By Jeff Devine
In a nail-biting region matchup Friday night, the Cottonwood Bears held off a late surge from the Ariton Purple Cats, managing to topple the Number-3-Ranked Ariton with a 28–27 victory.
Ariton, who until tonight had an undefeated season, fought hard from start to finish, trailing by just one point in a game that stayed tight throughout all four quarters. The Purple Cats struck first in the opening quarter with a touchdown to lead 7–6, but Cottonwood’s consistency kept them just ahead, scoring in every quarter to secure the win.
The game ended with an unexpected play. Ariton’s Addison Senn launched a pass toward the end zone, but Cottonwood’s Ethan Simmons picked it off just inside the goal line. With just seconds remaining and believing the game had already ended, Simmons ran out of the end zone celebrating and tossed the ball into the air. However, the play was still live—Ariton’s Easton Kilpatrick snatched the ball midair and dashed a few yards into the end zone, giving the Purple Cats a touchdown. Still, the Purple Cats fell just one point short, losing their first game of the season.
Senior running back Wells Ganey was the offensive engine for Ariton, carrying the ball 23 times for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Addison Senn contributed both through the air and on the ground, completing 12 of 18 passes for 161 yards and adding 36 rushing yards.
Senn connected with several receivers in a balanced passing attack. Connor Davidson led the group with five catches for 39 yards, followed by Easton Kilpatrick with 36 and Hayes Hammock with 34.
Defensively, Tate Kilcrease was a standout with a dominating 21 tackles, including five for loss, while Gabe Jones added 15 tackles and five tackles for loss. Brodie Lowery came up big in the secondary, snagging two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Connor Davidson succeeded in all three of his extra-point attempts.
Despite the narrow loss, Ariton showcased grit and balance on both sides of the ball, racking up 376 total yards of offense (215 rushing, 161 passing).
The Purple Cats will look to bounce back from this narrow loss as they take on next week.
