to cut the Gleason lead to 36-28.

Lake County was able to force a punt early in the fourth quarter but, despite picking up a pair of first-downs with a pair of passes from Demo and a run by the junior running back, the Falcons were forced to put with 8:12 left in the game.


Gleason was able to finally break through the Lake County defense on the next series as Gage Byington broke a long run to the Falcon 3-yard line. Bulldog quarterback Kyzer Crochet hit Drake Lehmkul for a three-yard touchdown pass with 5:40 left in the game. The two-point attempt failed but Gleason’s lead was back to 42-28.


The Lake County offense was not done though. Driving down the field after a pass down the middle to Nigel Clark, Lanier broke free on a keeper for a 26-yard touchdown run to put the Falcons back on the board. The two-point attempt failed, leaving Lake County trailing 42-34 with 4:03 left in the game.

The Falcon defense toughened again and forced another punt. Lake County responded with a first down run by Lanier then a 32-yard pass from Lanier to Clark to the Gleason 33-yard line with just over a minute left in the game. But, on the next play, Lanier’s next pass was intercepted near the goal line, ending the Falcon threat.

From there, the Bulldogs tacked on a late 94-yard touchdown run by Byington and a two-point conversion to seal the win.

“We’re a little more banged up right now which is a worst-case scenario,” the Lake County head coach said. “But, we’ve got Fulton County next week.

“All you can do is look in the windshield and not the rear-view mirror.”

Gleason was able to take a lead in the first quarter after a pair of touchdown passes to Lehmkuhl (for 21 and 26 yards respectively) to help Gleason take a 14-0 lead.

Lake County was able to get on the board late in the first quarter with a five-yard run by Gross with 2:52 left in the frame. Lanier’s pass to Jataveion Ricks for the two-pointer cut the Bulldog lead to 14-8.

But, Gleason scored 22 straight points to end the first half and take a commanding halftime lead before Lake County rallied to set up the exciting second half.


Lake County will be in action next on Friday as the Falcons celebrate Homecoming 2025 when the green and gold welcome Fulton County, Ky. to Tiptonville at 7 p.m.

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