Owen High suffers second loss of the season to North Henderson

Owen High suffered its second loss of the season on its home turf to North Henderson in a closely contested matchup. 

The North Henderson Knights scored seven touchdowns to Owen's five, defeating the Warhorses 48-34. Despite a 21-point comeback in the first quarter, the Warhorses (1-2) couldn't keep the Knights out of the end zone.

"Defense was our Achilles heel," said Owen coach Brint Russell. 

North Henderson scored a touchdown within the first minute courtesy of running back Hazahn Collington. Not long after, an Owen kick was blocked, leading to another touchdown from Collington. 

The first of four fumbles from Owen led to a third touchdown for Collington with five minutes left in the first quarter.

Owen finally scored its first touchdown at the start of the second quarter with a rush from running back Cadyn Cook. Quarterback Eli Lanter rushed nearly 50 yards total, scoring two touchdowns. 

"Eli's our starting quarterback," Russell said. "Senior, smart, heady, a great leader. I'm really happy with his performance."

An Owen interception quickly led to a touchdown soon after from tight end Will Johnson. An Alex Sanchez interception, allowed Cook to score again and tie the game 21-21 at halftime. 

"The kids bounced back, tied 21 at halftime. I was very proud of that," Russell said. 

The Knights scored twice more utilizing the running game of senior Jaylen Croft. And, an Owen fumble on the extra point attempt led to a 35-27 deficit for Owen at the beginning of the fourth quarter. 

The final Owen fumble of the night led to another Knights touchdown but with a missed extra point conversion. Quarterback Lanter faked a handoff and rushed to the end zone for Owen's final touchdown of the game. 

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Collington scored his fourth touchdown, putting the Knights up for their final points. In a last chance effort, Sanchez took over as quarterback but was sacked by North Henderson, ending the game.

"Getting back to fundamentals," Russell said. "We've got to clean it up before next week when we open up conference." 

Owen takes on its first conference game of the season at Draughn High School on Sept. 17.