WESTSIDE -- Fortune favored the Gravette Lions Friday night when the team hit the road for a nonconference matchup with the Inola, Okla., Longhorns.
Coming off a tough 26-8 loss to Vian, Okla., Aug. 28, Coach Kelby Bohannon and his staff took the week to work out kinks in the Lions' playbook before the Friday night contest. The results worked and the Lions took the game by two points in a seesaw scoring duel.
Shortly after the start of the first quarter, the Longhorns scrambled into the end zone for the first six points of the night. The extra point was good, giving Inola an early 7-0 lead. Inola found the goal line one more time in the first quarter on a six-yard run. A failed conversion put the Longhorns up, 13-0, over the Lions.
Gravette finally found the end zone early in the second quarter. A conversion attempt found its mark, making it a 13-8 ballgame. Late in the second quarter, the Lions crossed the goal line for their second touchdown of the night. The conversion attempt was successful as well, giving Gravette its first lead of the evening, 16-13.
The Longhorns came back late in the third quarter on a 29-yard touchdown run. The extra point split the uprights, making it a 20-16 Inola contest.
Toward the end of the quarter, the Lions scrambled across the goal line for what would be the final touchdown of the evening. This time the Longhorn defense held its line, preventing the Lions from completing the two-point conversion.
The final 12 minutes of the contest were scoreless, giving the Gravette Lions their first victory of the season, 22-20.
Gravette managed 293 total yards, 159 of which were passing yards and 134 were rushing. The Lions managed only two of nine third-down conversions to Inola's six of 12. Gravette turned over the ball three times, fumbling twice, and intercepted the ball one time.
Inola had 334 total yards, with 342 passing yards and a negative eight yards rushing. The Longhorns committed one turnover, a fumble.
The Gravette Lions hit the road once again for a 7 p.m. football contest against the Pryor, Okla., Tigers at Tiger Stadium on Friday, Sept. 11.