CARTERVILLE– The Harrisburg Bulldogs defeated the Lions Saturday afternoon 12-23, advancing to round two of the IHSA Championships.

Despite the cold weather, everyone showed up for the highly anticipated rematch. Lions’ fans were pumped as the home team won the coin toss to start the game.

As the game progressed, possession went back and forth as both teams remained scoreless. That was until the start of the second quarter when the Lion’s defense opened up and gave the Bulldogs the chance to score, followed by another 2 touchdowns a few minutes later, leaving the score 23-0 at halftime.

With almost every pass thrown by senior Brandon Skelcher seeming to barely not connect with his receiving core, and with Harrisburg’s defense playing lock-down on the line, the Lions did not catch a break as they headed into the locker room without a score.

As the teams took to the field in the second half, it was clear that the Lions decided to switch their tactics and gave the ball to junior Chance Myers who opened up play with a rush for over 40 yards. 

With 2:46 left on the clock in the third quarter, senior Braden Wakey scored the Lions’ first touchdown of the game. They tried for a two-point conversion to help advance their score, but were stopped short on the run.

In their continued attempt to catch up with the Bulldogs, one of the Lion’s final drives of the game consisted of Skelcher connecting with Myers for their second and final touchdown of the game. The Lions were unsuccessful in their two-point conversion as Harrisburg intercepted their pass.

From there, Harrisburg finished the last minute of the clock, winning their second game against the Lions.