HOW ‘BOUT THAT COMEBACK?! | Overton goes down 24, roars back for a 45-44 overtime win

Overton now has its signature win of the 2024 season.

And it just might take Mount Enterprise a while to forget that one.

In a shocking finish to what was a first-half rout, coach Scotty Laymance’s Overton High School Mustangs came roaring back, slowing the Wildcats’ offense to a crawl in the second half – and getting offensive fireworks of their own – in a 45-44 overtime win for the ages at the Wildcats’ B.W. Jackson Field.

After Mount Enterprise scored on its overtime possession, Overton’s Jayden Edwards took a flip from quarterback Bryce Still for 11 yards, from the 25-yard-line to the 14. Justin Weir broke free down to the 1, and on the next play, Still took the final yard for the score.

That tied the game at 44.

Then, Laymance sent Jackson Furlow, a freshman, out to kick the all-important extra point. Furlow hit it, finished the game and sent the Overton fans that traveled to the game into a frenzy. It was the game’s only extra point: Mount Enterprise set the tone early, going for two-point conversions on all four of its first-half touchdowns, and Overton was compelled to also go for two as a result.

Overton, now 7-2 overall, moves to 4-1 in District 11-2A, Division I and takes over second place in that district, behind Lovelady, with one week of the regular season remaining. Lovelady defeated Overton last month, and routed Cushing Friday night to run its district record to 5-0, and tops the district standings. Grapeland defeated Tenaha Friday night and is also 4-1, like Overton, but Overton would win the tiebreaker with Grapeland by virtue of its 41-36 win in Grapeland on Sept. 27.

The Mustangs finish the regular season on Friday with a home game against Cushing.

Mount Enterprise falls to 6-3 overall, but also, 2-3 in district play, but can still make the playoffs in the number four spot with a win at Alto on Friday.

Things didn’t look like they would play out that way early. It was the Kaegan Ash Show for the Wildcats – and for the Mustangs – as Ash hit score after score in the first half, and sometimes two-point conversions, as the Wildcats built a 24-0 lead, the final one a 32-yard run by Ash and subsequent conversion.

That was with 7:40 left in the first half.

And Overton then began to crawl out of the hole.

The Mustangs steadily came downfield on their next possession, with Still getting the ball to Edwards, who scored. The conversion was good, as well, and Overton trailed 24-8.

Overton called for an onside kick, something Mount Enterprise successfully pulled off when building that lead, but the Wildcats recovered and eventually score, adding to the lead (32-8), with 4:50 left until halftime.

But the Mustangs would get a huge touchdown, another pass from Still to Edwards, then a conversion pass from Still to Jacob Osburn, to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 32-16, the halftime score. The Wildcats had an opportunity to score late in the half, but missed it when time expired following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The second half was a clinic in how to stage a comeback on the football field.

Overton’s defense, which looked like it was on its heels in the first half, stood tall in the second, stopping Mount Enterprise from scoring and giving the ball back to their offense. A long run by Still set Overton up at the Wildcats’ 29-yard-line, and then a play by Edwards got them down to the 10.

A run by Weir got the ball inside the 5, and then Still took it in on the next play.

On the two-point conversion attempt, Still was rushed – he avoided it, barely, and found Weir all alone in the end zone for the two. That cut Mount Enterprise’s lead to 32-24, with six minutes left in the third quarter.

After that, Overton’s defense stood tall again, giving the ball back to the offense on downs at Overton’s 35, still in the third quarter.

Speaking of Still, he found Edwards on a big gainer, all the way to the Wildcats’ 45 and another first down. Gabriel Miller reeled off a quick run behind the offensive line of Garrett Boney, Elijah Dorsey, Vance Fletcher, Chris Foster and Eathen Oates, and two plays later, Overton was at the Wildcats’ 16.

And then: a pass from Still to Rylan Holleman for the touchdown.

Still pitched the ball to Weir on the conversion attempt, but it failed – Overton trailed, but only by two (32-30), with 2:11 left in the third.

Ash, who was so big for Mount Enterprise in the first half, might as well have had an X on his chest instead of a 3 in the second half, as he was the focal point of the Overton defense. They did manage to convert on fourth-and-2 at Overton’s 38, but would turn the ball over on downs later in the series.

And guess what? The Wildcats couldn’t stop Still and Overton’s offense.

Still scrambled to the Mount Enterprise 32, a 27-yard run, and then Miller bolted through the heart of the Wildcats’ defense, all the way to the Wildcats’ 15, with 6:47 left in the game.

A holding penalty called back Still’s next run, but then he found Bryson Bobbitt for a huge pass play, down to Mount Enterprise’s 5. Still scored on the next play, a 5-yard run, and gave Overton an incredible 36-32 lead in a game that it trailed at one point by 24.

Still found Edwards on the two-point conversion pass and put the Mustangs in front, 38-32.

Give credit to Mount Enterprise for getting down the field, converting a key fourth down at Overton’s 35 at one point, and scoring – Tracey Thompson on the run – and tying the game at 38.

But for the first time in the game, when Ash tried for the conversion that would’ve given Mount Enterprise the lead, Overton’s defensive front just collapsed on Ash, and he was short, leaving the contest tied at 38 with 1:18 left.

Rather than elect to kick off and push Overton’s offense back, the Wildcats attempted an onside kick yet again. This one failed. And handed Still the ball with all three time outs left, and 1:18 to work with.

Overton went into hurry-up, no-huddle offense. Still tried to hit Holleman downfield, but he was double-covered: incomplete.

The Mustangs were in fourth-and-5 at the Mount Enterprise 49, but this time, Holleman and Still connected for a first down, and Holleman went out of bounds with 29 seconds left. Time would run out on Overton’s potential game-winning drive, though, and regulation was over. The game went to overtime.

Thompson, who scored the game-tying touchdown, scored for the Wildcats on their first overtime possession, a 7-yard run. But the conversion failed, thanks to Overton’s run defense yet again.

That’s when we got the game-winning sequence: the flip to Edwards, the run by Weir to the run, and then Still up the middle for the score.

Furlow’s extra point was the difference, and he hit it for the win.

For Overton, Still only missed five passes on the night. He finished 24-of-29 for 255 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, and also ran 11 times for 88 yards and three scores, just an unbelievable performance in the comeback.

He had a lot of help. Weir finished with 85 yards on 11 carries, and Miller with 43 on just five carries.

Edwards was amazing, as usual: 13 catches for 161 Wildcat-killing yards, and the two touchdowns. And Holleman had five catches for 46 yards and the score, making Mount Enterprise feel every single one of those five.

Bobbitt had three for 33, Osburn two, for 12, and Weir one, for 3, not to mention his two-point conversion catch.

Weir was fantastic on defense: 20 tackles and one for loss. Holleman, too: 14 total tackles. Oates also had 14, Gunnar Whitfield 11, and Still and Mason Rowe, 10 tackles each.

Still and Braxton Harper each had fumble recoveries on defense, and Still, Boney and Dorsey each had a caused fumble.