OT Thriller leads Tigers to 2nd straight Mid-South Conference Title

Georgetown has been all too familiar with close games this season. Entering Saturday, the Tigers had already played in 6 games decided by 8 points or less. This day proved to be the 7th such game and carried extra levity with it. Georgetown needed overtime to take down #24 Campbellsville, 24-17. Soon after, the Tigers clinched the Mid-South Conference title after Bethel beat Lindsey Wilson in quadruple overtime. Not lost throughout the thrilling conclusion to the day was that Darius Neal also made school history again by surpassing 3,000 career rushing yards, making him the 3rd Tiger to ever accomplish the feat.

In a game where points were hard to come by for most of it, Georgetown came out strong with the ball. The first 3 plays netted 13 yards. Gehrig Slunaker and Chandler Godby then connected on 3 straight passes for a total of 34 yards to move the ball to the Campbellsville 28. Darius Neal kept the drive going on a 3rd & 9 as he broke free for 11 to the put ball on the 16. 3 plays later, Slunaker finished off a nearly perfect drive by finding Dillon Warren for a 15-yard touchdown. The drive covered 78 yards in 12 plays en route to a 7-0 Georgetown lead.

Georgetown's defense knew it had a major challenge on the day as Campbellsville averaged 33.3 PPG and was 12th in the country averaging 286.6 passing yards per game. Georgetown held Campbellsville to 1 total yard on its first 2 series, both resulting in 3 & out drives that took less than 2 minutes off the clock each. While Campbellsville's offense struggled out of the gate, its defense began giving Georgetown a myriad of challenges after the opening score. Georgetown did not pick up another first down until its 2nd drive of the 2nd quarter. In between, the Tigers managed just 9 yards of offense and had an interception. Gehrig Slunaker was picked off on the opening drive of the 2nd quarter, which gave Campbellsville the ball on the Georgetown 44. Campbellsville managed nothing out of the short field and punted.

When Georgetown did pick up that first down early in the 2nd, it came via a 19-yard pass from Slunaker to Clayton Davis. 2 plays later, the pair connected for another 11 yards to move the ball near midfield. The momentum briefly ended there as Slunaker was sacked on consecutive plays to force a Drew Rader punt. On the return, Trevaun Allen punched the ball loose. Tyler Snell fell on the ball to set the Tigers up at the Campbellsville 23 with 4:51 to go in the 2nd quarter. Georgetown called on Darius Neal to try to deliver the points. Neal ran 5 straight times down to the Campbellsville 2 at the 2-minute timeout. Out of the timeout, Neal was stuffed short on a 4th & 1, leaving the Tigers empty-handed following the turnover. Campbellsville turned in its only productive drive of the half after the turnover. CU drove 84 yards on 10 plays and converted a 31-yard field goal to make it a 7-3 Georgetown lead at half. The drive followed a first half in which Campbellsville had 5 total yards of offense before the field goal.

Campbellsville took the ball to start the 2nd half but quickly punted once more. Georgetown took over on its own 40 and got to work. 2 runs from Neal with a facemask on the latter moved the ball to the Campbellsville 36. Neal ran 3 more times for 17 yards, which helped set up Nate Craft for a 41-yard field goal to give Georgetown a 10-3 lead midway through the 3rd. Campbellsville made a QB change on its next drive. CU sent in freshman Justyce Law trying to give the offense a spark. Starting on the 25, Law led his Tigers to its own 45 where a 4th & 1 came about. Campbellsville called a timeout to debate strategy and ultimately decided to go for it on its own side of the 50. The move worked as CU picked up 2 on the play to keep the drive going. The would-be momentum came to a screeching halt for Campbellsville. CU's Andre Siler was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the 4th down conversion, which moved the ball back to the CU 32. On the next play, Law looked to pass, but Justin Richardson stepped in front of the route, secured the interception and raced 48 yards for a pick-6. The reigning MSC Defensive Player of the Week extended Georgetown's lead to 17-3 with just under 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Campbellsville returned to starting quarterback, Jagger Gillis, on the next drive. The move paid off. Gillis started the drive with 3 straight completions for 21 yards. After a 1st half in which CU ran for -9 yards, RB Tre Bass then broke free for a gain of 18 to the Georgetown 38. Gillis then hit leading receiver, Luke Sheperson for 24 yards to the Georgetown 14. Bass needed 2 carries to finish off a 7-play, 77-yard drive to bring Campbellsville right back within a touchdown as the game moved to the 4th quarter.

