T-cats season ends with loss to Liberty Christian

The LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus Tigercats watched their season come to an end on Friday night, after suffering a loss in the WIAA 1B Southeast quarterfinal game against Liberty Christian. The Tigercats had their state playoff dreams defeated with an 8-70 loss to the undefeated Patriots.

The Tigercats received the opening kickoff, but were unable to move the markers for a first down, eventually turning the ball over on downs. Liberty Christian did not waste any time and took advantage of the field position to run into the end zone on their first possession.

After the two-point conversion, the Tigercats again attempted to move the ball down field but had little success against the Patriots’ defensive line. The Patriots would find the end zone again with under a minute left in the quarter on a five-yard run, and complete the conversion.

With the end of the first quarter came the score of 0-16, but the Tigercats did not give up hope. The team had lost to the Patriots in regular season play with a score of 0-70.

But Liberty Christian continued to outrun the Tigercats, tacking on another touchdown off of a 26-yard run with 10:17 left in the half. By the time halftime rolled around, the Tigercats faced a score of 0-48.

Due to the 48-point lead at half, the teams had running clock for the entire second half. Coach Jeff Nelson explained even though the Patriots lead was drastic; the Tigercats’ starters would play the entire game.

Nelson told the athletes of this decision before the game even began, because of the experience the Tigercats had the last time the two teams met. Liberty Christian leaves their starting lineup in for the entire game, regardless of the score.

The Patriots came onto the field after the halftime break and immediately scored a touchdown. The Tigercats would be unable to prevent the extra points, until the Patriots’ final touchdown.

With the added enthusiasm from preventing the conversion, the Tigercats marched down the field, with help from completed passes from Joey Guske. With 18.1 seconds left in the game, Guske connected with Sam Harder in the end zone for the only Tigercat touchdown.

Alec Fleming ran the ball into the end zone for the extra two points, and before the Tigercats could kick off, the final buzzer rang.