With a homecoming victory on the line, it all came down to a 50-yard field goal for Escambia Academy Friday night at Bachelor Field.

Cougars junior place kicker Robert Whatley lined up for the kick with a few ticks left on the game clock as fans on both sides of the field rose to their feet. As soon as Whatley connected with the pigskin, it was clear distance would not be a factor, as the kick sailed wide left giving the Wilcox Wildcats their first victory of the season, 26-24.

Following the game, EA Head Coach Heath Gibson spoke of the last drive getting the Cougars (4-5, 2-4) in field goal range.

“Michael Thompson led us down the field, Wesley Steadham had some great catches, but we also had some mental breakdowns at the same time,” he said. “We’ve got to get better at some things.”

Escambia Academy lined up from its own 42-yard line with 58 yards to pay dirt in their sights to start the final drive. Despite a key 15-yard pass interference call and a 12-yard strike from Thompson to Steadham, the offense sputtered and was unable to get the ball moving, putting the pressure on Whatley.

As for Wilcox Academy head coach Chris Burford, he was not celebrating prematurely having heard rumors of Whatley’s kicking ability.

“I knew the guy had kicked a 55 yarder in practice before, so you never know,” he said.

The first 10 minutes of the game was a defensive struggle for both teams as each attempted and failed converting on fourth down on their first drives. Wilcox also coughed up the ball with EA junior Ethan Linam recovering. The turnover set up a Whatley 37-yard field goal attempt that was partially blocked.

Escambia Academy’s defense held strong holding the Wildcats to a three-and-out, forcing a punt. On the first play of the Cougars’ ensuing drive, junior running back Jaylen Henry sped past defenders 58 yards for the touchdown. Whatley’s extra point made it 7-0.

Late in the second quarter, Wilcox tied the game at seven following a 12-yard pass play for a touchdown. EA did not roll over following the score and took a 14-7 halftime lead when Steadham connected with junior Austin McGhee on a 66-yard touchdown pass as time expired.

The Cougars came out the gate following halftime strong as Henry galloped 67 yards on the first play of the second half. Whatley’s extra point put the home team on top 21-7.

To start the fourth quarter, Wilcox began its comeback. The Wildcats scored quickly on a one-yard touchdown run to cut into EA’s lead 21-14.

On the next drive, Whatley capped off a five-play drive with a 29-yard field goal to extend the Cougars’ lead to 24-14. It would be all Wildcats for the next eight minutes of the game as they clawed their way back orchestrating an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 12-yard run and failed two-point conversion making the score 24-20.

Wilcox’s defense then forced a three-and-out and following a botched punt took over at the Cougars’ 11-yard line. Three plays later, the Wildcats scored on a four-yard run.

Despite a impressive effort and a monstrous kick, time ran out for the Cougars as they suffered the loss.

“We played a lot better,” Gibson said. “I put the team in some situations on two fourth downs we should have probably punted the football, but we didn’t and went for it and felt like we could get fourth and a yard. One drive we didn’t score and one drive we did. Next time I’ll have better decision-making and we’ll punt the football. We’ve got to move on and press on from this loss. The team played hard, so we’ve got to keep on motivating ourselves some how. That was a big loss for us.”

Thompson finished the night 10 of 19 passing for 168 yards and one touchdown. He added 86 yards on the ground on 10 carries. His favorite target for the night, Steadham, finished with six catches for 70 yards. McGhee had one catch for 66 yard and Henry ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Reid Bell led the defense with 11 tackles and seven assists followed by Jacob Fields with 10 tackles and four assists and McGhee with six tackles and six assists. Tanner Boatwright added four tackles, three assists and one fumble recovery.

The Cougars travel to Greenville next Friday night to take on the Fort Dale Academy Eagles.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.