Osage stops two-pointer to trip Cadet football team

CRESCO -  Class 2A No. 6 ranked Osage stopped a two-point conversion run by the Crestwood football team with 32 seconds left to hold on for a 27-26 win on Friday, Oct. 10 in Cresco.

The loss dropped Crestwood's overall record to 4-3 and 3-1 in Class 2A District 3. The Green Devils improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 and first place in District 3. The Cadets will host Waukon (4-3, 3-1) in the final regular season game on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday's contest between Crestwood and Osage saw a furious finish in the fourth quarter.

The Cadets broke a 13-all halftime tie game late in the third quarter when quarterback Alex Loden raced 86 yards to paydirt with 1:50 left. Mitchell Williams kicked the extra point to give Crestwood a 20-13 lead heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

With 9:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, Osage quarterback Quinn Street completed a 69-yard touchdown pass to Sevryn Dodd, but Crestwood blocked the extra point to allow the Cadets to clinch to a 20-19 lead.

With under three minutes left in the fourth, Osage faced a third-and-19 from their own four-yard line before Street completed a pass to the Osage 49-yard line. Four plays later, Street completed another pass to Dodd to the Cadets' five-yard line before Brock Trees ran the final five yards for a touchdown with 1:36 left. Street completed the two-point pass to Dodd to give the Green Devils a 27-20 lead.

Down but not out, the Cadets started the next drive at their own 35. Three passes from Loden moved the ball to the Osage 32-yard-line. With 32 seconds left, Loden raced 32 yards down the left sidelines to paydirt to cut the lead to 27-26 before the Green Devils halted the two-point run by Loden. Osage recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

"When we scored late, we had to make the decision of do you want to play for overtime or do we want to win the game," Cadet Head Coach Justin Denner said. "We wanted to win the game and we felt good about the call. We just didn't execute it to the right ability on the last play, but I give credit to Osage. They are a great football team.

"Every time we scored, they responded right back immediately. We couldn't get any momentum going because once we scored, they came back to tie the score. It was a great back and forth game. We just didn't have enough execution-wise, but I couldn't be more proud of the effort our guys gave," Denner said.