HERMANN — The Bearcats bounced back after two weeks of losses Friday, Oct. 18, when they defeated the Pacific Indians in a defensive slugfest at home by the final score of 14-7.

After dropping back-to-back games against Four Rivers Conference opponents, Hermann (6-2) rallied late after surrendering an early score to Pacific (3-5) to get back into the win column and keep pace in the race for the No. 1 seed and home field advantage in the district playoffs.

The game was characterized by effective defense from both teams, with neither team surpassing 300 total yards of offense and Hermann getting one of their two touchdowns on a defensive score.

With Pacific up 7-0 following their first quarter touchdown, both defenses settled in and largely kept the offenses from being able to gain much traction, resulting in a battle of field position as Hermann and Pacific traded possessions with punts and turnovers on downs.

The Bearcats got on the board a few minutes into the second quarter when Trent Chasteen picked off the Indians’ quarterback near midfield and returned the interception for a 58-yard touchdown, but with a missed PAT, Hermann still trailed Pacific 6-7.

Hermann’s defense was defending the pass well and forcing Pacific to run the ball, which they were able to stifle effectively throughout the game, holding the Indians to 3.5 yards per carry on 34 attempts.

The Indians last drive of the half stalled out at Hermann’s 24 yard line, prompting them to attempt a field goal that they would end up missing and giving Hermann possession deep in their own territory.

However, their own drive would run out of steam near midfield as time expired in the second quarter and Hermann went into halftime with a one point deficit.

The Bearcats were taking a more run-first approach on offense, running the ball a total of 34 times compared to a total of 20 passing attempts, but were effective on their passing attempts when they needed to be.

While Hermann punted on their first possession of the second half, their defense followed that up with forcing a Pacific punt and then a turnover on downs just outside of the redzone to give the Bearcats possession with just under two minutes in the third quarter, which they turned into a drive that they would carry into the fourth quarter at midfield with plenty of momentum.

Hermann continued their drive to start the fourth quarter in much the same way they had conducted their drives throughout the rest of the game by feeding Hermann’s running back Caden Huphrey, and following completions from quarterback Henry Allebach to Aiden Eikermann and then to Nolan Mericer, they found themselves deep in Pacific territory and facing a fourth-and-five down by a single point.

In the redzone about halfway through the fourth quarter, Hermann found themselves closer to scoring on offense than they had all game, and they went to a familiar play that has served them well before.

With sophomore quarterback Kohl Witthaus lined up as a wide out, Hermann went to the double pass on fourth down.

Allebach completed a quick pass to Witthaus, who, after getting the Indian defense to collapse towards him, then threw a second pass on the trick play to the wide open Cole Traub who trotted into the endzone for Hermann’s first offensive touchdown of the game.

Following a successful two-point attempt in which Allebach hit Mercier for the conversion, the Bearcats seized a 14-7 lead with just over seven minutes left in the game.

Hermann’s defense appeared to feed off the energy created by their offense and came out after the touchdown ready to stop the Indians.

A big hit for a loss by Hermann’s Carter Epple on defense followed closely by a sack by Kegin Sperry helped kill the ensuing Pacific drive, giving Hermann the ball back after an incomplete pass on fourth down with under three minutes left in the game.

The Bearcats faced a third-and-sixteen late in the fourth but converted on a completion from Allebach to Mercier and then Witthaus later converted a fourth-and-four on a rushing play to ice the game as Pacific ran out of timeouts.

With under 30 seconds left in the game, Hermann went into victory formation and kneeled out the remaining time to secure the 14-7 win.

Hermann finished the game with 292 yards of total offense, with 154 rushing yards and 138 passing yards.

Allebach ended his night having gone 11-17 with 120 yards and no interceptions and no touchdowns. Witthaus finished with one completion on three attempts for one touchdown and 18 yards.

Humphrey led the Bearcats in rushing with 67 yards on 16 carries, followed by Witthaus with 38 yards on three carries.

For receiving, Hermann was led by Mercier who had 48 yards on four receptions. Six Bearcats caught at least one pass, with Traub and Eikermann catching at least two passes in addition to Mercier.

The win, coupled with a Bowling Green loss, currently gives Hermann the No. 1 seed in the Class 2 District 2 Tournament with one game left in the regular season.

The Bearcats final regular season game will be against the Union Wildcats at home Friday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m.