CARRBORO - On the last play of Carrboro’s overtime win against South Granville (4-3) at Carrboro High, Vikings quarterback Matt McCutcheon pitched the ball to running back Bowman and watched as the ball fell to the ground. Jaguar defenders jumped on it, and the game was over.

Ranked No. 8 in the state’s 2A Class by the Associated Press, Carrboro (7-0) escaped with a 36-29 OT victory and their unblemished record intact. It also gave the Jaguars a 1-0 start in Carolina 2A Conference play. South Granville went to 4-3, 0-1 with its second straight loss.

“It’s good to win ugly sometimes,” Carrboro coach Jason Tudryn said. “A lot of credit goes to South Granville because they competed really hard, and that’s what conference football is.”

Bowman and Carrboro running back Trai Sharp carried their respective teams the entire game, combining for seven touchdowns and the majority of the game’s offense.

The two running backs ran through and around the opposing defenses, and it seemed that neither team could find a way to stop them.

Bowman rushed for more than 250 yards and all four of the Vikings’ touchdowns – three of them in the second half as they fought back from an early 22-7 hole to tie the game at 22-22 and then 29-29 in regulation. Sharpe rushed for 135 yards and three of Carrboro’s scores.

“Both of those kids were making plays,” Tudryn said. “And credit to both offensive lines, because they got after each defensive front.”

The game was delayed about 75 minutes because of lightning in the area, but both Tudryn and Sharp said it had no effect on the Jaguars’ preparation.

“We were more anxious to get out and play,” Sharp said. “I don’t think it really affected us that much.”

Sharp was the last one into the end zone – on a 6-yard play in overtime, just before Bowman’s fumble – and that touchdown proved to be the game-winner.

“They knew what we were running all night, but they couldn’t stop it,” Sharp said of his game-winning touchdown. “I got inside, I broke it out, and the corner was weak.”

Sharp sprinted, cut and weaved his way through South Granville’s defense for 48 minutes of regulation, too.

“Basically I was trying to get in the gap,” he said. “Every time I get the ball I’m trying to make a play.”

But for every big run and touchdown Sharp broke off, Bowman had an answer.

The Vikings running back opened the scoring with a 10-yard sweep in the first quarter, and ter Carrboro scored 22 unanswered points before halftime, Bowman scored twice in the third quarter – one a run of 40-plus yards and the other a short run near the goal line – to tie the game at 22.

But Sharp paid no mind to Bowman’s performance.

“I wasn’t focused on him,” he said. “I was focused on us as a team and how we can get better and improve.”

The singular mindset paid off for the Jaguars. The teams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns – a 15-yard TD run by Sharp with 9:54 left in regulation, and then a 22-yard sprint by Bowman to tie the game one last time with 8:02 left in the quarter.