Straughn scored a late touchdown to force the game into overtime, but the Tigers came up short, falling to Hillcrest-Evergreen 27-26 Friday night at SHS.

The Jaguars started the scoring off via the air when they connected on a deep ball gaining 52 yards on the score.

It took only three plays for Hillcrest-Evergreen to find the end zone for the second time when the same two Jaguars hooked up again for another 50-plus yard touchdown pass. After a successful two-point conversion, the Jaguars held a 14-0 lead.

The Tigers got their first touchdown near the end of the first half.

Straughn senior Zack Turvin finished off the drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to William Worley. The Tigers’ drive was aided by four Jaguar personal fouls, with one coming on a fourth-down play that would have ended the drive.

The second half started off strong for the Tigers when Chase Short caught a Turvin pass, and out-ran the Jaguar defenders to the end zone for 60 yards to tie the game at 14-14.

The Jaguars added another score late in the fourth quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run to cap off a seven-minute, 86-yard drive to give them a 20-14 lead with more than three minutes left in the game.

With time running out, Turvin was able to lead the Tiger offense down the field by completing six passes on the final drive of regulation, including the game-tying touchdown pass to Devin Scott with just 21 seconds left on the clock. The Tigers missed the extra point and sent the game into overtime.

Overtime didn’t last very long with both teams scoring on the first play. The Tigers got the ball first and Turvin added his third touchdown pass of the game by connecting with Short from 10 yards out. The Tigers opted to go for two following the touchdown but were denied by the Jaguars defense.

The Jaguars finished the night off when they took their first play of OT 10 yards for the touchdown. They nailed the extra point and the Jaguars earned the victory.

The Tigers fall to 2-2 overall, and 1-3 in Class 4A, Region 2. Straughn will travel to Opp to take on the Bobcats next Friday night.