Grizzlies fall to Coffeyville on the final play of the game

It was your typical Butler versus Coffeyville matchup on Sunday afternoon with the outcome coming down to the final play of the game, something this rivalry dating back to 1929 has seen far too many times. This time, Butler was on the losing end as they fell in a heartbreaker on the road at RV Coffeyville 29-28 on the final play of the game as time expired.

The loss marks the first win for the Red Ravens over the Grizzlies since the 2017 season and they now hold a 48-44-2 series lead over Butler.

For the fourth straight game, the Grizzlies defense gave up over 200 yards on the ground to their opponent. Coffeyville totaled 203 yards on the ground which kept the ball in their hands most of the game as they held it for nearly 39 minutes in the contest. 

The Red Ravens lit up the scoreboard first with a two-yard run by running back Star Thomas who finished the day with 154 rushing yards and all four of the Red Ravens touchdowns.

Butler had an answer as their Grizzly defense pinned the Red Ravens deep and a nine-yard punt out of their own endzone gave Butler the ball with only 10-yards to go. Jordan Kempf took one handoff, lowered his head and crossed the goal line to tie the game up at 7-7 with 3:40 left in the first quarter.

Another strong defensive possession for Butler gave the Grizzlies another short field, this time starting at the Coffeyville 35-yard line. It took eight plays but Kempf found the endzone for the second time in the game on a one-yard run giving Butler a 14-7 lead.

Coffeyville's Thomas would respond on their opening drive in the second quarter as Thomas punched it in for another two-yard score tying the game at 14-14 with 11:31 left in the half.

Coffeyville would gain the lead right before the break after a botched snap on a punt that was kicked out of the back of the end zone to avoid a touchdown, but it did force a safety and the Red Ravens took a 16-14 lead into the half.

The Grizzlies got a spark out of the half as Nickendre Stiger took a 34-yard interception to the house off Coffeyville quarterback Kolbe Langhi giving the Grizzlies the lead back 21-16, a lead they would hold until the end of the quarter.

Coffeyville had another answer to start the fourth quarter as Thomas once again ran it in from one yard out giving the Ravens back the lead back 14:55 to play.

After some back-and-forth punts on both sides, Coffeyville had the ball with three minutes to go inside the Butler 40-yard line and looked like they might seal the game. Running back Cortney Jackson broke through for another first down but Jackson was stripped from behind by Tre Simmons and the ball was recovered by Quae Drake giving the Grizzlies a chance to go and win the game.

The Grizzlies got it done offensively with several good runs from Kempf and Kevontae McDonald. A 23-yard pass from Gavin Screws to Eddie Lewis set the Grizzlies up inside the 10 with under two-minutes to play. With 1:15 left in the game, McDonald punched it in to give the Grizzlies a 28-23 lead and Butler was one defensive stop away from victory.

The final Coffeyville drive got off to a good start after Micaiah Noel was called for unnecessary roughness on the first play giving the Ravens a free 15 yards. The Ravens would continue to roll down the field throwing the ball under the Grizzly coverage for easy yards while getting out of bounds to stop the clock. With 16 seconds left in the game, the Ravens ran a toss play with Thomas to the right that was snuffed out by the Grizzly defense. As time wound down, the Ravens hustled up to the line and were able to get up and get a play off as time expired. It was Thomas again off the left edge who broke the plane and the Ravens walked off the field with 29-28 victory. 

NEXT UP: Butler (1-3, 1-3) will play their final three games at home at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex and will start off with Highland on Saturday, May 1 with a 7:00pm kickoff.

NOTES: Butler is now 8-2 all-time against Coffeyville in games played at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Coffeyville now takes a 23-22-1 lead in games played at Coffeyville. The Red Ravens still hold a lead on the overall series, 48-44-2…The interception returned for a touchdown was the Grizzlies first defensive score of the season.