La Junta sprinted directly off the field as if it had stolen something. What the Tigers stole was the biggest win in The Classical Academy’s football history.

In a matchup of the two highest-ranked 2A teams in the state, No. 1 La Junta (5-0) came out on top with an improbable 26-yard Hail Mary touchdown as time expired to stun No. 2 TCA 24-21. TCA fell to 4-1.

“The ball was tipped twice, and then somehow it landed in the hands of a guy (Dax Bender) who was lying on the ground,” TCA running back/linebacker Austin Weingart said. “They had some lucky throws, but we played our hardest, so I’m OK with the end result.”

The Titans handled the gut-punch defeat with great class and composure. Their fans – a large crowd for homecoming – left the field in shocked silence.

It wasn’t just how La Junta won, it was what happened before the Hail Mary magic. TCA lead 14-6 with less than eight minutes left in the game. But two La Junta scores – the second with 1:20 left in the game, after a fourth-and-12 conversion – made it 18-14 Tigers.

The Titans showed the heart of a champion, driving 70 yards in 35 seconds on the arm of quarterback Cade Bethany, taking a 21-18 lead with just 37 seconds left.

“It came down to a couple of big plays, and we got the short end of the stick,” said Bethany, who also ran for two touchdowns. “I don’t think any of us are worried about losing to them again if we see them in the playoffs. Our line did a great job tonight of giving me time to do my job.”

The party was in full effect when Bethany rallied the Titans to the late lead. But one jump ball to La Junta’s Apela Furtado-Tom – who was a TCA backbreaker on key plays all night – took it to the Titans’ 26 with 11 seconds left. Two plays later, quarterback Jon Nuschy bought enough time and fired the ball up, and his prayer was answered by Bender.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” La Junta coach Clint Buderus said. “This literally feels like a dream. If that was a preview of the state championship game, then I’d be all right with doing it again.”

TCA coach David Bervig and his assistant coaches gave the team an uplifting speech following the crushing loss. He thinks the setback won’t break his team, but instead make them stronger.

“This is how a No. 1 versus No. 2 game should be,” Bervig said. “But both teams knew this wasn’t a must-win, because we’re both going to the playoffs. We made some obvious errors there at the end of the game, and those are things we can clean up. I want our guys to lean into the pain, but flush it after this weekend.”

Weingart – who rushed for more than 100 yards against a stout La Junta defense – said his squad will use the loss as motivation, and if the two teams cross paths in the playoffs, the result will be different.

“One-hundred percent different,” he said.

La Junta sprinted directly off the field as if it had stolen something. What the Tigers stole was the biggest win in The Classical Academy’s football history.

In a matchup of the two highest-ranked 2A teams in the state, No. 1 La Junta (5-0) came out on top with an improbable 26-yard Hail Mary touchdown as time expired to stun No. 2 TCA 24-21. TCA fell to 4-1.

“The ball was tipped twice, and then somehow it landed in the hands of a guy (Dax Bender) who was lying on the ground,” TCA running back/linebacker Austin Weingart said. “They had some lucky throws, but we played our hardest, so I’m OK with the end result.”

The Titans handled the gut-punch defeat with great class and composure. Their fans – a large crowd for homecoming – left the field in shocked silence.

It wasn’t just how La Junta won, it was what happened before the Hail Mary magic. TCA lead 14-6 with less than eight minutes left in the game. But two La Junta scores – the second with 1:20 left in the game, after a fourth-and-12 conversion – made it 18-14 Tigers.

The Titans showed the heart of a champion, driving 70 yards in 35 seconds on the arm of quarterback Cade Bethany, taking a 21-18 lead with just 37 seconds left.

“It came down to a couple of big plays, and we got the short end of the stick,” said Bethany, who also ran for two touchdowns. “I don’t think any of us are worried about losing to them again if we see them in the playoffs. Our line did a great job tonight of giving me time to do my job.”

The party was in full effect when Bethany rallied the Titans to the late lead. But one jump ball to La Junta’s Apela Furtado-Tom – who was a TCA backbreaker on key plays all night – took it to the Titans’ 26 with 11 seconds left. Two plays later, quarterback Jon Nuschy bought enough time and fired the ball up, and his prayer was answered by Bender.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” La Junta coach Clint Buderus said. “This literally feels like a dream. If that was a preview of the state championship game, then I’d be all right with doing it again.”

TCA coach David Bervig and his assistant coaches gave the team an uplifting speech following the crushing loss. He thinks the setback won’t break his team, but instead make them stronger.

“This is how a No. 1 versus No. 2 game should be,” Bervig said. “But both teams knew this wasn’t a must-win, because we’re both going to the playoffs. We made some obvious errors there at the end of the game, and those are things we can clean up. I want our guys to lean into the pain, but flush it after this weekend.”

Weingart – who rushed for more than 100 yards against a stout La Junta defense – said his squad will use the loss as motivation, and if the two teams cross paths in the playoffs, the result will be different.

“One-hundred percent different,” he said.