A final heave downfield, and a one-handed interception by a member of the Douglas County West secondary, marked the end of a tightly contested 20-16 loss for then No. 10 Fort Calhoun on Friday night.
The No. 12 seeded Pioneers will play at No. 5 Central City in the first round of postseason action at 7 p.m. this Friday.
This past Friday night, the Pioneers got on the board first against the Falcons after Blake Welchert jumped a quick screen and took off for a 62-yard pick six. A blocked PAT would hold the Pioneers' lead to 6-0.
Down 7-6 and driving near the end of the first half, Fort Calhoun got in range for a Chase Bierman field goal as time expired. The junior drop to one knee after putting enough mustard on the lead-taking kick.
Heading to the half up 9-7, the Pioneers would later add to their lead on a run by Welchert late in the third. Holding a 16-7 lead, it would mark the last time Fort Calhoun would add to its total.
A quick score by the Falcons cut the lead to two before the end of the third quarter, and the home side would cling to that lead for almost enough time to escape with a win.
But a late interception on a deep, fourth-down throw by quarterback Adam Elofson, which was essentially the equivalent of a punt, started a DC West drive that wound up finishing off the game.
“I kind of had the feeling at about three plays into that drive that they were looking to just run some clock and get to the point where they could make the score at the end and leave little time,” head coach Zach Byrd said.
With 55 seconds left in the game, a Falcons receiver was found wide open for the lead to cap off a drive that sucked several minutes off the clock. A 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but Fort Calhoun still needed to drive the length of the field down by four.
On a must-convert fourth down, Elofson found Welchert for a go-up-and-get-it grab. That was the lone highlight of the drive, though, as the QB would once again have to throw up a prayer with time running out. A one-handed interception sealed the game in DC West's favor.
“It's tough to go that far when you don't get the first couple (plays) to go,” Byrd said. “Had a hell of a play on fourth down to give us a chance. Then at the end, again, just trying to give a guy a chance downfield is about all we can do in that situation. Even if we come down with that, we're still scrambling up to try and make something happen.”
Entering Friday's contest ranked 11th in Class C1 wild card points, the Pioneers were officially in wait and see mode after the sound of the final buzzer. With 16 teams making it into the playoffs, Byrd stated confidence in his team as one that is postseason worthy in his eyes.
“Tomorrow morning we're going to get together and learn from the film,” Byrd said on Friday night. “We're a good team and I think we deserve to be in, but unfortunately it does come down to the points and how some other teams do. We're going to hold on tight and hope we see our name on the screen tomorrow.”
With the team dropping just one spot and earning the 12th seed, Fort Calhoun now shifts its attention to a Central City squad that finished the regular season at 8-1. Its lone loss came in overtime against Cozad.
“Next week is the playoffs and everyone is 0-0 again,” Byrd said. “Nothing that you've done the last nine weeks matters once you see who you're playing. The seeding will get determined how it's going to be determined, but once you see who you've got then you've got a week to get ready for them. That's the fun of being in the playoffs.”
DOUGLAS COUNTY WEST 20, No. 10 FORT CALHOUN 16
DCWHS (6-3) 0 7 7 6 — 20
FCHS (6-3) 6 3 7 0 — 16
Scoring Summary
First quarter
FC: Blake Welchert 62-yard interception return, PAT blocked
Second Quarter
DCW: Karsten Alexander 8-yard reception from Kelan Bohlen, Colton Willmott PAT
FC: Chase Bierman 30-yard field goal
Third Quarter
FC: Welchert 1-yard run, Kaiden Rodriguez PAT
DCW: Trevor Meck 2-yard run, Willmott PAT
Fourth Quarter
DCW: Nolan Asher 16-yard reception from Bohlen, 2-point conversion failed
