Close, but not quite

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Tabor’s 35-27 loss to Sterling Saturday was a close game to the very end.



That’s good news because the score marked a dramatic improvement from last year’s 66-6 shellacking.



But it’s also bad news because the Bluejays, minus a couple of mistakes, could have won this one.



A key mistake came with 31 seconds left in the third quarter. The Bluejays had tied the game 20-20 two minutes earlier on a 95-yard bomb from quarterback travis Davis to wide receiver Henry Cantu, then the defense had stopped Sterling on four plays.



With the ball back and facing a third-and-23 at Tabor’s 26, Davis, under heavy pressure from the Warrior rush, threw a weak, off-balance pass into the hands of Sterling’s Chad Matthews, who returned it 27 yards to give his team a 27-20 lead.



“That was a terrible learning experience, right there,” said coach Tim McCarty afterward. “They know it, too, so what can you say? No one wants to do that.”



The costly interception marred an otherwise heroic performance from Davis. The Wichita freshman rolled up 368 yards on 21-for-49 passing as the Bluejays all but gave up on running the football until the fourth quarter.



As they have in several games this season, the Bluejays found themselves in an early hole.



Sterling took the opening kickoff and drove from their own 25-yard line to the Tabor 6. It appeared the Bluejays had avoided a Warrior touchdown when Sterling lined up for a field-goal attempt. But holder Daniel Scribner took the snap and raced around right end for the six points. The point-after made it 7-0 only 3:22 into the game.



Tabor struck back in the opening moments of the second quarter. Facing second-and-10 at his own 11, Davis hit Henry Cantu downfield with a pass and the senior outraced his Sterling defenders to the end zone. Dylan Pohlman’s PAT kick knotted the game at 7.



The Jays struck again after an interception by C.J. Hill midway into the quarter gave Tabor the ball at the Warrior 34. The Bluejays drove to the Sterling 6 before bogging down. Pohlman’s 33-yard field goal gave Tabor a 10-7 lead with 4:37 to go on the half.



But the Bluejays weren’t ahead for long. Sterling’s Daniel Brown caught four Cullen Riner passes during an eight-play, 67-yard drive. The last one went for a touchdown from 20 yards out to give Sterling a 14-10 lead after the extra point.



Pohlman pulled the Bluejays to within one, 14-13, with his second 33-yard field goal of the afternoon. This one came with 10:06 left in the third quarter.



But Sterling came right back once more. Aided by a debatable roughing-the-passer call, the Warriors drove from the their own 25 to the Tabor 30.



Then Riner, facing fourth-and-seven, connected with Anthony Taviera for the touchdown and a 20-13 lead when the point-after failed.



Tabor tied the game at 20 when Davis connected with Cantu for another long score, this one a 95-yard bomb with 2:50 left in the third quarter.



After Matthews made his big interception and score, Sterling padded their lead with a nine-yard pass from Riner to Ian Anderson with 11:16 left in the game. A 2-point conversion pass made it 35-20.



Still, the Bluejays didn’t give up.



Richard Wingate gave the Bluejays good field position when he ran the kickoff to the Tabor 44. With the help of a pass-interference penalty, Tabor scored in six plays, the final one a 14-yard run by Cameron Conant. Pohlman’s PAT kick made it 35-27 with 9:06 still to play.



After the Tabor defense stopped Sterling on four plays, the Bluejays got the ball again at the Sterling 49 with plenty of time for another drive. But on the second play, Conant fumbled and Sterling recovered.



The Bluejay defense stopped Sterling once more, and Tabor got one last chance when they got the ball back on their own 29 with 2:46 to go.



Pass completions to Tyler Marsh, Jeff MacKinnon and Tyson Ratzlaff gave Tabor the ball on the Warrior 36.



But the comeback ended when Davis’ pass for MacKinnon was picked off by Jack Dillard at the Sterling 2-yard line. The Warriors ran out the last 1:08 to preserve the win.



“We’re a lot better team,” McCarty said. “We hate to see this one slip away, but we were picked to win two, and this one wasn’t one of them. We’re right there.”



Tabor, 1-4 in the KCAC and 1-5 overall, travels to Salina Saturday to face Kansas Wesleyan, who is 3-2 and 4-2. Game time is 1:30 p.m.

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