The G.W. Long Rebels defeated the Pike County Bulldogs 23-21 on Friday night in a thrilling finish.

Most of the first half went scoreless, with Pike County forcing two fumbles to keep a strong rushing attack by G.W. Long out of the end zone.

The Bulldogs offense couldn’t get anything going off of the turnovers though. The team ended the first half with only 54 yards.

G.W. Long had 151 yards on the ground in the half. The longest drive of the half for the Rebels was a 71-yard drive that took over seven minutes and ended in a touchdown with 2:44 left in the half.

Pike County tried to answer before the half, but quarterback Jaidyn Wilson’s pass was intercepted off of a deflection and returned to the Bulldogs 29-yard line with 30 seconds left in the half.

The Rebels completed a 28-yard screen two plays later to set up a 1-yard touchdown run six seconds before halftime.

The Bulldogs fought back in the second half, opening with a touchdown drive mostly through the air. Wilson connected with wide receiver TeKeven Thomas on a 23-yard pass early in the drive and finished it with a 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kevon Harris.

Pike County stopped the Rebels on third down on the next drive, but a costly personal foul allowed G.W. Long to extend the drive and score a field goal to go up 17-7.

The Bulldogs looked sharp offensively again on the next drive, with two passes over 15 yards to set up a 16-yard touchdown run for running back Jahzarian Lampley at the start of the fourth quarter.

The extra point was no good, bringing the score to 17-13 in favor of the Rebels.

The defense held on the next drive, forcing a punt which the Bulldogs recovered at their own 46. The offense drove down to the G.W. Long 23-yard line, but Wilson had a second pass intercepted off of a deflection to give the Rebels the ball back with eight minutes left in the game.

The defense forced the Rebels offense backward and then forced a fumble on a big hit to give the Bulldogs possession again at the 27-yard line with 5:45 left in the game.

However, a penalty put the offense behind the sticks and the team faced a fourth-and-12 with the game on the line. Receiver Juhmir Lampley had a shot to catch a potential game-winning pass in the end zone, but it was well-contested and Lampley couldn’t come up with the pass.

The Rebels took the ball 72 yards down the filed on the ground on the next drive, seemingly icing the game by going up 23-13 with only 1:45 on the clock.

But with a 70-yard catch-and-run by Juhmir Lampley on the next drive, the Bulldogs were able to make it 23-21 and attempted an onside kick for a chance to win the game in the final minute.

The Rebels recovered though, effectively ending the game.

Head Coach Fred Holland said that he was proud of his team’s fight and said that there was nothing specific to fix before going into the playoffs.

“The kids played extremely hard,” Holland said. “G.W. Long came ready to play. Sometimes that just happens.”

The loss gives Pike County a final record of 8-2 for the regular season. G.W. Long finished undefeated.

Pike County will face American Christian at home next Friday for the first round of playoffs.