Trailing 38-27, Pinckneyville rallied to score 14 points in the final minute of play to knock off Sparta 41-38 Friday night at Pierce Field.
“It would have been a great game to watch from the stands, but it was pretty hard on a 51-year old man,” joked Pinckneyville coach Tod Rushing. “I have to give credit to the kids. They didn’t give up and they played hard to the last whistle. Bryant Shute really grew up late in this ball game, and led us to the victory.”
For Sparta the loss was devastating, as the Bulldogs were just seconds away from picking up their first win in over two years.
“The team is just heart broken,” said Sparta coach Phil Watson. “They just don’t know how to win  games yet and they don’t know how to finish off opponents. We should have finished off the game with a win. We just had way too many penalties. The kids were fired up and they played hard trying to get the win, it just didn’t bounce our way. Give credit to Pinckneyville, they made the plays at the end to pull it out.”
Pinckneyville started off the game with a physical 15-play drive that resulted in a three-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Cole Kellerman for a 7-0 advantage.
Sparta answered back 47 seconds later, as Darius Jackson connected with London Oliver on a 52-yard touchdown pass. Jackson then ran in the two-point conversion to give the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead, with 2:51 left in the first quarter.
Neil Kellerman returned the ensuing kickoff to the Sparta eight-yard line to give his team a first-and-goal. The Panthers moved the ball to the one-yard line, but one fourth down, Shute’s run was stopped short of the goal line and the Bulldogs took over downs.
The Dawgs were able to pick up one first down on their next drive, but were forced to punt four plays later.
Pinckneyville started its next drive from the Sparta 34-yard line. After a five yard run by Cole Kellerman and a seven yard run by Neil Kellerman, the Panthers had a first down at the Sparta 22-yard line.
The drive was stopped two plays later after a fumble was recovered by the Sparta defense.
One minute later, Sparta was back in the end zone after an 80-yard touchdown run by Oliver. Jackson completed the two-point pass to Jeremy Pickett as the Bulldogs’ lead increased to 16-7, with 4:53 remaining in the first half.
After three personal fouls were called and a player from each team was ejected, the Panthers once again started their next drive from within Sparta territory—the 40-yard line.
Pinckneyville moved down the field on just six plays including a three-yard touchdown run by Neil Kellerman. The two-point conversion was stopped by Sparta and with 2:08 left in the first half, Sparta’s lead was reduced to 16-13. The scoring drive was highlighted by an 11-yard pass completion from Shute to Neil Kellerman and an 18-yard run by J.D. Conner.
Sparta’s next possession was prematurely halted after a fumble was recovered by Pinckneyville and the Panthers took over from the Sparta 47-yard line.
Shute started the drive with a 15-yard run and then followed it up with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Adam Barczewski to give his team a 19-16 lead at halftime.
Pinckneyville started the second half by recovering its own onside kick, but fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage.
Sparta, which took over possession from the Pinckneyville 43-yard line, couldn’t get anything going on offense and were forced to punt after just three plays.
Shute returned the punt to the Sparta 44-yard line, as the Panthers once again had prime starting field position for its next drive.
The Panthers moved the ball 44 yards on eight plays which was capped off by a five-yard touchdown run by Cole Kellerman. Shute hooked up with Barczewski for the two-point conversion as Pinckneyville increased its lead to 25-16, with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The Sparta offense failed to pick up a first down on its next drive and the Panthers took over on downs from the Sparta 24-yard line.
Jackson intercepted a Shute pass three plays later and returned it to the Pinckneyville 38 to keep his team in the game.
Sparta marched down the field 38 yards on 10 plays resulting in a three-yard touchdown run by Jackson. Jackson then connected with Pickett for the two-point conversion, as the Bulldogs trailed only 24-27, with 9:47 left in the game.
Pinckneyville fumbled away the ball on the ensuing kickoff and Sparta recovered the loose ball at the Pinckneyville 42-yard line. Oliver found the end zone three plays later on an 18-yard run, as Sparta reclaimed the lead 30-27 with 7:55 left in the game.
Pinckneyville started its next drive from its own 42 yard line, but fumbled the ball away once again two plays later. Sparta took over from mid-field, but were forced to punt the ball away after just three plays.
The Panthers started from their own 15-yard line, but were able to move the ball to the 34-yard line after runs of seven and nine yards respectively from Neil and Cole Kellerman. The drive would stall there for the Panthers, and on fourth down a dropped pass would turn the ball back over to Sparta.
Jackson called his own number on the next play and found the endzone from 37 yards out. Jackson ran in the two-point conversion and with 1:46 left in the game, Sparta led 38-27.
It took the Panthers just under a minute to respond with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Shute to Justin Hale. Shute then connected with Barczewski for the two-point conversion as the Sparta lead was 38-35 with just over 40 seconds remaining in the game.
With little time remaining, the Panthers went for the onside kick which they recovered at the 50-yard line with 37.2 seconds left.
Shute hooked up with Barczewski for a 44-yard gain to give Pinckneyville a first and goal from the six-yard line. Three plays later, Shute was able to break containment and hurdle a Sparta defender for the game winning score.
“This was a huge win for us,” said Rushing. “We had lost several games in a row and we needed a win for our own confidence. We were able to move the ball all night, we just had a hard time hanging on to the football.”
Pinckneyville finished the game with 246 yards rushing and 144 yards passing to go with five turnovers. Cole Kellerman led the Panther rushing attack with 74 yards, while Conner and Shute each added 60 yards in the win. Shute also completed 6-of-11 passes for 144 yards.
Sparta had 241 yards rushing and 98 yards passing. Oliver finished with 117 yards rushing on just seven carries, while Jackson finished with 123 yards on 17 attempts.
Pinckneyville improved to 2-5 on the season with the win, while Sparta dropped to 0-7. Pinckneyville will host Carterville (5-2), while Sparta will travel to take on Nashville (5-2).