Paintsville’s defense stopped Raceland quarterback Jake Heighton at the one-yard line on fourth-and-goal in overtime, and the Tigers punched their ticket to the regional championship game with a heart-stopping 28-21 victory at Rams Stadium on Friday night.
It was a sweet ending for the Tigers, now 7-2, which had lost to Raceland on a last-second field goal during the regular season.
Paintsville will host Hazard (4-5) at Memorial Field next Friday.
The Tigers won without senior quarterback Jake Hyden, who is sidelined with an injury, behind backup Karsten Poe who was outstanding. He rushed for three touchdowns, including the game-winning 10-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in overtime. He added TD runs of 13 and one yard.
Running back Harris Phelps rushed 24 times for 128 yards and one touchdown. His three-yard score midway through the first period put the Tigers up 7-0.
At Raceland
(Class 1A playoffs)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
PV (7-2)….7 7 7 0 (7) – 28
RL (4-6)….0 14 0 7 (0) – 21
Scoring:
First Quarter
PV – Harris Phelps, 3-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 6:53
Second Quarter
RL – Jake Heighton, 1-yard run (Peyton Ison kick), 8:59
PV – Karsten Poe, 13-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 6:31
RL – Parker Fannin, 4-yard pass from Jake Heighton (Peyton Ison kick), 3:20
Third Quarter
PV – Karsten Poe, 1-yard run (Braydon Combs kick), 6:51
Fourth Quarter
RL – Jake Heighton, 5-yard run (Peyton Ison kick), 9:59
Overtime
PV – Karsten Poe, 10-yard run (Braydon Combs kick)
Next up: Paintsville (7-2) vs. Hazard (4-5), regional championship, Dec. 4.