Penalties, execution errors and missed opportunities added up last Saturday as the Humboldt Collegiate Institute (HCI) Mohawks faced the Clavet Cougars for the third time this season in nine-man football action.
Unfortunately for the home side, the sum was a playoff defeat.
After a strong start in which they bent but did not break, the HCI defence began to surrender points.
And the offence was able to score early but didn't have the answers to the riddle of finding the end zone often enough or early enough.
Special teams, too, had their breakdowns. After Clavet had gone up 24-7 on a 23-yard touchdown pass by Clavet quarterback Evan Fiala, HCI's Josh Giddings had a 73-yard kickoff return major called back on a holding call.
Then, at the beginning of the second half and still trailing by 17 points, Humboldt's kick return team was stung by a successful short kick.
Less than a minute into the second half, the Cougars struck for an unconverted touchdown that stretched their lead to 23.
"I am proud of our athletes," stated HCI coach Tom Schwinghamer, "because we could have packed up the tents a few times in that game, and we battled to the very last play."
Indeed, Humboldt's Daegan Engele clicked on an 11-yard strike to Giddings at the 4:41 mark of the third quarter. The successful two-point convert had Humboldt to within two scores of tying the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Mohawk Peter Tahn recovered a fumble at the Clavet 38-yard line and momentum had definitely shifted.
The very next play, however, Engele was intercepted and the Cougars drove down to the Humboldt 12-yard line where they turned it over on downs.
"That was too typical of our day. We seemed to have the chips stacked against us," suggested Humboldt coach Dave Rowe. "At that stage in the game, with the wind and trailing, we had only had three offensive possessions."
Then on their last drive of the quarter Humboldt's O-Line gave up a fumble at their own 49-yard line. The Cougars capitalized less than a minute later to stretch the lead again: 36-15.
HCI head coach Shaun Gardiner then rallied his offensive troops and Engele punched it in at the 8:46 mark of the fourth. With the successful two-point convert and plenty of time on the clock, the Mohawks were to within 36-23. But Clavet had the answer to the momentum shift again as they took a mere 32 seconds to answer with a score of their own.
Gardiner mused, "We just were thwarted at every turn, it seemed. I feel bad for our seniors. There are some graduating kids who have deep investments in this program."
Mohawk Mathew Doepker's interception appeared possibly to cue the comeback again with an interception at midfield, which he returned 10 yards.
Engele's two-yard touchdown with 4:34 remaining in the final frame again made it a two-score game, though the failed two-point conversion meant the deficit was still 13 points.
But Clavet refused to let the Mohawks through the open door as they recovered Humboldt's short kick and scored one last time with a two-point conversion to make the final score 50-29.
Engele's offence had two more touches, one of which ended in an interception.
There was still fight left in the Mohawks in the final minute, though. They took two plays to drive the ball inside Clavet's 30 and on the last play of the game, a determined Giddings was stopped 14 yards shy of the end zone.
HCI's defensive co-ordinator Brian Hinz soberly reflected on the season with an empty Glen Hall Park as the backdrop.
"We needed to execute our schemes better. Don't get me wrong, we had success, particularly in the first quarter, and we would seem to have their offence by the throat but they would make a play to get loose. It was frustrating."
HCI defensive backs coach Gavin Paulsen concluded, "We had a good season. I like our future with some of these younger guys who developed this year. Clavet is a good team and they earned this. We will have to work hard this off-season and earn what we can achieve next year."
