Alcoa football beats Bearden on field goal as time expires right after giving up lead

Alcoa football beat Bearden 24-22 on a 40-yard field goal as time expired by Kyrin Tyson on Friday.

The Alcoa field goal was set up by a 43-yard kickoff return by quarterback Eli Graf, who made his way to Bearden’s 23-yard line with three seconds remaining.

Before the kick return, Bearden (1-1) scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown and converted on the two-point conversion to take a 22-21 lead.

If Alcoa (1-1) lost against Bearden, it would’ve been the first time it started 0-2 since 2002 when it finished the year 3-7.

Alcoa was led by Graf, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 15 carries for 50 rushing yards. The Tornadoes and the Bulldogs were tied at 14 at halftime.

The Tornadoes bounced back from its 27-17 loss to Ravenwood a week ago. The nine-time defending state champions hadn’t started a season 0-1 since 2006 when it lost at Maryville.

Last year, Alcoa beat Bearden 17-13 behind Michigan commit Eli Owens, who caught the game-winning touchdown with 90 seconds remaining. He also had the game-sealing sack on the defensive end after a nine-minute delay due to the lights turning off with 38 seconds remaining.

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Toyloy Brown III is a Knox News sports reporter. Email toyloy.brown@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly Twitter, @TJ3rd_.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Alcoa football beats Bearden on field goal as time expires right after giving up lead