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STRASBURG -- A couple critical mistakes doomed Frontier in Friday's Division VII, Region 27 playoff matchup with Strasburg-Franklin.
Up 7-6, the Cougars muffed a punt deep in their own territory which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Keizer Thomas. Later in the half, Frontier trailed 28-14 when the Tigers scored two touchdowns in the final 14 seconds to make it 42-14 at the break. They went on to win 56-21 to end Frontier's season.
Austyn Kephart's 3-yard touchdown run with 2:42 left in the second got the Cougars (5-6) within 14. They were 14 seconds away from keeping the deficit there at the break, but Brody Baughman scored on a 6-yard run to make it a three-score game. Then, Frontier attempted a long pass in the final seconds of the half, but Baughman picked it off and returned it 96 yards to the house -- a backbreaker for the Cougars.
Kephart connected with Phoenix Nedley on a 24-yard touchdown pass out of halftime, but Micah McVey answered with a pair of scoring runs in the fourth quarter to put it away.
Kephart rushed 10 times for 50 yards, caught four passes for 39 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. Luke Mendenhall was 9 for 18 for 97 passing yards. He threw one touchdown and was intercepted twice.
Thomas, Baughman and McVey scored two touchdowns apiece for Strasburg (8-3), which heads to Toronto next week. Baughman also threw two TD passes to Braxton Goehring, who caught eight balls for 139 yards. Baughman was 17 for 24 for 240 yards.
Division VII, Region 27 Playoff Opener
Strasburg 56, Frontier 21
F (5-6) 7 7 7 0 -- 21
S (8-3) 14 28 0 14 -- 56
S: Keizer Thomas 1 run, kick blocked, 10:43 1st
F: Austyn Kephart 9 pass from Luke Mendenhall, Preston Binegar kick, 5:31 1st
S: Thomas 1 run, Thomas run, :16 1st
S: Braxton Goehring 9 pass from Brody Baughman, Goehring kick, 11:00 2nd
S: Goehring 49 pass from Baughman, Goehring kick, 5:28 2nd
F: Kephart 3 run, Binegar kick, 2:42 2nd
S: Baughman 6 run, kick failed, :14 2nd
S: Baughman 96 interception return, Goehring run, :00 2nd
F: Phoenix Nedley 24 pass from Kephart, Binegar kick, 8:40 3rd
S: Micah McVey 2 run, kick good, 6:42 4th
S: McVey 40 run, kick good, 1:21 4th
Team stats
Frontier: First downs: 15; Rushes-yards: 19-141; Passing yards: 150; Total yards: 291; Passing: 11-20-2; Fumbles-lost: 2-1; Penalties-yards: 4-31; Punts-average: 1-49
Strasburg: First downs: 20; Rushes-yards: 36-193; Passing yards: 240; Total yards: 433; Passing: 17-24-0; Fumbles-lost: 1-0; Penalties-yards: 5-55; Punts-average: 1-50
Individual stats
Frontier: Rushing: Austyn Kephart 10-50, TD; Caden Barrows 6-49; Luke Mendenhall 6-28; Garrison Potts 1-1; Toby Sunderman 1-12; Josh Booth 1-1; Passing: Mendenhall 9-18-2, 97 yards, TD; Kephart 1-1-0, 24 yards, TD; Davyn Ferrell 1-1-0, 29 yards; Receiving: Kephart 4-39, TD; Barrows 5-80; Phoenix Nedley 2-31, TD
Strasburg: Rushing: Keizer Thomas 15-46, 2 TDs; Austin Becker 3-22; Brody Baughman 7-18, TD; Braxton Goehring 4-32; McVey 2-75, 2 TDs; Passing: Baughman 17-24-0, 240 yards, 2 TDs; Receiving: Goehring 8-139, 2 TDs; McVey 3-34; Becker 5-49; Tanner Tucker 1-18