WHITTEMORE-PRESCOTT - Oct. 23, 2009 - The wild pendulum of momentum and emotion finally swung Whittemore-Prescott's way for good on the final play of Friday's rivalry game with Tawas Area.

Chris Downes' 20-yard field goal as time expired lifted W-P to a 36-33 victory, capping a nine-point rally in the final minutes that seemed unnecessary midway through the quarter, when W-P led 27-6.

That was before Tawas rallied for four touchdowns in a 12-minute span to go ahead 33-27, forcing the Cards to rally themselves.

"That was pretty intense," said W-P coach Kevin Frederick. "I don't care what the records are when these two teams play, it's going to be a battle. We were fortunate to get out with a win."

Through the first half, W-P looked very much like the 7-1 team it was, while the Braves looked worthy of their 3-5 mark.

Tawas coach Tim Webb admitted his team may not have been ready to play, but not through any lack of effort.

"We looked like a team that had just 11 guys in practice Tuesday and Wednesday," he said, noting his squad's struggles with the flu. "We had only two offensive linemen each day. There's probably guys out there that shouldn't have been at school today.

"It took awhile to get untracked, but they forgot the first half and came out in the second half and gave everything they had, just like they have all year.

Anyone who left after the monsoon-drenched first half -- as well as a 45-minute lightning delay before opening kickoff -- probably figured the rout was on.

The Cards led 21-6, outgaining the Braves 230-51 and allowing only a 50-yard Jesse Siwek interception return for a touchdown.

W-P had little trouble moving the ball, running Chris Downes several times out of the Wildcat formation as well as the Cards' normal complement of Double-wing and Spread-option plays.

Downes finished with a team-high 152 yards rushing on 22 carries, but it was Greg Lomason who hurt Tawas in the first quarter, breaking loose for touchdown runs of 47 and 19 yards. Lomason finished with 89 yards on seven carries.

"Greg really stepped up," Frederick said. "We were talking about how Lomasons have had big games against Tawas in the past, so it's funny how that worked out. He's worked very hard this year. Maybe Tawas didn't expect that from him, but he made some big plays."

Dylan DeBoever added a 20-yard touchdown pass to Adam Rumbold with 1:42 left in the half, and Downes broke loose for a 48-yard scamper with eight minutes left in the third quarter to put W-P up 27-6.

But at the point that the Braves looked finished, it turned out they were just getting started. Jesse Siwek found Tyler Samuels for a 37-yard pass on the Braves' first play from scrimmage after falling behind by three touchdowns. Two plays later, Samuels scored on a screen pass to make it 27-12.

Siwek continued his hot streak on the Braves' next possession, completing passses of 28 yards to Tim Schmidt, 16 yards to Samuels and 17 yards to Nick Konitys for the touchdown to complete a swift seven-play, 70-yard drive that took just 1:50. The Braves' quarterback all five of his completions in the third quarter for 112 yards and led his team with 54 rushing yards on 12 carries.

A bad punt snap on the Cards' next possession gave Tawas a gift at the W-P 8-yard line. After a penalty, Siwek scored on a 29-yard zig-zag run, dodging nearly every Cardinal defender, then kicked the PAT to make it 27-25.

Special teams again haunted the Cards as a penalty on the ensuing kick set them back on their own 10-yard line. Two plays later, Seth Kraft made W-P pay, picking off a DeBoever pass and returning it 15 yards for the go-ahead score. Siwek's conversion pass to Matt Compau gave the Braves a 33-27 lead with 9:07 to play.

Yet another kick return penalty negated Downes' 70-yarder and pinned the Cards back on their own 20. Tommy Miracle, however, turned the tables on the field position game, booming a 50-yard punt to the Tawas 15 that helped set up W-P's game-tying. Downes capped a eight-play, 70-yard drive with the game-tying touchdown with 1:04 left, but went from celebration to frustration in an instant when his extra point kick went wide right.

"It was a rollercoaster game for us, and it was a rollercoaster for Chris," Frederick said. "We pretty much went as he did. But he was able to put some of those things behind him when we needed it."

Kevin Dupuis made two huge plays in the final minute to set up the Cards' last-gasp win, picking off Siwek near midfield as the Braves tried to make their own game-winning drive, then catching a 39-yard pass from DeBoever to put W-P in field goal range.

And this time, Downes' kick was right down the middle, setting off the W-P celebration before the ball completed its flight.

"Dupuis really stepped up wherever and whenever we needed him," Frederick said. "His runs, his catches and that interception."

DeBoever 6-of-10 passes for 102 yards, with Dupuis catching three balls for 45 yards and Rumbold three for 32.

For Webb's Braves, it was a tough way to end a season that saw more far more of its share of challenges as a roster that was low in numbers to begin with steadily dwindled as the season progressed through injury and mishap.

"I look at who we put out there today," Webb said. "We had guys that have been playing hurt all year. We had guys penciled in that never thought they would play. They stuck with the program, and as it turned out by the end of the season some of them were starting both ways and never coming off the field.

"I'm really proud of them. I told the guys it should make them feel good that (W-P) celebrated like they did when they won, that it meant so much to them to beat us. There were a lot of years when this game was just another blowout."