HERMANN — Sometimes a team’s offense is their best defense.

Nathan Cabot’s Owensville Dutchmen found this to be the case Friday night in the annual Gasconade County Bowl football game against Hermann at Bearcat Memorial Stadium.

Leading 35-28 early in the fourth quarter, OHS saw Hermann eat up over seven minutes of clock before they scored on a Parker Anderson 1-yard touchdown run with 4:00 left.

Anderson’s pass to Seth Hackmann for two points on the next play helped them reclaim the Gasconade County Bowl trophy for another year following their 36-35 victory over the visiting Dutchmen.

“They’re (Owensville) a really good team that is really well coached with some great athletes,” Hermann head football coach Andy Emmons said. “Our kids executed and played their tails off. We finally played like we’re capable of.”

First-quarter action belonged to both defensive units and punters.

Both the Bearcats and Dutchmen had two punts before the first 12 minutes ended in a scoreless tie.

Points finally went on the scoreboard in the second quarter.

Hermann broke the scoreless tie on an Anderson 1-yard touchdown run with 10:37 until halftime. Kenny Hoener’s extra point gave the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.

Taking over at their 28-yard line, Owensville just needed a little over two minutes to get their zero off the scoreboard.

Austin Lowder capped a seven-play 72-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run at the 8:11 mark of the second quarter. Charlie Whelan’s extra point tied the game at 7-7.

Lowder rushed for a team-high 58 yards on 10 carries and a pair of touchdowns for the Dutchmen.

Hermann nearly chewed up the rest of the second-quarter clock on their next possession.

Converting three fourth downs on their latest drive, Bearcat quarterback Trent Lampkin found Anderson on a 14-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal with 41.3 for the half. Hoener’s extra point gave Hermann a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter.

Anderson ran for a game-high 99 yards rushing on 22 carries to go with two scores.

Turning to their aerial attack, Cabot’s Dutchmen looked to answer the Bearcats before the end of the first half.

Boosted by a 40-yard completion from Brendan Decker to Bryce Payne, Owensville had the ball at the Hermann 21-yard line with 14.5 left in the half.

Decker threw for 232 yards on 11-18 passing putting him over 5,000 yards passing for his Dutchmen football career.

Two consecutive pass interference flags against Hermann moved the Dutchmen all the way down to the Bearcat 5-yard line with 5.9 left.

On the last play of the half, Decker found Dezmyn Moore on a 5-yard TD pass as time expired in the first half.

Whelan’s kick tied the game at 14-14 heading into an extended halftime due to Hermann celebrating their 50th Homecoming.

Winning the opening coin toss and deferring to the second half proved beneficial to Cabot’s Dutchmen.

Opening the third quarter with the ball at their 42, OHS was aided by three Hermann offsides penalties before Lowder scored his second touchdown of the game on a 35-yard run at the 10:26 mark of the third quarter. Whelan’s kick gave the Dutchmen their first lead of the game at 21-14.

On Hermann’s next drive, they drove 75 yards in 11 plays capped by a Hoener 1-yard TD run at the 5:04 mark of the third quarter. Eli Wilson blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt keeping Owensville in front 21-20 midway through the third quarter.

Converting a pair of third downs on their next drive, OHS turned a third-and-10 into a 40-yard touchdown pass from Decker to Payne for a 28-20 lead with 2:37 for the third quarter on Whelan’s kick.

Payne caught five passes for 149 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Eating up the rest of the third-quarter clock, Hermann opened the fourth quarter with another score.

Lampkin found Anderson on a 15-yard TD pass with 11:56 remaining. Lampkin then found Hoener on the ensuing two-point conversion to tie the game at 28-28 early in the fourth quarter.

Starting their next drive at the Hermann 43-yard line, Owensville had a quick answer.

Two plays into the drive, Decker found Derek Brandt on a 40-yard TD pass with 11:30 left. Whelan’s kick gave the Dutchmen a 35-28 lead in Bearcat country.

That reception put Brandt over 2,500 yards receiving for his Dutchmen football career.

Traveling 80 yards in 16 plays, Hermann chewed up over seven minutes of clock before Anderson scored his fourth touchdown of the game to go with the eventual game-winning two-point conversion.

Owensville had one more shot on offense to retake the lead but it ended on a turnover-on-downs.

“Hermann is a very good football team,” Cabot said. “Our guys were ready to play, Hermann was able to eat a lot of clock and keep our offense off the field.”

Brandt (23), Brent Helmig (15), Blake Elliott (12), Wilson (11) and Chance Clevenger (11) recorded double-digit tackles for OHS.