When the time came to decide what to do, there was no flip of the coin or asking the magic “Eight Ball.”

Coal Grove had just drawn within one point of South Point and was deciding whether to go for the tying conversion kick or just go for two and win it all.

Hornets’ coach decided to put it to a vote and it was unanimous.

“I leave it up to the kids. If they decide they want to go for it, I’m with them,” said Lucas.

The Hornets went for the two-point conversion and 5-foot-10, 240-pound sophomore fullback Bubba Wood made it a smart decision.

Wood, who scored the touchdown on a 4-yard run, bulled into the end zone for the decisive conversion as the Coal Grove Hornets edged the South Point Pointers 22-21 Friday in a pivotal Ohio Valley Conference game.

Wood took over for Frank Delawder who was injured early in the game. Wood ran for 80 yards on 15 carries to offset South Point’s Jacob Seagraves who rushed for 156 yards.

“Certainly it was a big win for our kids. Every win is big,” said Lucas. “For our kids to come back at the end was a tribute to their character. We were playing a good football team that kept the pressure on us all night and never quit.”

The two teams tied for the OVC championship last season and were co-favorites again this year. Coal Grove won last year’s meeting 21-18.

With the win Coal Grove moves to 4-3 on the season and 2-0 in the OVC. South Point falls to 3-4 and 1-1.

“Coal Grove did a great job of preparing,” said Pointers coach Doug Shilot. “They ran the ball extremely well. Coach Lucas and his staff got the job done.”

Coal Grove dipped into its playbook and came up with an end around. Jake Murphy executed the play to perfection as he raced 40 yards for the touchdown.

Scott Erwin kicked the extra point and the Hornets led 7-0.

South Point answered with a 63-yard, 10-play drive that culminated on a 4-yard scoring run by Doug Dillon. The conversion kick was blocked and the Hornets were left clinging to a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.

The Hornets opened up some breathing room — temporarily — with a 52-yard march capped by Bubba Wood’s one-yard scoring run.

South Point came back to tie the game on a 2-yard run by Ryan Plants whose 61-yard scamper set up the score. Chase Kratzenberg hit Greg Taylor with the conversion pass to make it 14-14 at the break.

The Pointers took the lead when Jacob Seagraves bolted 14 yards through the defense. He also kicked the extra point and it was 21-14 with 9:37 to play.

But back came the Hornets with a 12-play, time-consuming drive that ended on a 2-yard run by Wood. The sophomore fullback added the conversion and the Hornets had the lead for good at 22-21.

But the game wasn’t over yet.

After the kickoff, the Pointers put together a drive that covered nearly 65 yards and got inside the Hornets’ 20-yard line before the defense stiffened and took over on downs.

“We’re proud of our kids. We’ll regroup and get our kids ready. Hats off to (Coal Grove). They played well. They made big plays when they had to and we just came up a little short tonight.

Coal Grove finished with 304 total yards including 254 on the ground. South Point racked up 317 yards on the ground and 355 total yards.

South Point 0 14 0 7 = 21

Coal Grove 7 7 0 8 = 22

First Quarter

CG – Jake Murphy 40 run (Scott Erwin kick)

Second Quarter

SP – Doug Dillon 4 run (kick blocked)

CG – Bubba Wood 1 run (Scott Erwin kick)

SP – Ryan Plants 2 run (Greg Taylor pass from Chase Kratzenberg)

Fourth Quarter

SP – Jacob Seagraves 14 run (Seagraves kick)

CG – Bubba Wood 4 run (Wood run)

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING–South Point: Jacob Seagraves 22-156, Doug Dillon 7-32, Ryan Plants 9-75, Chase Kratzenberg 5-14, Chase Woodson 6-40. Coal Grove: Frank Delawder 6-31, Chris Brammer 13-73, Oakie Haynes 5-42, Jake Murphy 2-37, Bubba Wood 15-80, Wayne Sparks 1-minus 9.

PASSING–South Point: Chase Kratzenberg 3-4-0 26, Jacob Seagraves 1-5-0 12. Coal Grove: Wayne Sparks 4-8-1 50.

RECEIVING–South Point: Doug Dillon 1-23, Chase Woodson 1-3, Josh Esque 1-12. Coal Grove: Oakie Haynes 4-50.