ONALASKA — Eight lead changes, 79 combined points, and 866 total yards. All of it came down to one final heave.
Onalaska’s Lane Gordon stepped into his final throw of the night, one that nearly reached the goal line from midfield, but it was intercepted by a Cascade Christian defender.
When he was finally tackled to the ground, time had expired, and the Loggers were on the wrong side of a thrilling 41-38 shootout.
“The kids played their tails off tonight,” Onalaska coach Mazen Saade said. “I didn’t do my job as their coach tonight. I let them down … I take complete credit for this loss. I didn’t have our guys prepared.”
The Loggers got off to a strong start, forcing a turnover on downs and scoring eight points on their first drive of the game, but a quick Cougar response planted the seeds for a potential barn burner. Two more touchdowns in the final four minutes of the first quarter only added to the excitement.
The defenses excelled in the second, though, as neither team was able to add on before the break.
After each team turned the ball over on downs to start the second half, they both traded touchdowns again.
Onalaska appeared to get a much-needed stop midway through the third, but the punt deflected off a Logger and was promptly recovered by the Cougars. Cascade Christian capitalized on the mistake, scoring five plays later to retake the lead at 28-24.
It wasn’t the only special teams mistake of the frame. Moments later, the Cougars recovered an onside kick, and after the Loggers got another stop, they muffed another punt.
“Tonight was about the little things,” Saade said, mentioning special teams mistakes at the top of the list. “The little mistakes that we need to fix, that I need to fix as their coach.”
CC looked poised to take a two-score lead, but Haze Hamrick was able to come down with an interception in the end zone to give the ball back to Onalaska.
On the next play, Ethan Thayer broke free for an 80-yard touchdown. It was his fourth of the game, and it was his second of 70 yards or more. He went on to finish with 311 yards and his four scores.
“Ethan runs really hard,” Saade said. “He’s a great kid to coach, he’s very coachable, and he’s very humble.”
While Thayer shined for Onalaska, it was Cascade Christian’s Cordae Norling and Tayven Collins that had the final say.
The pair had already scored four combined touchdowns prior to the fourth quarter, and in the final frame, they connected for two touchdowns through the air.
The first came on a fourth and goal from the 13, and the second came from 35 yards out and gave the Cougars the lead with less than two minutes to play.
A defensive pass interference on the final drive got the Loggers into Hail Mary range, but a pair of deep heaves fell incomplete before the interception ended the night.
The loss snapped Onalaska’s four-game winning streak, but the Loggers remain as one of two teams (along with Toledo) that are unbeaten atop the C2BL East.
The Loggers (4-2, 2-0 C2BL East) will look to rebound next Friday, Oct. 17 in Mossyrock in The Old Helmet Game.
“We’ll need to be focused and sharp,” Saade said. “We’re always blessed to have another chance to play. Our kids will learn from this, we’ll reflect on this, and then we’ll go back to work on Monday.”