Georgetown's ensuing drive started promising with a 13-yard pass to Chandler Godby, followed by Gehrig Slunaker running for 15 yards to the Campbellsville 46. Jahmir Ackerson got the call on 1st down and picked up 9 more. He and Darius Neal were stuffed for no gain on 2nd & 3rd down to bring up a 4th & 1 at the CU 37. Georgetown had designs on going for the conversion but a false start wiped that out. Drew Rader executed the punt flawlessly to pin Campbellsville on its own 5. Campbellsville's high-powered offense was unfazed. Tre Bass ran twice for 18 yards to give his team breathing room. CU continued to matriculate down the field converting twice on 3rd down. It led to a 14-yard TD pass from Jagger Gillis to Archelaus Smith to tie the game at 17-all with 6:43 to go. Georgetwon lost 2 yards on a 3 & out, giving Campbellsville the ball back with exactly 5 minutes remaining. Gillis again started with 3 straight completions, this time totaling 31 yards to move the ball to the CU 42. Georgetown caught a break 2 plays later as Campbellsville was called for a hold on 2nd & 7. It led to a punt. Georgetown took back over with 1:29 left in regulation. Although the Tigers picked up 1 first down, the drive and clock expired when Slunaker was sacked on the final play of regulation.

Campbellsville won the overtime toss and chose to go on defense. After a mostly quiet day, Gehrig Slunaker saved his best throw for last as he hit Chandler Godby for 23 yards on the first play of OT to put the ball on the Campbellsville 2. 3 plays later, Slunaker called his own number on a sneak for a 1-yard score to give Georgetown the lead. Campbellsville went on the ground on its first play. Tre Bass took the handoff but was stripped at the 23 by John Carter Myers. Jacob Harmon pounced on the ball to seal the overtime win.

Roughly 15 minutes after the game ended, Bethel defeated Lindsey Wilson in 4 overtimes, thus clinching the outright MSC title for Georgetown for the 2nd straight year and 22nd time overall. The title also clinches an automatic berth into the NAIA FCS Playoffs for the Tigers.

Darius Neal was kept in check virtually all day as he needed 31 carries to gain 87 yards. The yardage now gives him 3,061 yards in his illustrious career. He joins Mitch Winburn (4,498 yards) and Tyrone Groves (3,089) as the only Tigers in school history to surpass the 3,000-yard milestone.

Gehrig Slunaker proved an effective game-manager for the 2nd week in a row. He went 15-22 for 174 yards with 1 passing and 1 rushing TD. Chandler Godby led the receiving core with 7 catches for 95 yards.

Georgetown needed all 3 phases of the game to execute on this day to come out with the win. Drew Rader nailed all 3 extra points and averaged 36 yards per punt with 2 going inside the Campbellsville 20. Nate Craft nailed the 41-yard field goal and averaged 65 yards on kickoffs with 2 touchbacks. Dillon Warren and Chandler Godby averaged 34.7 yards on kick returns.

Defensively, 10 Tigers recorded multiple tackles in the game, led by Jayson Hayes with 7. John Carter Myers had 6 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and the game-winning forced fumble. Trevaun Allen also had 6 tackles and a forced fumble. Justin Richardson only had 2 tackles but he'll be much more remembered for the 48-yard pick-six in the 3rd quarter. In total, Georgetown tallied 6 pass breakups on the day.

With the Mid-South Conference title clinched, Georgetown now turns its focus towards a 2nd straight undefeated conference season with an eye on an opening round bye in the playoffs. To do it, Georgetown will have another tough road game in the regular season finale. The Tigers will travel to Lindsey Wilson, who is coming off the heartbreaking quadruple overtime loss to Bethel. Kickoff from Columbia, KY is set for 2:00pm ET next Saturday.