On paper, one of the more intriguing matchups was Brookville at Alleghany. The Cougars had the infamous Week 1 bye but were ready to prove themselves after an undefeated regular season in 2024.
The game was tied 7-7 in the first quarter when Alleghany’s Dylan Rowlett became the story of the first half. He returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown and later returned another kickoff to the Alleghany 2-yard line, setting up another touchdown. The Bees led 20-13 at halftime.
Lincoln McDaniel extended Brookville’s lead to 26-13 on a sneak.
The Cougars mounted a comeback, with quarterback Desmond Jordan heaving a deep pass to Elijah Leisure-White, who was waiting to make the catch.
That set up Carter Nicely, who made some impressive moves to bring the score to 26-21 after a successful two-point conversion.
Late in the fourth quarter, Jordan threw a jump pass to “Sarge” Persinger, giving Alleghany its first lead of the game with 1:36 left.
Leisure-White sealed the victory with a crucial interception as the Cougars rallied to win 27-26.
Alleghany head coach Will Fields said, “It’s very exciting. I said we’re we’ve got some veteran stand out guys like Desmond and Sergeant got the touchdown Carter Nicely, but we’re playing with a lot of sophomores and for them to have that fight back this early in their career is very promising.”
Senior Sarge Persinger added, “I learned that even though we don’t have much depth, we got heart. We got heart.”
For a full breakdown of scores across our region, click here.