Thursday night's game between the Big Red of Dillon and the Keenan Knights was a match-up between two undefeated teams looking to end the regular season on a high note.
Dillon struggled in the first half, but overcame an injury to its starting quarterback to defeat Keenan 14-8.
Prior to the game, Dillon team captain Kevin McCarthy said he knew Keenan would be a difficult opponent.
"Knowing how they played [last game], we knew it would be a tough game," McCarthy said.
Keenan was also aware of how dangerous its opponent Dillon would be after its 42 point victory over Stanford.
"42 points is ridiculous in inner hall football," Keenan team captain Reed Langton said.
Early in the first half, Dillon faced offensive difficulties as Keenan came out strong to begin the game with a touchdown to make the score 8-0.
In addition to the strong offense, the defense was also relentless in trying to stop Dillon's drive.
Dillon was able to get on the scoreboard and even the score on a touchdown pass from quarterback Michael Johnson to McCarthy.
Later in the first half, Johnson suffered a dislocated shoulder and had to leave the game. A. J. Cedeno replaced Johnson.
But, Cedeno scored the game winning touchdown in the second half off a quarterback sneak to make the score 14-8.
Keenan managed to drive the ball to the Dillon 7-yard line with two minutes left in the game but could not complete the touchdown.
"We just have two drives that came up short," Langton said. "[The playoffs] are a whole new beginning."
Keough 10, O'Neill 8
Keough earned its first win of the season Thursday night with a 10-8 win against O'Neill. Both teams came to play and it showed in this closely fought game.
"It was nice to finish with a win," Keough captain John McCarthy said.
The Kangaroos came back to score 10 straight points in the second quarter. They avoided a disastrous start and came out with the victory.
On the second play of the game, Keough fumbled at its own 35. John Enterline of O'Neill picked up the loose ball and ran in the end zone for a quick six points. On the conversion, Enterline then pounded it in for another two points.
On the very next play for Keough, they fumbled it again on a bad handoff. O'Neill recovered on its opponent's 32-yard line. There could not have been a much better start for O'Neill.
However, the strong Keough defense held and sacked the O'Neill quarterback on fourth-and-four to regain the ball.
"We wasted a lot of opportunities, but we still had fun. Both teams gave 100 percent efforts and that's all you can ask for," Enterline said. "We're looking ahead to next year as we're only losing three or four guys. This year has been something to build on and we have no regrets."
O'Neill had a field goal opportunity late to win the game, but since the game was at night, the field with lights that they were playing on did not have goal posts. They could not kick a field goal so they had to score a touchdown.
Keough picked off the O'Neill quarterback.
