JONES – Bethany senior Wyatt Geissler hauled in a 66-yard touchdown pass in the final minute to push Bethany past 2A Jones, 36-29, Friday (Sept. 13).

“It was a great team win,” Bethany coach Jon Arthur said via text. “So many guys made big plays for us.”

The final non-district tuneup for both teams turned into a back-and-forth contest.

Bethany opened the scoring when Geissler took a swing pass from senior Jackie Payne 47 yards for Bethany’s first score at the 9:34 mark of the first quarter.

Jones answered with a 2-yard run up the middle by junior Coda Harris to tie the game at 7-7.

On the next possession, Bethany was forced to punt. The Broncho defense got the ball back, recovering a Tripp Rogers fumble.

Bethany took advantage of the turnover three plays later when junior Judson Gilliland got open over the middle out of the backfield, catching a 28-yard touchdown pass from Payne to retake the lead, 14-7, late in the first quarter.

The Longhorns (2-1) took command in the second quarter.

Harris scored again, catching a screen pass from Jones junior Acyn Hansen and sprinting down the Jones sideline for an 18-yard score. Jones holder Creighton Jones handled a low-snap on the extra-point try but was able to get into the end zone, somersaulting for a two-point conversion to give the Longhorns a 15-14 lead.

The Bronchos drove into Jones territory but couldn’t score. Bethany gave the ball back on a turnover on downs.

The Longhorns mounted a scoring drive, capped by a circus catch by senior Creighton Jones, who caught a ball tipped by Bethany’s Payne near the goal line and lunged into the end zone. The 16-yard score extended Jones lead to 22-14 just before halftime.

After the intermission, Bethany struck back. Gilliland connected with senior Garrett Johnson on a 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle. Payne’s pass on the two-point conversion was intercepted and Jones held a 22-20 lead.

Bethany scored again at the start of the fourth quarter. Payne tossed a long pass from across his body while being pursue to the Bethany sideline. Junior Seth Greiner came up with the catch for a 34-yard completion deep in Jones territory.

Two plays later, Gilliland took a direct snap and powered through the middle for a three-yard score. On the two-point conversion, Gilliland found a diving Payne in the back of the end zone and Bethany had a 28-22 lead.

Jones answered late in the fourth quarter. Hansen ran the the ball three times in a row, scoring on a one-yard run. Freshman Kohlson Lindsey booted the extra point to give Jones a 29-28 lead with 1:02 left in the game.

The Longhorn lead lasted 14 seconds.

Payne found Geissler, who sprinted past the Jones secondary, for the 66-yard score. Gilliland took the direct snap on the two-point conversion and scored to give Bethany a seven-point lead, 36-29 with 48 seconds left.

Jones drove to midfield with little time left. The Longhorns were forced to use their final timeout with six seconds left after senior Charlie Tolle tackled Hansen in the middle of the field.

After the timeout, Hansen’s hail mary attempt sailed over the end zone as time expired.

“We battled through a lot of adversity in that one which was good to see,” Arthur said.

UP NEXT

Bethany has a bye week. The Bronchos continue their road trip Sept. 27 at Chickasha (0-2) to open 4A-2 play. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	F
Bethany (3-0)	14	0	6	16	36
Jones (2-1)	7	15	0	7	29