CARTERVILLE– A gritty Harrisburg team moved the Carterville Lions to 5-1 on the season, handing them a 29-28 loss on Friday night.

The start of Friday’s game leaned in the favor of the Bulldogs with them scoring the first touchdown of the night, quieting the Carterville faithful.

Looking to answer Harrisburg’s lead, Brandon Skelcher aimed towards his favorite target, junior Nick Bisching, with a 90-yard touchdown pass for the Lions; aided by junior Riley Crain’s kick, the score evened out at 7-7.

The two teams went back and forth until senior Peyton VanHorn landed in the endzone for another Lion touchdown, giving Carterville the much desired lead over Harrisburg.

With thirty-nine seconds left in the first half, the Bulldogs scored, leaving the score 14-all as they headed into the locker rooms.

In the start of the third quarter, junior Chance Myers gave Carterville the lead over Harrisburg with a touchdown, followed by a successful kick from Crain.

Despite a penalty flag ruining Harrisburg’s first attempt at a comeback, they ended up scoring with 9:55 left in the game.

Junior Mason Watts then progressed his team with a touchdown pass from Skelcher, once again putting Carterville ahead of Harrisburg.

The Bulldogs ended the game in the last minute and a half after scoring the final touchdown of the night and converting a two-point conversion, giving the Bulldogs the lead by one point, 29-28. After a turnover on downs, Harrisburg took a knee for the last 25 seconds of the game, securing their win against the home team.