Lions fall just short of Tigers in B semi

MANHATTAN — The Lions put a scare in the Tigers Saturday, Eureka taking unbeaten Manhattan down to the final seconds of a 14-12 loss in the Class B football semifinals.

The game ended with a missed 47-yard field goal, made that long by a holding penalty. Eureka, which trailed 14-0 entering the fourth quarter, had overcome one holding call already to reach the Tigers’ 21-yard line in the final two minutes. 

Manhattan (11-0) will stay home this coming Saturday to take on Southern B rival Three Forks (10-1) for the State B championship. The Wolves edged previously unbeaten Glasgow 32-30 in the other semifinal. 

It was a defensive battle that seemed to turn Manhattan’s way in the second quarter, on a 45-yard punt return by Brayden Zikmund. 

Eureka had to track down an errant snap to get the kick away from its own end zone. Timmy Schmidt’s line drive bounced just outside the 20-yard line and rolled to Zikmund, who took it up the left sideline for the score. 

A few minutes later Manhattan quarterback Tyson Pavlik found Zikmund for a 78-yard catch and run, and the Tigers led 14-0 with 2:45 left in the second quarter. 

Eureka (8-3) fought back, starting with a march that stalled at Manhattan’s 12 as the half ended. 

“We let it get away a little bit early in the game and couldn’t score at the end of that first half,” Eureka coach Kenny Kindel said. “But we came around the second half and were able to make a game of it.”

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to punch it in, but we tried a long field goal and it was just barely wide left.” 

Rogan Lytle, who ran for 157 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, attempted the kick. He and Ayden Helgert both had short scoring runs, and Lytle set up his own TD with a 43-yard run down to the Tigers’ 2-yard line.  

Helgert’s 4-yard run capped a 63-yard drive that was helped along by pass interference and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties; Eureka trailed 14-12 with 5:59 left in the game. 

Manhattan recovered the ensuing onside kick and got to Eureka’s 21 before turning the ball over on downs with 2:14 left. 

It turned out to be a lot of time, especially when Lytle tore off a 44-yard run down to the Tigers’ 31. Eureka converted a fourth-and-1 with 27 seconds left but then came the final penalty. A couple deep balls were knocked away. 

“Defensively almost everybody stepped up and stopped them in the second half,” Kindel said of his Lions. “Offensively, Rogan led the charge. 

“If it wasn’t for that holding call, we were right down to the goal line.” 

Eureka outgained the Tigers 280-246, with Pavlik running for 111 on 23 carries and completing 3 of 15 passes for 98. 

Manhattan is headed to its fifth title game, all since 2019. The Tigers lost to Eureka 20-6 for the championship that year and lost in the last two title games to Florence and Malta. They won the 2020 B title. 

Manhattan beat Three Forks 28-20 on Sept. 19. 

That 2019 game capped a stretch of three titles in four seasons for the Lions, who were seeking their first title appearance since then. 

Lytle was 11 of 19 passing for 100 yards. Helgert picked up 19 yards on seven rushing attempts. Schmidt caught five passes for 61 yards and Josh Lambertsen had four receptions for 40 yards. 

“I’m happy with the way the boys came together,” Kindel said. “They could have really shut down after that first half, with everything that went wrong. And we turned around the second half and everyone fought hard and we almost pulled the upset. I just couldn’t be more proud of them all.” 

Eureka    0    0    0    12    -    12 

Manhattan    0    14    0    0    -    14

M — Brayden Zikmund 45 punt return (kick), 6:36-2Q 

M — Zikmund 78 pass from Tyson Pavlik (kick), 2:45-2Q 

E — Rogan Lytle 2 run (kick failed), 11:46-4Q 

E — Ayden Helgert 4 run (pass failed), 5:59-4Q