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Skunk sends players scrambling during tight Mississippi football game

The 2012 edition of the Booneville (Miss.) High-Baldwyn (Miss.) High rivalry is sure to be remembered for years to come, as will most games in which a team rallies from a 27-7 halftime deficit to emerge with a 28-27 win, as Booneville did on Thursday.

Still, the reason why the most recent rivalry game between the two regional rivals has less to do with competition than it does with one of the uninvited visitors to the game: A spunky little skunk, who sent the Baldwyn sidelines scrambling for cover during the final moments of the team's first loss of the season.

As noted by the North Eastern Mississippi Daily Journal and captured by the paper's Brandon Speck in the YouTube video you see above, a skunk invaded the field during the fourth quarter of the Blue Devils' narrow victory. The pugnacious animal's surprising and sudden appearance immediately defused a tense scenario as Baldwyn players focused on a last-ditch rally found themselves scrambling to avoid being sprayed.

That panic spread into some of the stands as the animal skittered its way past players and underneath the bleachers, with fans afraid of what would happen to their clothing and general hygiene if the skunk became frightened enough to release a full-on spray in the area.

[Related: Justin Toole plays all nine positions in minor-league game]

In the end, the distraction may have helped ensure that Booneville won the rivalry between the two schools for a fourth consecutive season. The Blue Devils took a late lead on an interception return for a touchdown, but Baldwyn still had some time to try and earn a victory that seemed well in hand at halftime.

Instead, Booneville -- and a skunk -- had other plans. While it seems awfully unlikely that anyone affiliated with Booneville had anything to do with the event at all, the school might want to consider adding the skunk as a sort of unofficial good luck charm following the school's victory and the surprising role the animal played in the game.

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