Big plays hurt Marcos in another loss to East Dubuque

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EAST DUBUQUE – Dane Bumsted had been through this before, but it didn't ease any of the pain – emotional or physical – oozing out of his pores.

Drew Cheatham and Brandon Wiggins couldn't find any words, so the two Polo Marcos just stood there and embraced, neither wanting to give up the warm camaraderie in the cool breeze.

Finally, with heavy hearts and even heavier legs, the Polo seniors tromped off the field, the cushy seats of the waiting charter buses little consolation after a 14-10 first-round loss to East Dubuque in the Class 1A playoffs.

"This is my third year of varsity and my third year in the playoffs," Bumsted said, "and it never hurts less to lose that final game. Eventually the sting will wear off and we'll think about the great seasons we've had – but that won't be tonight."

Just like the first time the two teams met, way back in Week 1, it was a defensive slug-fest from the get-go. East Dubuque used two big pass plays to score and set up its touchdowns, while Polo's defense set up the Marcos' lone TD with a 30-yard interception return by Michael Geary.

Trailing 7-0 midway through the second quarter, Geary stepped in front of Chance Oster's second-down pass at the East Dubuque 35-yard line and took off down the sideline the other way. The Polo sophomore was tackled at the 5-yard line, but Wiggins got the ball on two straight plays and bulled in, then Dane Mitchell's extra point kick tied it at 7.

"Coach told me to jump on the out route and just get in the way," Geary said. "I saw the receiver look back for the ball, and as soon as I turned my head it was there. I caught the ball and saw only the end zone – I almost made it."

The defenses settled in after that, especially on the Polo side. The Marcos held the Warriors to minus-10 yards rushing in the game, and East Dubuque ran just six plays the entire third quarter.

Polo turned that into its only lead of the game, 10-7, on Mitchell's 25-yard field goal on the third play of the fourth period.

"We felt good, because we proved to ourselves we could move the ball," Bumsted said. "We knew they lived and died by the big play, and we had a couple of our own to get the lead. It was a dogfight, we knew that coming in, and our defense had the answer for them. We took a lot of pride in that today."

But the big-play Warriors had one more trick up their sleeve. Just like their first score, when Oster hit Andrew Belken on a 23-yard crossing pattern, the passing game came up big again on the next possession.

On third-and-9 from his own 44-yard line, Oster tossed a perfect pass to Kyle Huseman, just over the outstretched arms of a Polo defender. Huseman caught it a ran all the way to the Polo 3 before being tackled.

"It was a perfect pass, and I just put my hands out and the ball fell right in," Huseman said. "I had my mind on the end zone, but got caught from behind and couldn't cut back to get the score."

Mike Hoppman scored two plays later, and Keith Hayes' kick made it 14-10 Warriors.

"That's kind of our style: We're a blue-collar team that makes some white-collar plays," Huseman said. "We never get down on each other, we always just fight, fight, fight – and seem to come up with a big play somewhere."

Star of the game: Chance Oster, East Dubuque, 9-for-13 passing, 195 yards, TD, INT

Key performers: Dagin Buck, Polo, 17 rushes, 75 yards; Michael Geary, Polo, 30-yard INT return to set up TD; Tyler McLane, East Dubuque, 5 catches, 11 yards

Up next: Class 1A playoffs, second round, East Dubuque at Galena, TBA

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