Molina’s Late Field Goal Completes Pottsville’s 18-Point Comeback
Pottsville 49, Prairie Grove 46
PRAIRIE GROVE — Pottsville erased an 18-point halftime deficit and defeated Prairie Grove 49-46 Friday on Jhostin Molina’s 38-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.
Prairie Grove controlled the first half behind quarterback Noah Bowling. He threw touchdown passes to Kenan Stucki and Jaxon Murphy, then scored on a 5-yard keeper before halftime. Stucki’s score completed an 80-yard opening drive. Lucius’ long kickoff return and a face-mask penalty then set up Murphy’s touchdown 38 seconds before the first quarter ended. Race Orr added a rushing touchdown, while the Tigers recovered two Pottsville fumbles, converting the second into Orr’s touchdown, and led 30-12.
Pottsville changed the game after intermission. Tyson Thacker broke a 53-yard run to the 1, where Cort Johnson scored. Kai Mahan followed with a 9-yard touchdown and Johnson’s two-point pass to Eli Morris cut the margin to 30-26. Johnson found Morris for 27 yards to the 2, and Penn Helton scored to give Pottsville its first lead, 32-30.
Thacker’s 11-yard touchdown and Molina’s extra point made it 39-30 early in the fourth. Prairie Grove answered with Orr’s 4-yard score and Bowling’s conversion run. Pottsville responded with a clock-draining possession finished by Thacker’s 1-yard touchdown, his third score, for a 46-38 lead.
The Tigers tied it with 1:30 left when Orr scored and caught Bowling’s two-point pass. With no timeouts, Pottsville faced third-and-7 at its 40. Johnson passed 29 yards to Morris, and the next run moved the ball to the Prairie Grove 21. Molina delivered the winning kick.
On the final kickoff, Prairie Grove lateraled the ball to Aden Lucius, but Pottsville recovered a fumble at the 25. Mahan’s second-quarter interception, Morris’ 29-yard final-drive catch and three third-quarter stops completed the comeback. Prairie Grove scored 16 fourth-quarter points; Pottsville scored 17 and won on the final two plays.
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
Prairie Grove – Noah Bowling 27-yard touchdown pass to Kenan Stucki (Bowling 2-point run failed), Prairie Grove 6-0, 8:02.
Pottsville – Tyson Thacker 6-yard touchdown run (Jhostin Molina kick failed), 6-6, 1:23.
Prairie Grove – Bowling 26-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Murphy (Aden Lucius 2-point run), Prairie Grove 14-6, 0:38.
2nd Quarter
Prairie Grove – Race Orr 18-yard touchdown run (Bowling 2-point run), Prairie Grove 22-6, 5:44.
Pottsville – Penn Helton 14-yard touchdown run (Kai Mahan 2-point run failed), Prairie Grove 22-12, 3:00.
Prairie Grove – Bowling 5-yard touchdown run (Jaxon Murphy 2-point run), Prairie Grove 30-12, 0:25.
3rd Quarter
Pottsville – Cort Johnson 1-yard touchdown run (Mahan 2-point run failed), Prairie Grove 30-18, 10:59.
Pottsville – Mahan 9-yard touchdown run (Johnson pass to Eli Morris), Prairie Grove 30-26, 6:50.
Pottsville – Helton 2-yard touchdown run (Molina kick blocked), Pottsville 32-30, 4:10.
4th Quarter
Pottsville – Thacker 11-yard touchdown run (Molina kick), Pottsville 39-30, 10:56.
Prairie Grove – Orr 4-yard touchdown run (Bowling 2-point run), Pottsville 39-38, 7:01.
Pottsville – Thacker 1-yard touchdown run (Molina kick), Pottsville 46-38, 4:14.
Prairie Grove – Orr 4-yard touchdown run (Bowling pass to Orr), 46-46, 1:30.
Pottsville – Molina 38-yard field goal (Lane Small hold), Pottsville 49-46, 0:06.
Players of the Game
Tyson Thacker, Pottsville junior fullback — Scored three rushing touchdowns covering 6, 11 and 1 yards. His 53-yard third-quarter run reached the Prairie Grove 1 and set up Cort Johnson’s touchdown.
Jhostin Molina, Pottsville sophomore kicker — Converted two extra points and made the game-winning 38-yard field goal with six seconds remaining.
Eli Morris, Pottsville senior receiver/running back — Caught a 27-yard pass to the 2 before Pottsville took its first lead, caught a 29-yard pass on the winning drive and secured a two-point conversion. Defensively, he broke up two passes and made a touchdown-saving tackle.
Noah Bowling, Prairie Grove senior quarterback — Threw touchdown passes of 27 and 26 yards, scored on a 5-yard run, converted two two-point runs and threw the game-tying conversion pass.
Race Orr, Prairie Grove sophomore running back/linebacker — Scored three rushing touchdowns covering 18, 4 and 4 yards. He also caught the two-point pass that tied the game with 1:30 remaining.