Fulton comes up short in wild finale in TRAC

PRINCETON – Fulton has played in the Three Rivers Conference for 46 years. It’s last game certainly had to be one of its most exciting games.

The Steamers led 3A No. 2-ranked Princeton for most of the first three quarters of play Friday night, relinquishing the lead with less than nine minutes to go. Princeton added another touchdown with 8:48 left in the game and held on for a 49-38 win.

“We kept fighting. They made couple adjustments. They’re a good football team. We knew we wouldn’t be able to keep them down for four quarters,” Fulton coach Patrick Lower said. “That was a great high school football game. I know they say these [spring games] don’t mean anything, but this game meant a lot to these kids out here, these fans, these communities.

“I’m just proud of both football teams and communities. This was a fun football game. I was proud to be a part of it.”

Fulton, a charter member of the TRAC in 1976, which will be joining the NUIC this fall.

The Steamers (4-1), ranked No. 3 in this week’s 1A AP Poll, led as much as 31-14 midway through the third quarter when Ethan Rash scored on a 33-yard touchdown run.

Rash added a 1-yard touchdown with 11:54 left to play to put the Steamers up 38-28.

The Tigers (6-0) didn’t panic, and scored three touchdowns in the final 10 minutes.

Princeton quarterback Tyler Gibson threw a 12-yard TD pass to Augie Christiansen to make it 38-35 Fulton with 10:25 remaining.

The Tigers then recovered an onside kick at the Fulton 23, and six plays later, Gibson sneaked in from a yard out to give the Tigers their first lead of the night at 42-38 with 8:48 remaining.

Ronde Worrels, who became Bureau County’s all-time leading rusher this season, capped his career with a 5-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on the Tigers’ 49-38 come-from-behind victory.

“That’s another thing Coach [Ryan] Pearson preaches, doesn’t matter if we’re down 40-0, or 50-0, anything. We’re never giving up, and we never gave up,” Worrels said.

Pearson agreed that his Tigers never gave up.

“I’m so happy for our kids. They’re extremely resilient, and there’s no quit in these kids. They get down 31-14, but our kids continue to persevere. They continue to keep fighting,” he said.

“What a win. What a win. Oh my gosh, what a win.”

With no postseason to play for, Pearson had billed this game as the Tigers’ state championship.

“We said this was going to be our state championship game, and it was every bit and then some. Hats off to Fulton. They came over here and played a whale of football game,” he said. “It just came down our kids made a couple more plays at the end and got the big win.”

“We came in knowing us seniors built this program up, and Coach Pearson has taught us everything. We couldn’t let him down the last game,” Worrels said. “He’s been such a great coach to all of us. Give that W to him, and getting that W to us seniors is very important to us.”

The Steamers struck quickly for a 7-0 lead on a 70-yard pass from Connor Barnett to Jacob Jones less than 2 1/2 minutes into the game.

Kyler Pessman added an 11-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 6:33 left in the first quarter.

Princeton evened the score on touchdown runs by Worrels (2 yards) and Gibson (21 yards) at the end of first quarter to tie the game at 14.

Pessman scored on a 35-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter, and Endi Qunaj added a 30-yard field goal just before time expired in the second quarter to give the Steamers a 24-14 halftime lead.

“They definitely hit us hard and smacked us in the mouth. I think everybody else wrote us out, but we kept our heads on. We said, ‘Keep fighting, keep fighting. Those were the key words tonight, ‘keep fighting,’” PHS senior lineman Grant Foes said.

Forreston 32, Eastland-Pearl City 14: Kellen Henze accounted for both touchdowns for the Wildcatz in a loss to the Cardinals, throwing a first-quarter TD pass to Wyatt Baber to get within 8-6, then adding a 63-yard TD run with 1:51 left in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 24-14.

Henze completed 19 of 32 passes for 170 yards and a pair of interceptions, and he also ran for 129 yards on 18 carries. Logan Krell added 49 yards rushing, and Baber finished with 11 catches for 125 yards.

Jordan Neuschwander ran for 64 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals, while Cayden Shelton added 50 yards and a pair of TD runs. Devonte King-Black had 47 yards on six rushes, and Lukas Lingel opened the scoring with a 10-yard TD run just 2:40 into the game.