Red Devils fall to St. Mary’s to finish season

A dream season came to an end on Friday night, as the Tippecanoe football team was eliminated from the Division III state playoffs, falling to the #9 seed St. Mary’s 16-14 at the Tipp Park. The Red Devils had their chances in the second half but could not produce twice in the St. Mary’s red zone. The Roughriders on the other hand drove the field before kicking the game- winning field goal with less than ten seconds left in the game to earn the win.

“We got different kids here at Tipp… they care. It’s hard,” Tipp coach Matt Burgbacher said after the game. “You are around these kids so much, this group was fun. I am proud of what we have accomplished.”

“One thing we need to learn when opportunities arise, we need to take advantage of them. Inside the 20 on the first two drives of the second half and come away with 0 points. That’s how the game is; it’s a very rewarding game, and it’s very cruel as well.”

Everyone knew the St. Mary’s game plan coming in… run, run, and run some more. After both teams turned the ball over without a first down on their first drive, St. Mary’s went 76 yards on 19 plays on a drive that covered the final 8:57 of the first quarter and the first two minutes of the second.

In fact, twice St. Mary’s converted fourth-down plays, and with 10:11 left in the first half, St. Mary’s scored to give the Roughriders a 7-0 lead early in the second period.

Tipp responded on their next drive, taking the ball 75 yards, and on a third-and-22 play, Larkin Thomas hit Will Strong to tie the game at 7-7.

Tipp took over again after a quick stop and drive down to the 14 yard line, where Thomas connected again with Strong on a 14-yard pass with just 32 seconds left in the half, giving Tipp a 14-7 lead at the break.

The Red Devils looked to open up the game in the third, which would have forced St. Mary’s to come out of their methodical style of keeping the ball on the ground. But the Red Devils could not get to that point. On their first possession, Tipp drove inside the 20 before an interception gave the ball back over to the Roughriders.

“We got the ball to start the second half and drive down the field, and we thought if we get a two touchdown lead, we would take them out of what they wanted to do,” Burgbacher said. “We threw the interception, but then we got a stop, and we came back, and again, we missed those opportunities.”

Their next opportunity came when Tipp got the ball back and drove to the eight-yard line. Tipp went for what would have been a huge field goal to increase their lead to 10 points, but a bad snap forced Tipp to give the ball back to St. Mary’s and hold onto their seven-point lead.

The Riders scored with 6:03 left in the game, but a missed extra point kept the Red Devils in the game. A big run led to a 25-yard field goal with 9.3 seconds left by Bradey Triplett, which sailed right through the uprights, and it gave St. Mary’s the lead for good.

“That was the thing we preached all week, not to give up the big play,” Burgbacher said about the big run to set up the game winner.”

“I can’t say enough about this group, I know people were thinking it would be a down year for Tipp, but these kids just kept working and getting better and better. It’s unfortunate, it wasn’t our best game, that’s the tough part.”