Bowling Green School’s Buccaneers trailed 14-0 early, but nearly came all the way back in a 44-43 loss to Oak Forest Academy on the road Friday.
“We went down 14-0 in a heartbeat, probably within the first two minutes of the game,” Bowling Green coach Boomer Nunez said. “It showed us who we are. We have a lot of fight in us. We turned it into a war. It came down to special teams. We had a kickoff return for a touchdown, we snapped the ball over the punter’s head and two missed extra points and a field goal. I feel like without those special mishaps, we win the game.”
The Bucs trimmed the lead to just seven points, and trailed 36-29 at halftime.
The game began with Oak Forest returning a kick for a touchdown, followed by a three-and-out, a snap over the punter’s head and Oak Forest scoring once again for a 14-0 lead.
Bowling Green had a big day offensively.
Johntae McDowell threw for 561 yards and five touchdowns on 26-of-35 passing. He also ran 11 times for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Cameron Bell led the receivers with eight catches for 191 yards and three touchdowns.
Liam Ward had two receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown.
Rashaan Duke posted five catches for 91 yards.
Cade Knight had five receptions for 71 yards.
Larry Dillon posted six catches for 60 yards and a score along with 20 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Brayden McGehee made nine tackles.
Jackson Dobraska, Denzel Evans and Cameron Brock recorded five stops each.
Bowling Green is 4-1 this season and will face Centreville Academy on Friday. Centreville is 3-2.