The third round of the playoffs tripped up the West Rusk Raiders again as they lost 38-35 to the Harmony Eagles on Friday afternoon in Longview. Even as the final seconds ticked by and victory was out of reach, the Raiders showed poise and determination to end the game on a strong note.
“They fought to the end and it showed right there, scoring a touchdown with the time running out,” said head coach Nick Harrison, referring to a touchdown pass from Andon Mata to Jimmie Harper made when there were three seconds on the clock and they were behind by ten.
An emotional Harrison reiterated how proud he was of this team, especially their seniors. “With all the injuries and everything we’ve dealt with this year, they just kept exceeding expectations week to week. When you look back at these seniors and everything they’ve done the last four years, I couldn’t be more proud.”
It was a strong start for the Raiders in a first half marked by big plays. Raiders got on the scoreboard with their first drive with a statement-making 57-yard touchdown pass from Mata to Geremiah Smith. Harmony went on to score with their first possession, though the Raiders’ defense made them work hard for it.
The first sign of the Raiders’ troubles came when incomplete passes forced them to a fourth down and nine at Harmony’s 17 and Baylee Hughes’ field goal attempt was no good. They lost their lead right soon after when Harmony quarterback Boston Seahorn ran 57 yards for a touchdown, outrunning a slew of Raiders’ defenders. Harmony couldn’t stop the Raiders from tying it up with a superb 61-yard touchdown pass to Tate Winings, but they were starting to get a handle on the Raiders’ offense.
After initially keeping pace with Harmony, the second quarter saw the Raiders coming up short in the red zone more than once and they missed another field goal attempt. Meanwhile, Harmony added one more touchdown and a field goal to give them a ten-point lead at halftime.
Hope stirred anew for the Raiders when they came back at the start of the third quarter looking fired up and putting a solid stop to Harmony’s offensive drive at their own 33. They wasted no time, following that with another Smith touchdown.
With the score at 21-24 and time to spare, the Raiders were right back in it. But they crucially failed to stop Harmony’s next drive, the difference coming down to just one yard between a turnover on downs or a first down. Harmony would go on to score on that same drive after eating up most of the third quarter. They forced the Raiders to punt for the first time after sacking Mata at the Raider 13.
Time was against the Raiders in the fourth quarter. Harmony soon extended their lead from 10 to 17 points, but even as they struggled with uncharacteristic incomplete passes, the Raiders’ determination didn’t waver. With just under eight minutes left, Mata connected with Harper again for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Harmony dragged out as much of the clock as they could on their next drive and were stopped at the Raiders’ 40.
The Raiders now faced the formidable challenge of making up ten points in under five minutes. They’d managed something similar in their last game, so it was doable. Incomplete passes foiled their efforts and when Mata fumbled the ball to Harmony with 3:50 left, it was all but over. They held back Harmony long enough to get possession one more time and Harper’s final touchdown was caught just seconds before the clock had run out.
Harrison said the loss came down to a lot of crucial moments that didn’t go their way. “Missing a couple of field goals hurts but we had chances to include big plays and we didn’t make them. My hat’s off to Harmony - they made the plays when it counted. I’m proud of them and hope they represent us well, and good luck to them in the future.”
The Raiders ended their season with a 10-3 record.
