After being down 28-14 to end the half, the Bears would eventually take the lead at 36-35 on a 24-yard running touchdown by Tucker Vickers with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Rod Bailey, the Cougars’ best weapon would turn what could have been a catastrophic fumble to a recovery and an 18-yard touchdown run.  The two-point conversion made it 43-36 Cougars. 

The Bears got a kickoff return to their own 35-yard line. There was 1:11 left to play. On first down, the play was an end around for five yards by Karson Hamilton, who had three touchdown receptions on the evening. The second and five play from the 40 was an interception, caught at the Cougars’ 20 yard line by the very player who had scored the go-ahead touchdown.  In the next plays, the Bears would use up all their time outs, allowing the Cougars to kneel on third and ten with 20 second left to end the game. 

It was a game in which the Bears showed resilience, after a turnover prone second quarter in which nothing went right.  Coach Greg Smith told his team after the game that the fans could be proud of their fight.  

“I saw our kids fighting and scrapping for everything they could,” Smith said. “You know, this is not an easy place to come and play. It just isn't. It's just so different from anywhere else. But the kids came in here, and they played great. We're proud of the effort that they give and we're going to put 48 minutes together out there, and we're going to be dangerous every week.” 

Lafayette County goes to 3-3 and 1-2 in the conference. The 1-5 (0-3) Bears, playing in their first season in many years of 11-man football in their new 2A Region 3 Conference, will next travel to Foreman October 18th with kickoff at 7:00 p.m.