by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Wellington was favored to win this game in Augusta Friday night. But few would have thought the win would be this bizarre.

Wellington beat Augusta 19-10 at Hiller Stadium to run its record to 3-0 – the first Crusader team to do so since 2007. The Crusaders are also 1-0 in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail League Div. IV.

But of the 128 plays in this game, only two will define this victory – a 100 yard Trevor Nance interception return for a touchdown, and a 68-yard touchdown pass from Nance to Colin Reichenberger, both in the fourth quarter.

It took Wellington all but 19 seconds of three quarters just to get on the scoreboard and in the end Augusta outdistanced Wellington statistically 308-284 yards.

For three quarters, Augusta led 3-0. Both Wellington and Augusta had their chances in scoring in the red zone. But neither was effective in getting the ball into the end zone. Only Augusta’s Kyler Steinkamp’s 23 yard field goal with 4:21 in the second quarter accounted for any points.

That changed late in the third quarter.

After some frustrating drives, Nance and Reichenberger finally connected on a 39-yard pass reception that got the Dukes to the Augusta 21. A counter pass to Phelps put Wellington on the 9. Then Nance hit Phelps in the corner of the end zone to make it 6-3. Wellington failed on the PAT run.

But Augusta’s offense was making all kinds of noise. The Orioles scored on a 52-yard touchdown run to end the the third quarter only to get it called back on a holding call. The Orioles had momentum going into the final stanza.

Augusta worked its way down to the 10, and was faced with third and 7. Oriole quarterback Tristan Finch, who had a brilliant game with 248 all-purpose yards, had a terrible play. He rolled left and threw it in the end zone. Nance was waiting with the interception.

There are many ways to describe the interception run that followed — guaranteed a Wellington record, because you can’t make a longer interception return in high school football. Wellington head coach Tyler Ryan said he was hoping Nance would slide down before losing the ball. Nance said he thought he heard footsteps the whole way so he didn’t really plan on the route he was taking. He just looked for open air.

But whatever it was, it was breathtaking. Nance wound his way coast-to-coast 100 yards for a touchdown. He would zig right, zag left and arguably ran for 150 yards on his 100 yard route. Hard to determine how long the actual play lasted in real time because Nance isn’t winning a 100 meter sprint anytime soon. But he got there. And with it Wellington had turned a possible 10-6 deficit into a 12-3 lead.

He even ran 3 extra yards on the PAT run which he didn’t quite make.

But Augusta wasn’t finished. The Orioles pieced together its lone touchdown drive of the night. Starting from its own 42, Finch guided Augusta on an 8-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Logan Weakly. The Dukes were clutching to a 12-10 lead.

On the next drive, Wellington found itself on a third-and-8 situation with 5:24 to play. Then Nance threw deep to Reichenberger, who was a step in front of the Augusta defender. The catch resulted in a 62-yard touchdown pass reception. The Crusaders had themselves a 19-10 lead after Reichenberger’s PAT kick.

But the defense came through with a huge sack on third down and breaking up a pass on fourth down. Wellington would run out the clock for the victory.

Whew!

This was one of those games, Wellington could have lost as easily as it won. Or it could have blown the Orioles away if the Crusaders took advantage of their opportunities.

In the first quarter, Wellington drove deep inside the 10 for first down, only to come up empty – a problem the Dukes had last season.

Augusta didn’t help itself either. It also looked as if it was going for a touchdown in the second quarter only to cough up the football at the 3.

When Wellington did something sensational, there seemed to be a flag to nullify everything. A fake punt, perfectly executed, would have given the Crusaders a first down deep in Augusta territory late in the second quarter, only to be called back for a hold.

At the half, both teams went into the locker room with a strange 3-0 score.

The third quarter was much of the same. Neither team could sustain a drive and one could argue that both teams were their worst enemy. But things changed when Wellington started to roll late in the quarter. Everything was set up for the interception of the century.

Wellington 19 Augusta 10*

Wellington 0 0 6 13 — 19

Augusta 0 3 0 7— 10

A-Steinkamp 23 field goal.

W- Phelps 9 pass from Nance (PAT run no good).

W- Nance 100 interception run for TD.

A- Weakly16 pass from Finch (Steinkamp kick)

W-Nance 62 pass to Reichenberger (Reichenberger kick).

Rushing: Well. Austin Dunn 21-75, Connor Phelps 10-24, Trevor Nance 1-1, Andrew Horn 1-1, Team 3-(-6)  Aug. Finch 25-58, Goken 12-35, Hurst 6-16, Carter 3-9.

Passing: Well. Nance 13-23-189. Aug. Finch 14-23-1-190.

Receiving: Well. Reichenberger 7-122, Phelps 3-33, Horn 2-24, Dunn 1-10. Orioles: Hurst 7-41; A. Castillo 3-40, Carter 2-55, Trae Goken 1-38, Logan Weakley 1-16.

Interceptions: Well. Nance 1-100. Aug. none.

Fumbles: Well. 1-1, Dunn 1-0. Aug. Finch 2-0, Goken 1-1.

*These are Augusta stats.