SENECA-WAUZEKA-STEUBEN - The Seneca-Wauzeka-Steuben football team came ready to play last Friday night in DeSoto. When it was over, the Blue-Golds had a one-point overtime victory over a very tough Pirate team.

That’s right–the game was tied 7-7 after four quarters. Each team scored a touchdown in overtime. DeSoto missed their extra point. SWS kicker Carter Lomas kicked his and that point was the ball game.

In the first quarter, DeSoto took the lead on their home field when running back Trevor Rebhahn scored on a one-yard run. With the extra point, DeSoto took a 7-0 lead.

There was no more scoring for the rest of the first half or the third quarter for that matter. SWS head coach Justin Goodrich would later describe the game as a dogfight.

Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Blue-Golds scored a touchdown on 22-yard pass play from senior quarterback Carter Lomas to sophomore receiver Ashton Swanson. Lomas kicked the extra point to make it 7-7 and it was on to overtime.

DeSoto scored first in the overtime session on a two-yard run by Trevor Rebhahn. However, as mentioned earlier, the Pirates missed the extra point.

So, it was Seneca’s turn. Carter Lomas found Gavin Ralph on a 27-yard pass play for the touchdown. Then, the reliable SWS kicker, Carter Lomas, converted the extra point and won the game.

For the game, DeSoto had 18 first downs to SWS’s 12. Both teams carried the ball 41 times and DeSoto gained 172 yards rushing while SWS had 132 yards.

The Blue-Golds were 5-13 passing for 138 yards and the Pirates were 6-12 for 97 yards. Neither team threw an interception and neither team turned over a fumble.

SWS was penalized six times for 45 yards and DeSoto was penalized three times for 25 yards

SWS senior running back Hunter Aspenson led his team in rushing–carrying the ball 20 times for 106 yards. Rebhahn led DeSoto in rushing–carrying the ball 26 times and gaining 125 yards.

SWS’s Matt Hall had six carries for 17 yards, while DeSoto’s Kaden Pedretti carried the ball 10 times for 27 yards.

The Blue-Golds Aspenson also caught two passes for 74 yards. Swanson caught two for 37 yards and one TD. For DeSoto, Alex Scoville caught three passes for 48 yards and Aiden Brosinski caught one pass for 23 yards.

When it was over, everyone involved knew they had been in a major scrap and that included SWS head coach Justin Goodrich.

“This was an extremely crazy game,” Goodrich said later. “It was a dogfight for both teams and I’m glad we came out on top. 

“Our kids played very hard and left everything on the field,” Goodrich said. “This victory was a team effort by everyone on the team. I’m very proud of the team for being resilient and overcoming an early DeSoto lead. It’s great to watch the kids gel so well as a team and believe in each other.”