09/05/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - In the fourth quarter of their game at Carterville on Friday night the Nashville Hornets were on the doorstep of pulling out an important non-conference road win.

With the score deadlocked at 14-14 with just under six minutes left, the Hornets drove the ball to the Lions' two-yards line.

It was just a matter of plowing the ball into the endzone to take the lead and likely the victory.

Nashville had held the hosts without a score in the second half and had rallied to even things in the third quarter of the defensive conflict.

However the first and goal play turned into a turnover, or turning point, for Carterville.

Freshman running back Brantley Kozuszek fumbled the ball into the endzone where Lions' senior defensive back Drake Capie recovered for a touch-back and turnover with 5:16 remaining.

The momentum switch was something that head coach Brett Diel's club took full advantage of.

The Lions proceeded to march 80-yards down the field on 11-plays that depleted nearly all of the clock in the 21-14 triumph.

Running back Jonathan Miller, a senior work-horse for Carterville, ran the final six yard for the go ahead touchdown with just :38.4 remaining.

Nashville did get the ball back across midfield but three consecutive incomplete passes, including a deflected throw on the final play sealed the seven-point victory for Carterville.

Coach Diel's club improved to 2-0 on the season while Nashville suffered its first loss.

“He (Miller) battles and carries the load for us,” said Coach Diel. “Good teams are going to make you fight and they're not going to give you big chunks of yardage. We can't get down on ourselves. We need that next play mentality.”

The Lions won despite giving up a ton of yardage in the air to sophomore Nashville quarterback Cole Stiegman.

In his first season under center, Stiegman finished 14-of-27 for 254-yards and a 91-yard TD pass to Kozuszek in the third quarter that tied the game.

But the Hornets were held to just 31-yards rushing and when then needed two yards to finish off the Lions, they couldn't get the score.

Miller led the way as he rushed 34 times for 194-yards and the game winning score.

The Lions quarterback Andrew Johnson completed 15-of-25 for 94-yards but he added 13 attempts for 86-yards and a TD.

Junior running back Carter Jones scored the other touchdown for Carterville in the second quarter to give the Lions a 14-6 advantage at the break.

It was Carterville's second possession that got the hosts on the scoreboard.

Taking over after a punt on the Nashville 45, the Lions took nine plays to cover the 54-yards to paydirt.

A swing pass from Johnson to Zachary Carter was good for 13-yards to the Hornets' three.

Johnson took the ball in from there for a 7-0 lead with :24.9 left in the opening frame.

Nashville's first score came on its next possession.

A 47-yard pass from Stiegman to junior wide receiver put the ball inside the Carterville 10.

Two plays later, Kozuszek scored from three-yards out.

The PAT failed on a fumbled snap as the Hornets were down 7-6 with 9:36 left in the half.

Nashville got back to the Carterville side of the ball before their first turnover of the night.

A Stiegman pass was deflected and picked off by Johnson who returned it to the Carterville 49.

The Lions scored on another nine-play drive, helped by a face mask penalty by Nashville.

The Jones score from the three made it 14-6 at the half.

Carterville ran out of time on the final drive of the second quarter, reaching the Nashville five on the final play.

The Lions turned the ball over on downs at the Nashville 13 late in the third quarter when the speed on the outside and the throwing of the Hornets quarterback struck.

Following a Nashville procedure penalty pushed the Hornets back to their own eight-yard line.

Stiegman dropped back and found Kozuszek down the right sideline.

The 6-2 wide out caught the ball in stride before shaking loose from a tackle before sprinting down the right sideline for a 91-yard score.

A successful PAT pass from Stiegman to junior Carson Seaton evened the score at 14-14 with 3:20 left in the third.

When Nashville got the ball after a touch-back it took just eight plays to reach the Carterville two.

A pass from Stiegman to Kozuszek for 16-yard got the ball to the two.

The next play doomed the chances as the fumble into the endzone gave Carterville back the ball.

The Lions knew what they needed to do.

During the drive, Nashville committed another face mask penalty which was followed by a 22-yard run by Johnson pushed the ball to the Nashville 31 and Miller had consecutive runs of eight and 12-yards.

An offside penalty by Nashville gave the Lions a first and goal at the six-yard line.

Miller broke through a tackle attempt by three different Hornet defenders before running into the endzone for the game-winner.

Although the senior fumbled twice in the game, when his team needed he provided the score.

The PAT kick made it 21-14 with little time left for Nashville.

“The story of the game tonight was our defense. Holding Nashville to just 14 points is not easy to do,” said Coach Diel. “And to make that big play at the goal line to give us a chance to take the lead for the win. The defense was awesome. Nothing was easy for us on offense, we had to grind it out. Anyone who has been around football down here knows that Nashville is going to show up ready to play. They're going to reload, they do it every year.”