HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: TIGER TALE ENDS IN WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON, Mo. -- Cape Central ran the ball better than Washington. It passed the ball better than Washington.

It just didn't score better than Washington.

The Washington Bluejays ended Central's Cinderella season Monday night, holding off a resilient Tiger squad 21-14 in an epic battle.

With their backs at their own 3-yard line and a stout, cold wind blowing in their faces and only 2:48 remaining, Tiger quarterback T.J. Erlacker led his team down to Washington's 13. But Washington's Jake Hagedorn intercepted a pass at the 3-yard line to effectively end the game.

"You just have to give the kid credit," said Cape Central coach Lawrence Brookins. "That was just a good play."

The fact that Central was in that position in the first place was remarkable. The Tigers, trailing 21-7 early in the fourth quarter, didn't look to have much of a chance when they failed on a fourth down at Washington's 11-yard line. But with 10:42 left to go, Central's Zac Fidler intercepted a pass and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.

"That wasn't a fluke," Brookins said. "He's done that all year."

Offensively, Central actually outgained sixth-ranked Washington 271-175. Washington (11-1) only completed one pass in the game and that ended up being perhaps the most important play of the game.

With :43 left in the second quarter and at Central's 30, the Bluejays completed a double pass for a 30-yard touchdown. Quarterback Adam Brune threw a backward pass to Aaron Doyle and he hit a wide-open Mike Freese in the end zone.

"That really hurt," Brookins said. "I felt like if we kept the momentum right there into halftime, we'd be in real good shape."

Added Brookins, "We just have a couple of young DBs back there and they made a mistake.

"But you also have to remember how we came back."

Jamie Dowler put Washington up 21-7 on a 10-yard run with 8:22 to go in the third quarter.

The first half was evenly played, though Washington had the upper hand on its first and last possessions of the first 24 minutes of play.

It looked like the Blue Jays were going to dominate the game early as Washington came out running and drove the ball 74 yards on nine plays, capped off when Brune kept the ball and ran it around the left end from 5 yards out.

But Central seemed to catch on to Washington's array of counters and traps and kept the Bluejays' running attack in check for the remainder of the game. Standout sophomore Dowler ran the ball 27 times for 109 yards.

Central tied the game at seven in the second quarter with an impressive drive of its own.

Central used up almost five minutes of the clock and ran 10 plays which was capped off by a 1-yard T.J. Erlacker sweep. O.J. Turner had a 21-yard run that was a key to the drive.

Though both teams came into the game with good passing offenses, only two of 11 pass attempts were completed in the first half as the biting cold and gusty wind didn't make for good passing conditions.

Turner led Central in rushing with 79 yards on 10 carries, though he ran the ball only twice in the second half. Jamelle Austin carried the ball 18 times for 59 yards and Erlacker, who had a huge 30-yard run on Central's final drive, ended up with 61 yards on 10 carries.

Erlacker had a rough first half, but a solid second half. He completed nine of 21 pass attempts for 119 yards. He was intercepted three times.

Brune completed no passes in nine attempts and threw one interception.

Cape Central was penalized eight times for 50 yards, many coming on dead-ball situations.

"That was kind of disappointing," Brookins said. "You always hate giving up yards before the ball is even snapped."

Though the loss was disappointing and even one that the Tigers could've won, Central completed its season at 7-5 after going just 1-9 last year.

"We had a good year," Brookins said. "Some of the kids are excited the way things turned out. But right now, there are a lot of kids in white who are upset because they expected to win."