FRENCHTOWN — Trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half, Corvallis rallied for a 28-23 win on the road at Frenchtown in the opening round of the Class A football playoffs.
Frenchtown looked as if it would run away from Corvallis early on, scoring just over five minutes into the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by sophomore Jace Klucewich. A 3-yard touchdown reception by Klucewich at the beginning of the second quarter extended the Broncs’ lead to 14-0.
After a 40-yard field goal put Frenchtown up 17-0 with 8:31 left in the first half, Corvallis began to chip away. Hunter Pinheiro scored on an 18-yard run and added the two-point conversion, too, to cut the deficit to 17-8, which remained the score at halftime.
Corvallis took that momentum from the first half and carried it forward to the second half. The Blue Devils took the opening kickoff and drove the length of the field before Liang Liedle scampered into the end zone from 19 yards out. Liedle’s two-point conversion pass to Jakob Dalbey made the Frenchtown lead 17-16.
Following a Frenchtown punt, Corvallis again went on a long drive capped with a touchdown. Pinheiro’s second rushing touchdown of the night gave the Blue Devils a 22-17 lead with under two minutes to play in the third quarter.
Pinheiro’s third rushing touchdown of the night gave Corvallis a 28-17 lead with over six minutes to play. With 4:59 to play, it looked as if the game was sealed by Jaymark Liedle’s interception of Frenchtown deep in Corvallis territory, but the Blue Devils wound up having to end the possession with a punt.
And then Klucewich gave Corvallis fans reason to worry. The all-state sprinter turned on the jets and took a screen pass 60 yards to cut the Corvallis advantage to 28-23 with under two minutes to play. Frenchtown attempted an onside kick but Corvallis recovered.
However, Corvallis failed on a fourth-down conversion, giving Frenchtown one more chance with nine seconds on the clock. But Corvallis intercepted the desperation heave by the Broncs to complete the comeback.
Corvallis moves on to the quarterfinals of the Class A playoffs and will travel to Laurel to face the Locomotives.
Class A football scores
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