PLATTEVILLE — Darlington found itself trailing Prairie du Chien 21-0 deficit, as the two teams went into the fourth quarter during a Week 2 game on Friday, Aug. 25.

In the closing minute of the fourth, one yard was all that stood between the Redbirds and a comeback that would’ve sent the squads to an overtime competition.

Stout defense defined the first half, and the Blackhawks (2-0, 0-0 SWC) dominated the third quarter, while Darlington (1-1, 0-0 SWAL) did the same in the fourth to narrowly fall at home to Prairie du Chien, 21-19.

“[I’m] proud of our kids not giving up when we could have easily folded,” Darlington head coach Travis Winkers said. “A couple of big plays and an onside kick gave us some energy. Unfortunately, we have been dealt with the injury bug early in the year. It has caused us to shuffle some things around and not to be as crisp as we would like to be.

“That is no excuse, though, because the next guy up has to be ready. It’s our players’ job to train and be ready physically for when their time comes, and it’s our job as coaches to coach them up.”

A silent first quarter that featured a pair of punts by both squads gave way to a nearly identical second quarter, where the only score came from the Blackhawks in the final two minutes.

A crossing route tripped up Tye Crist, leaving Blake Thiry open to scoop in a 45-yard pass from Abe Amundson, giving Prairie du Chien a 7-0 lead.

The Blackhawks opened up their lead with a pair of touchdowns in the third — the first coming on a blocked punt at the 10-minute mark, and the second coming with three minutes left in the third when they capped a 57-yard drive with an 8-yard rush to sit with a 21-0 lead.

The final 15 minutes of play hearkened back to the first half, where Darlington’s defense suffocated Prairie du Chien’s offense.

The Redbirds capped off a six-minute, 55-yard drive that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters with a 2-yard touchdown rush from T. Crist to slim their deficit to 21-7.

The Blackhawks fumbled the squibbed kick on the ensuing kickoff, allowing  Darlington to recover the ball at the 39-yard line.

After a pair of short rushes by T. Crist, the Redbirds pushed the Blackhawks harder.

As the clock crept to the 11-minute mark — less than 60 seconds from their prior touchdown — Reagan Jackson connected with Maddox Goebel for a 35-yard touchdown pass, as Prairie du Chien’s Hunter Straka tripped himself up during the pass.

A missed PAT put Darlington at a slim, 21-13 deficit with 11 minutes on the clock.

The Blackhawks traded a pair of interceptions with the Redbirds, with a Prairie du Chien punt coming at 3:44, giving Darlington another chance to tie the game.

A wide receiver screen pass nearly got blown up behind the line of scrimmage, but Jackson’s pass found its mark to M. Goebel. 

Quick thinking by M. Goebel required eight Blackhawks and nearly 20 yards to bring him down at the 36-yard line with 3:31 to play.

A 10-yard penalty on the Redbirds in the following play left them on the 46-yard line with another 20 seconds off the clock.

Sitting at second-and-19, a trick play by Darlington gave the team the break it needed.

The Redbirds lined up in a 10-personnel package, with Broker Buschor, Calum Crist, and M. Goebel lining up in trips, while Brady Long lined up solo on the opposite, with T. Crist in the backfield. 

Jackson fired a 10-yard dart to Long, who was running a curl route, with M. Goebel sweeping out behind him. 

The second the ball hit Long’s hands, he pitched it back to an unblocked M. Goebel, who juked two Prairie du Chien players on his way to being hit out of bounds at the 7-yard line.

A trio of rushes got Darlington to the 3-yard line, with one down and 1:19 on the clock.

 The Redbirds lined up with Will Murray in a one-wide receiver set. Murray ran a quick slant in, and Jackson threaded the needle to get the ball to him.

As Murray went down, the referees didn’t immediately call it a touchdown, but when the umpire reviewed the situation, he called it a touchdown. Darlington’s comeback was nearly complete.

All that was left was a 2-point conversion to tie the game.

The Redbirds lined up in a goal line set. Jackson motioned C. Crist to the right side of line, stacking it with five blockers. 

As Jackson took the snap, he had the option to hold or toss it to T. Crist.

Jackson got the ball to T. Crist before it was too late, but the Blackhawks swarmed him as he got to the 1-yard line, leaving Darlington down, 21-19.

A failed onside kick attempt sealed their fate against Prairie du Chien.

“Overall, I am proud of the fact that we kept competing against a very good Prairie du Chien team,” Winkers said.

Fourth-ranked in Division 6 football, the Redbirds will have the opportunity to redeem their loss with a road trip to Potosi-Cassville at 7 p.m. on Friday.

“Next week we can’t be sad and down from this loss,” Winkers said. “[Potosi-Cassville is] a very good football team. They are one of the better teams in D7, and if we go into this game feeling sorry for ourselves, we will lose by multiple scores. We need a really good week of practice if we want to win.”

Potosi/Cassville (2-0, 0-0 Six Rivers) are the seventh-ranked team in Division 7, and they dominated last week at home against Ithaca, 44-16.