COLONY — After a scoreless first half, Crest High’s Lancers were poised to take control early in the third quarter in their Eight Man-II playoff opener against visiting Lebo Thursday.
Crest had chewed up half the period marching deep into Lebo’s side of the field.
But a costly penalty and turnover set up a calamitous sequence that saw things go from bad to worse in a hurry.
By the Halloween Night dust settled, Crest was on the short end of a 28-6 setback to end the Lancers’ season at 5-4.
“We’re disappointed,” Lancer senior Kade Nilges said afterward. “Playing with these guys meant a lot to me.”
CREST had taken the second half kickoff, marching 51 yards on nine plays, to the Lebo 10.
But a potential first-down run on third-and-short was disallowed after officials whistled the Lancers for an illegal block.
Forced to pass, Nilges threw down the right sideline, where Lebo defender Eli Hauff made an acrobatic diving interception.
Lebo quarterback Drew Konrade promptly banged off a 40-yard run and then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 3:48 in the third for the first points of the game.
Lebo kept possession with a perfectly executed onside kick, and then converted twice on fourth down, capped by Konrade’s 9-yard scoring run on fourth-and-five early in the fourth quarter.
The nightmare wasn’t over.
Lebo retained possession again after the ball went through the hands of a Lancer on the next kickoff, giving Wolves possession once more.
Three plays later, Konrade spiraled a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Ferguson, making it 20-0.
The Lancers advanced to midfield when they finally got possession again, but the Wolves’ defense hit Nilges just as he released a fourth-down pass attempt, giving Lebo the ball again with 9:43 left.
This time, the Wolves were content to keep the ball in the ground, marching 59 yards on nine plays, culminating with Jaxon Grimmett’s 1-yard touchdown run with 3:50 remaining.
