by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — In the end it came down to one play.

Wellington was sitting at the 3 with 1.7 seconds to play down 7-6. It was the equivalent of a two-point conversion. The Crusaders needed to reach the end zone to go home the victors. If they didn’t make it, and Rose Hill would get its first win in 11 tries.

The Crusaders would not attempt a field goal – something it hasn’t done in four years. A game-winning kick would have been the equivalent of a PAT. But Wellington has had trouble with PAT kicks all season. It was a risk, Wellington head coach Zane Aguilar was not going to make.

So Wellington lined up at the 3 with one chance to get into the end zone.

Wellington quarterback Cade Phelps took the snap, rolled right. He faked a pass, and eluded a pursuing defensive lineman wishing to make a sack. He started a sprint to the corner of the end zone. But two Rose Hill defenders were there for the waiting. He was tackled one yard short.

As a result, the Crusaders are now 0-3, and with Andale, Collegiate and Scott City coming up next, Wellington has a strong possibility of going 0-6.

“This is a tough, bitter pill to take,” said Zane Aguilar, Wellington head football coach.

While it could be viewed as a bitter defeat, the youthful Wellington team showed for at least the last 8 minutes, it was a team with a will to win.

It started with 7:40 to play. Colton Glover had just converted a fourth down and 5 to get Wellington at the 50.

After a three yard loss, the Crusaders finally hit pay dirt and found that elusive end zone.

Cade Phelps threw a deep pass to sophomore receiver Washington who managed to get one step ahead in front of his defender and race down the visitor’s sidelines, for a 53-yard touchdown reception. The Crusaders had pulled within one and needed to kick the all-important two-point conversion.

But two things occurred simultaneously that has plagued the Dukes all season. Wellington committed a false start, the fifth of the night thus putting it back to the 8.

Then the kick was blocked. Wellington still has not made a PAT since the first quarter of game one.

Then on the ensuing kickoff, a short kick and a lengthy return to its own 43, gave Rose Hill great field position to finish off the game. The Rockets would drive all the way to the Crusader 13 with relative ease.

But then they did some self destructing of their own.

Twice they fumbled – only to recover. Then the quarterback threw to Phelps who nabbed the interception in the end zone.

With 3:20 to play, the Crusaders had first-and-80 to go. To say it was an interesting final drive would not do it justice. Twice, the Dukes had to convert fourth down plays. Glover would get a first down on a screen pass reception to the 35 that included him burrowing over two Rose Hill defenders. Then Chris Kop makes huge yardage on a draw to its own 47.

Then three plays later, Wellington was in a fourth-down situation again. Washington was able to make a diving catch. The Rose Hill faithful thought it was incomplete. The NFL review booth officials were unable to make it to Rose Hill.

Kop then got big yardage on a draw and with 41.9 seconds left, Wellington was sitting at the Rose Hill 27.

Two plays later, Phelps would rifle it into tight end Jack Walton on a crossing route. That would get the Crusaders to the 10 with 19.3 seconds left.

Then on a quick snap led to a wide open slant pass to Joe Ybarra, who had it in his grasp for a touchdown but somehow found the ball slip through his fingers.

With 6.8 seconds left, a Rose Hill player literally tackled a Wellington receiver in the end zone for a pass interference. Thus came the final play of the game.

Overall, this was a much better effort by the Wellington defense, that held Rose Hill to 244 yards. Wellington’s offense also accumulated 277 yards.

Better yet, the Crusaders allowed just one big play in this game, a 72 yard scamper by Bradley McAllister in the first quarter. It would never allow another big play the rest of the game.

The aggravating part of this game is Wellington could not finish drives. In the first half, three drives in particular ended at the 25, 26, and 45 yard line of Rose Hill’s

In the third quarter, chasing ghosts from the two previous games of giving up four touchdowns, the defense settled in. For much of the third quarter it was about field position and this unusually low scoring game went into the fourth 7-0 Rose Hill. Then the game got really interesting.

Wellington returns home to play Andale next weekend.

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