Lake football coach Tate Hanna said the Hornets let one slip away on Friday night.
The Hornets squandered four red-zone chances, and Choctaw Central took a 12-6 overtime win over Lake.
Lake falls to 1-3 on the season and will travel to defending 2A state champion Scott Central on Friday night.
Hanna said Friday night’s loss was one of missed opportunities.
“The main thing is, we had the ball inside the 10 all night and didn’t score,” Hanna said. “We had it inside the 10 three different times and didn’t score. We have to execute better and be able to punch it in. We didn’t do that and missed a PAT that would have won the game. Then at the end of regulation, we got all the way down to the 3 and missed a field goal that would have won the game. We had every opportunity to win that game.”
Choctaw got the ball to start the game and drove deep inside Lake territory, going 10 plays before turning the ball over on downs at the Lake 2.Lake then hit the big play as Jalen Gray hit Cameron Hunt on an 87-yard pass. Frank Pazos’ PAT attempt hit the upright and Lake led 6-0.
Midway through the second, Lake put together a 10-play drive and got as deep as the Choctaw Central 1 before turning the ball over on downs as the Hornets led 6-0 at the half.
Lake got the ball to start the second half and again put together a 10-play drive. Lake had a touchdown called back on the drive and against ended up turning the ball over on downs.
After a Choctaw punt, Lake put together an 11-play drive and got inside the Choctaw 20 before turning the ball over on downs.
Two plays later, Choctaw hit a long pass, scoring on a 63-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed to tie the game at 6-6.
After a Lake punt, Choctaw put together a 12-play drive and missed a 27-yard field goal. Lake then responded as they quickly went down the field and missed a 17-yard field goal in the last minute.
In overtime, Choctaw got the ball first and scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to go up 12-6.
Lake came up short in its four tries from the 10 as the Warriors took the win.
Lake had 394 yards of total offense, their best offensive night of the season.
“We had almost 400 yards of offense but only scored six points,” Hanna said. “When you get that many yards, you are supposed to win. And we held them under 200 yard. The defense did a good job for 99 percent of the night. We gave up one play and were right there. We have to make that play. I told them after the game that big-time players make plays in big-time games. If we defend two plays better and made a kick, we win that game.”
Kelon Rhodes had 136 yards on 26 carries. Rodarius Nelson had 75 yards on 11 carries while Jalen Gray had 66 yards on yards.
Gray was 3-of-12 passing for 106 yards. Cameron Hunt had two catches for 95 yards.
Ny’zavion McClendon had 7.5 tackles with two sacks while Demetrius Towner had six tackles, including four tackles for loss. Nelson had four tackles while Frank Pazos had 3.5 tackles.
