It is tough to win district games on the road and even more difficult when a key cog is missing on the offense. This is what happened to Brownsboro Friday in a 28-7 loss to Crandall. Fullback Kenneth Woods, who entered the week leading the Bears with 13 touchdowns, was declared a no-go because of a persistent ankle injury. That meant Brownsboro’s three-headed monster of backs Woods, Kevon Thompson and Saul Williams was down one. Crandall took advantage, locking up on Thompson and Williams to hold a Bears rushing offense averaging 304 yards on the ground per game to 186 yards total. Despite the struggles on offense, Brownsboro coach Greg Pearson praised his defense. “It was our worst night offensively by far,” Pearson said. “It’s sad our defense couldn’t get help because we really played well defensively. We shut them out two quarters.” Brownsboro trailed 7-0 at halftime with Crandall doubling its advantage in the fourth quarter. The Bears finally got on the board, with Thompson scoring his 13th TD of the season to help make it 14-7. Brownsboro went for an onside kick and recovered it. “We had the ball first and 10 inside their 45 with 5:52 to go and just couldn’t convert on fourth down,” Pearson said. Crandall scored in response to up its lead. Brownsboro’s attempt to answer led to a turnover followed by a fourth score and the 28-7 final. “They did a great job stopping our offense, but I feel like if we’d had Kenneth Woods (it might have been different),” Pearson said. The good news for Bears fans is that loss did not sink their playoff hopes. Brownsboro is 5-4 overall and 2-3 in District 8-4A Division I. The top three spots are locked up, with Athens, Brownsboro and Terrell vying for the fourth and final ticket to the postseason. Brownsboro hosts rival Athens for Senior Night at 7:30 p.m. this Friday at Bear Stadium. “If we win, we’re in absolutely no matter what,” Pearson continued. “If we lose by 17 or less and Terrell loses to Van we’re also in. The third scenario is if we lose by more than 18 and Van beats Terrell, it would go to a coin flip between the three of us.” The one scenario that would eliminate Brownsboro is a loss to Athens and Terrell defeating Van. Pearson would just soon take the coin-flip scenario off the table by defeating Athens to avenge last year in the process. “By winning we would have a winning record going into the playoffs and be guaranteed a winning record for the season,” Pearson said. “It’s Senior Night, so it’s a huge game and we have our rival 15 miles down the road coming (to Bear Stadium). Last year they beat Brownsboro to knock them out of the playoffs, so it should give our kids even more incentive.”