On a humid, windy Sunday afternoon, the Tazewell Tigers took the Bushnell Warriors down to the wire in a barnburner for the right to play in the 8FL championship.
Bushnell staved off a fourth quarter flurry with a backup quarterback to defeat division rival Tazewell (9-3) for the third time this season - 46-44 this time - and move to 11-0.
Starting quarterback Matt Koster went down early in the third quarter. Tyler Snider came on in relief and engineered a game-winning touchdown pass to Evan Haffner with 1:45 remaining.
"They came after us," said Warriors Head Coach Dennis King. "We were rusty - we hadn't practiced in three weeks. There was way too much down time for us, and if we don't get our stuff together and get back to having practices, CCOs going to come after us - just like everyone else has. CCO is a great team. They are well coached. They have a lot of great athletes. If we're not ready to go out there and get after it, we'll come home losers. I really don't want to feel like the New England Patriots."
Ricky Packingham found Asa Lewis, Jr. following a Koster fumble to open scoring with a 15-yard touchdown throw and catch to make it 7-0. Koster redeemed himself by hooking up with Evan Haffner for a 10-yard score. After a failed conversion, Tazewell held on to a 7-6 advantage.
It was a tight game for the rest of the afternoon as the teams traded scores. Koster's second touchdown pass was to Tyler Snider to make it 12-7. Powerhouse running back Mark Harris thundered across the goal line with the score to put Tazewell back on top 13-12. The Warriors answered back with a 25-yard strike from Koster to Brian Wohlfeil. Tigers' quarterback Ricky Packingham rushed in just prior to halftime to pull Tazewell within one at 19-18.
Koster left the game in the third quarter and gave way to Snider. Haffner's circus fourth-down conversion allowed Snider a chance to evade would-be tacklers and score from five yards out to make it 26-19.
What the third quarter lacked in scoring, the fourth quarter certainly made up for. With the intensity and desperation starting to pick up, Harris rushed in for his second score of the afternoon to pull Tazewell within one. On the ensuing drive, Dejuan Listenbee exploded for a 30-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors back a 7-point cushion.
With 6:34 left, Packingham hooked up with Chad Reid from 30-yards out. The Tigers added the conversion to tie it at 32-32.
A kickoff out of bounds gave the Warriors great starting field position. Listenbee got loose again and got the offense inside the 5-yard line. It took all four downs, but Snider was able to punch it in for his second rushing score. Listenbee broke the plane for the conversion and with 3:38 left, the Warriors clung to a 39-32 lead.
Packingham pulled the Tigers back to within one after a 1-yard run, set up by a pass interference call. No such luck on their conversion and the Tigers trailed 39-38 with 2:32 remaining.
The ensuing Tiger kickoff went out of bounds, setting up the Warriors at midfield. Snider's pass again found Haffner in the end zone from 25-yards out to put Bushnell up 46-38.
Jarvis Hardges brought the ensuing Warriors kickoff back 55-yards to give Tazewell one final chance with 1:46 remaining. Packingham's conversion pass fell incomplete, leaving the score 46-44. The Tiger onside kick failed and the Warriors were able to run out the clock and advance to the title contest.
"We have a couple injury issues," said King. "(Cornerback A.G. Greene) has been nursing a hamstring. (Starting running back) Dante Daniels had to move out of the area after school was out. Matt Koster went down - he was nursing a knee injury, then he gets his other hurt. The upside is that Tyler Snider came in and did a helluva job for us. He just picked it up and scored a touchdown on the first drive on his own. I think that did a lot to pick up everyone's confidence, because when you lose a guy like Matthew ... the confidence level just kind of plummets."
The Warriors are one game away from a perfect 8FL season. Only the Capital City Outlaws stand in the way - a team that Bushnell defeated 38-12 on April 13. The Warriors will face the Capital City Outlaws in the 8FL championship game at Pekin's Dragon Dome Sunday at 6 p.m.