Colby falls in rainy finale, 27-13

The Colby Hornets battled both the Auburndale Eagles and the elements in their final game of the regular season last Friday, a rainy and windy affair that would decide second place in the Marawood. Turnovers and penalties by the Hornets proved to be too much to overcome on the road for the Colby squad and two fourth quarter touchdowns sealed the 27-13 win for the Eagles.

The visiting Hornets outgained Aurburndale 258 yards to 106 on the ground and had more total yards of offense than their opponents, but three lost fumbles and eight penalties on Colby turned the odds in favor of the Eagles.

Despite the weather, Auburndale was also able to make use of the pass game, collecting 96 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Meanwhile, the Hornets were unable to complete a pass, leaving their offense to lean entirely on their rushing attack.

For a time, it looked like that and solid defense would be enough for Colby to come out on top. After trailing 12-6 at halftime, the Hornets dealt Auburndale a three-and-out on their first possession of the third quarter, giving their offense excellent starting field position. They then promptly moved down the field and tied the game on a one-yard run by Gavin Voss. The following extra point from Bryan Camargo gave the Hornets the lead.

They would hold that lead until midway through the fourth quarter, when Auburndale would finally break through with their own touchdown to retake the lead.

With time running out, Colby needed to respond, likely on their next possession. However, a lost fumble on the fourth play of the drive cost them not only their chance to score, but also gave Auburndale an opportunity to extend their lead with a short field. The Eagles did just that, all but putting the game out of reach of the Hornets.

While turnovers are never opportune, they seemed to come at the worst times for the Hornets. One came on the Hornets first drive of the half, where they had managed to move into Auburndale territory and potentially set the tone for the game with an opening drive score. The second came after the defense had forced a punt from the Eagles after Colby’s first touchdown, giving the Hornets an opportunity to go up by two scores. Instead, Auburndale was able to take over inside the red zone, an extremely short field that they were able to turn into six points and tie the game.

“Kindof atalossforwordsonhowweplayedattimes,” head coach Jim Hagen said afterwards. “One of the big differences in the game was we had three turnovers and Auburndale had none, and when you play against good teams, turnovers are a big factor in the outcome of the game. Furthermore, we had too many penalties and lost our composure late in the game.”

Penalties at key moments also hurt the Hornets chances. A holding call in the second quarter undid a third down run for the Hornets that would have moved the chains and set them up inside the Auburndale 10yard line. Instead, Colby turned over the ball on downs two plays later. A pass interference call in the fourth quarter turned what would have been a fourth-and-four play into a first down for Auburndale on the drive that they would retake the lead.

Voss led the offense in the loss, picking up 186 yards rushing and scoring both of the team’s touchdowns. Brennan Geiger had 35 yards on five carries, Brody Viegut added 20 yards and Tayt Smith had 17 yards.

On defense, Tanner Halopka had a team high nine total tackles. Luis Nava Rojas and Frankie Castro both contributed eight tackles themselves.

While the loss was certainly not how Colby had hoped its regular season would end, the Hornets did get some good news the following morning, when it was announced that they would be receiving a one-seed in the Division 5 WIAA playoffs. The designation means that Hornets will have home field advantage secured potentially through the first three rounds of the postseason.

Their first opponent will be the eighth-seeded Durand- Arkansaw squad out of the Cloverbelt Conference. The Panthers are 3-6 this season and are coming off a 33-8 loss to Stanley-Boyd in their regular season finale. They also lost 28-6 to Neillsville/Granton earlier in the season, a team that Colby defeated 24-8 in the first game of the year.

The first round matchup is scheduled for this Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.