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Conant stung by OT loss at Glenbrook South

Some key fourth-down plays on both sides of the ball and a pair of first-half fumbles helped lead to a frustrating defeat for Conant's football team Friday night at Glenbrook South.

The Titans' Savontae Garner capped his team's 27-21 overtime victory with his third touchdown of the evening, a 10-yard run in which he carried defenders into the end zone.

Conant (1-2) came up just short on the first possession in the extra period when Jack Reiger was denied on fourth down from the 1½-yard line.

"We just didn't make a play at the end of the game," Cougars coach Bryan Stortz said.

Stortz's team tied the game with 5:50 remaining in the fourth quarter when Kevin Polaski completed a 5-yard pass to Mason Sykes to cap a nine-play, 80-yard drive. The Titans (3-0) had a chance to win with 35.6 seconds left in regulation after moving 71 yards in 13 plays, including a fourth-and-1 from their own 29, but Julian Aragon's 26-yard field goal attempt went wide left.

Glenbrook South stayed with Conant on the scoreboard by converting the Cougars' two first-half fumbles, the first of which came deep in their own territory with 3:47 left in the first quarter. The Titans needed eight plays to cover 19 yards, converting a fourth-and-1 from the 10 on one of those, and Garner scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

Conant fumbled again on its ensuing possession, this time at the Titans' 35-yard line, and Garner scored again on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 5:33 left before the half.

Reiger scored on a 1-yard run with 1:26 left to give the Cougars a 1-point halftime lead, and Polaski kept the 10-play, 69-yard drive going by scrambling for 14 yards on fourth-and-12 from the Titans' 25.

After giving away the lead, Conant couldn't convert on fourth-and-1 from the Glenbrook South 26 with 18.6 seconds to go in the third quarter.

"Our kids are battling their tails off, and we need to find a way to win," said Stortz, whose team fell 14-8 to Buffalo Grove in Week 2. "We need a different outcome because they deserve it with all the effort they've put in."

Conant will get its next opportunity to try for a victory next week at home against New Trier, which also dropped to 1-2 on Friday with a 36-9 loss to Barrington.

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