Port redefines heartbreaker

There are heartbreakers and then there’s what happened to Port Washington High School’s football team on Friday.

The No. 7-seeded Pirates were stopped half a yard short of a division 3 playoff upset at No. 2 Plymouth.

The nature in which it happened is even more sickening for Port.

Down, 21-14, after squandering a 14-7 halftime lead, the Pirates got the ball back on their own 20-yard line after a punt with less than two minutes to play and one timeout.

Port ran a draw play to star back Deron Spicer for 12 yards, then a fade pass to star Jacob Lippe for 22.

After clocking the ball, the Pirates ran a speed option and had to call their final timeout with less than a minute to play.

Quarterback Adam Baierl hit Lippe on a comeback route for a first down, then threw a 23-yard fade to the end zone. Lippe overcame double coverage and pulled it down for a touchdown with 47 seconds left.

Coach John Bunyan said his team made about 50% of its extra points this season, so he decided to go for two and take the lead.

But the Pirates got called for delay of game, moving the ball to the 8-yard-line. That wasn’t awful, Bunyan said, since it provided more space to work with.

A slant pass to Lippe fell incomplete, but the Panthers got called for pass interference.

With the ball on the 4-yard-line, Bunyan called a jet sweep to the right, a play that went for nine, seven and 10 yards earlier in the game.

But a Panther shed a block and tackled Lippe inside the 1-yard line.

The Panthers recovered the ensuing kick and hung on.

A game of inches turned into a game of tears. It was a heartbreaker “to say the least,” Bunyan said.

This was the Pirates’ third straight season to the playoffs and their third straight opening-round loss, with many of the same players responsible for their success.

“I thought we had it. It was just a bummer that we came up short,” Bunyan said.

It spoiled outstanding nights for Spicer, who ran for 152 yards and two scores on 22 carries; and Lippe, who caught seven balls for 85 yards and a score and ran for 25 yards.

Baierl, who limped around with a bad ankle, went 7-for-16 passing for 105 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 43 yards.

“Jake had an amazing game and an amazing season. He stepped up to make big plays right here. I thought Spicer ran the ball really hard. Baierl put his heart and soul into it after his ankle got banged up last week,” Bunyan said.

Zach Sharpe returned from injury to intercept a pass and help limit the Panthers to 19 yards through the air and just three completions. But the Pirates struggled to stop the Panthers’ running game, which racked up 320 yards. Josh Koll had 173 yards on 32 carries and Cole Booth had 129 yards and two touchdowns on 16 runs.

Spicer scored on two short runs in the first half to give Port a 14-7 lead. The Panthers scored on their opening possession of the third quarter, then stopped Port inside their own 20-yard line and drove down and scored to take the lead. Port then got stopped on fourth down again in Panthers’ territory.

“We were right there. We had our chances,” Bunyan said.

Injuries had hurt the 30-member Pirates all season. Tight end Dylan Niehoff went down for the year in the opener, Baierl missed several games, wide receiver Mitchell Niemeyer the last five, Sharpe a couple, Spicer missed one and Lippe a portion of one, just to name a few.

“It’s just disappointing for this group. We wanted to win some games and go far,” Bunyan said.

Port finished 5-5 for the third straight season.

Bunyan said he is proud of his team, especially his 13 seniors.

“They’re big contributors to program, they put us in position to make playoffs. They have nothing to hang their heads about. They had a great year,” he said.