Heartbreaker: Titans Fall In Football Season Opener
The Harrodsburg Herald/Wesley Bird
No. 8 of the Mercer Titans breaks loose for a run during the Titans’ season opener.
Wesley Bird
Herald Staff
wesley@harrodsburgherald.com
The Mercer County Titans football team fell late, 21-28, to the Tates Creek Commodores in the Little Caesars Fort Harrod Bowl Saturday, Aug. 20. The young Titans team showed a lot of fight in the season opener with key players missing, a new system, an hour lightening delay and the usual kinks a team faces in their first game.
The Titans received the opening kickoff to start the game and quarterback Thaddeus Mays found Landon Yates for a six yard completion. The Titans moved the sticks with two rushes from Mays and Denim Griffieth. The Titans continued to move the ball down the field with a big play to junior Jackson Perry who made the catch over two Tates Creek defenders for a 14 yard gain.
Behind great blocking, Griffieth busted a 42 yard run and was pushed out of bounds on the one yard line. He would finish the drive two plays later with a dive up the middle for six points. Senior Gavin Wilson split the uprights for the extra points, 7-0.
Tates Creek responded with a 32 yard run up the middle and a 13 yard completion to enter the Titans’ redzone. The Commodores scored off a three yard completion, but senior Garrett Fister blocked the extra point attempt to keep the lead, 7-6.
Mays made something out of nothing, breaking multiple tackles for a 30 yard scramble. Griffieth caught a pass out of the back field to pick up another 14 yards and put Mercer on Tates Creek’s 26 yard line. Mercer’s tandem of Mays and Griffieth set up a first and goal from the five yard line, but two costly penalties backed the Titans up. They faced a fourth and 23 situation and couldn’t convert.
The Commodores aired it out with a few completions down field to get to the Titans 19 yard line. A low snap and a lucky bounce resulted in Mason Kirkland recovering a fumble to give the ball back to Mercer.
