Getting the trophy back.

That was the sole thing on the minds of Nathan Cabot’s coaching staff and his Owensville Dutchmen football players.

Surviving a back and forth first half, OHS got an early third-quarter touchdown to give them a two-score lead they would not relinquish throughout the second half.

When the clocked showed all zeros, Owensville ended up on top of the visiting Hermann Bearcats 27-14.

“It feels great to have the trophy back and to put last year’s (double-overtime) loss behind us,” Cabot said. “We had athletes make plays on both sides of the ball showing that anyone can step up at any given time.”

Never trailing in their last three games, Owensville found themselves down 6-0 midway through the first quarter.

Hermann senior running back Holden Ash capped a 64-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run at the 6:31 mark of the opening quarter. Kenny Hoener III’s extra-point kick gave the visiting Bearcats a 7-0 lead.

Ash finished with 94 yards rushing on 16 carries and a touchdown for Hermann.

Special teams would help the Dutchmen on the ensuing kickoff.

Austin Lowder returned the ball all the way to the midfield stripe giving the Owensville offense excellent field position to start their first drive of the game.

Five plays into the drive, the Dutchmen were turned away on downs giving Hermann a chance to add to their early lead.

However, the Bearcats committed a personal foul penalty moving them back all the way to their 11-yard line forcing them to punt on fourth-and-long.

Taking over at the Bearcat 34-yard line, Owensville wasted no time getting on the scoreboard.

Junior quarterback Brendan Decker connected with Derek Brandt on a 34-yard touchdown strike with 2:46 for the opening quarter. Charlie Whelan’s kick tied it at 7-7.

Decker threw for 199 yards on 8-23 passing, three touchdowns and an interception.

Tied at 7-7 after one quarter, the Dutchmen offense struck quickly in the early moments of the second quarter.

After Hermann forced Owensville into a turnover-on-downs in the first quarter, the Dutchmen returned the favor in the second quarter giving them the ball at the Bearcat 38-yard line with 10:51 until halftime.

Two plays into the drive, Decker found Brandt for a 25-yard completion which was reduced by a block in the back penalty called against OHS.

In spite of the penalty, Owensville still had a first down at the Bearcat 26-yard line.

Staring at a fourth-and-10 from the 26, Owensville went for it.

That decision paid off to the tune of a 26-yard TD pass from Decker to Bryor Bogle with 10:01 until halftime. Whelan’s kick gave Owensville a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Hoping to surprise Hermann with an onside kick, the play backfired as the ball did not travel 10 yards automatically giving the ball to the Bearcats.

Keeping the ball on the ground, Hermann eventually tied the game just beyond the midway point of the second quarter.

Helped by a offsides penalty on Owensville, sophomore quarterback Parker Anderson found the end zone on a 1-yard TD run with 5:26 for the first half.

Anderson finished with a team-high 99 yards rushing on 21 carries and a touchdown.

Hoener’s kick once again tied the game at 14-14 just beyond the midway point of the second quarter.

Knowing they were going to get the ball to start the second half, OHS looked to score on what likely would be their last possession of the first half.

After being flagged for an illegal forward pass, Decker made up for it on the next play with a 43-yard run giving the Dutchmen offense a first down at the Hermann 1-yard line.

Two plays later, a high snap pushed Owensville back to the Hermann 27-yard line forcing the Dutchmen to use a timeout with 2:57 until halftime.

On the very next play, Decker ran it into the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown. The extra point failed leaving OHS with a 20-14 halftime lead over Hermann.

Decker ran for 65 yards rushing on 10 carries.

Opening the second half with the football, Owensville just barely needed 90 ticks to add to their lead.

Four plays later, Decker hooked up with Brandt again on what turned out to be the final touchdown of the game from 49 yards out.

Brandt finished with a game-high 157 yards receiving on five catches and two touchdowns.

Whelan’s kick gave Owensville their 27-14 final margin of victory.

Defensively, TC Fisher led the Dutchmen with 12 total tackles followed closely by Brandt (11) and Garret West (10).

Sam Hurst led Hermann with four tackles followed by three each from Ethan Adams, Anderson, Ash, Conner Coffey, Seth Hackmann and Hoener.