There are a few games every season that are literally last-second thrillers.

The kind of game where neither side should be on the losing end of the beauty that is high school football.

Friday Night Lights in the flesh.

Such was the case this past Friday night in Alberton as the Lima Bears came to town with the regular season winding down.

There were no extra benefits to the winner of this one...both teams entered the contest seeking their first win of the year in this clash of Western 6-player football schools.

But when the final gun sounded and Lima limped away with a 39-38 win on the game’s last play, no one who watched it would have given a rat’s behind about the records of the two teams.

Like the delicious popcorn at the Alberton concession stand, fans got their money’s worth and then some.

The home team, playing just its second year of varsity football without being "co-oped" with another small town school, got on the scoreboard first when 6-2 freshman Shea Fredette snagged a six-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Tater Herman. The PAT try was no good as the Panthers took a 6-0 lead.

On its first possession, Lima answered that score with a six yard TD run of its own, this one by Garet Lesley. The Bears’ PAT run was good, giving them a 7-6 lead.

One possession later, Alberton struck back quickly when Herman hooked up with Fredette a second time when Fredette took the pass and out-legged everyone on his way to a 65-yard touchdown reception. The PAT was good, giving the Panthers the lead back at 13-7.

The lead was short-lived.

On the ensuing kickoff Lesley caught the ball at the Lima 15 yard line and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra point run was good, and as time expired in the opening quarter of play Lima was ahead 14-13.

And things were just getting started. After a series of penalties and an Albetton fumble, Lima found itself with the ball on the Panther 21 yard line. A few plays later, Lesley scrambled out of the backfield and romped 21 yards for a Lima touchdown, putting the Bears up 20-13 when the PAT was no good.

Before the first half was over, Alberton tied the game on a 38 yard TD toss from Herman to Fredette. The extra point run was good and as the first half came to an end, the scoreboard read 20-20.

If you hadn’t settled back in your seat with a bag of popcorn when the second half got underway, you may have missed two quick, back-to-back touchdowns: one by Alberton’s Hunter Ray from one yard out, the other on a 48-yard flea flicker play that Lesley scored on from 48 yards away.

Lima made their PAT, Alberton did not and the score was 27-26 Lima. Later in the third quarter, Herman threw a 17-yard TD pass to Camden Notley, putting the Panthers back on top 32-27. That score held up as the fourth quarter got underway.

On Lima’s next possession, running back Kalen Martinell took in a lateral in the end zone, then exploded out of the potential safety and raced a total of 83 yards down the sideline to put Lima back in front, 33-32.

Alberton was not done yet, as demonstrated by the 11 yard touchdown flip from Herman to Fredette. The PAT attempt was no good, but Alberton was in the lead 38-33 with the final minutes of the fourth quarter slipping by.

Lima got the ball one last time as their defense choked off a Panthers drive and gave the Bears the ball on the Panthers’ 30 yard line with just a few ticks of the clock left to play.

With the final horn sounding mid-play, Lesley scrambled around in the Bears’ backfield before spotting a running gap which he entered and scored through.

The touchdown jaunt gave Lima the lead 39-38 as the game came to an end.

The loss dropped Alberton, which has no seniors on its roster and has often had just one or no reserves for some of its games this year, to 0-7. Lima rose to 1-6 with the last-second victory.

The Panthers wrap up the season this Friday (Oct 20) when they travel to Lincoln for a game versus the Lynx. Lima has a game scheduled at Gardiner, but the Bruins have had to forfeit their last four games due to not being able to field six healthy players.