Aberdeen Roncalli made all the key plays down the stretch except for one.

The Cavaliers were unable to execute an extra-point kick attempt in the closing seconds and ended up falling to Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central 14-13 in the opening round of the Class 11B football playoffs at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

“This one hurts. You play so hard for so long and it just comes down to one play and we don’t execute,” said Roncalli senior Zane Backous. “It’s fine. It’s the way the cookie crumbles. It’s a team game. Nobody wins or loses that game by themself.”

The Cavaliers trailed 14-7 and had their backs against the wall down the stretch. The Blackhawks possessed the ball in Roncalli territory and were about a first down away from taking total control before James Behan intercepted a pass with 4:04 remaining.

Moments later, Roncalli was again in a tough spot, facing a 4-down and 9 before Aiden Fisher scrambled and spotted Behan down field for a 50-yard gain. After converting a third down play, Brody Weinmeister scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run to close the gap to one with 34 seconds left. However, the Cavaliers never got a chance to get the game-tying kick into the air when the play broke down on the snap.

“Those things happen in high school football. You can’t let it come down to one snap on the extra point or a hold, and that’s not why we lost,” said Roncalli coach Billy Young. “We could have easily went for two or we could have scored earlier in the game when we had a chance. You could probably go back on film and find 25 things that we could have done better. It wasn’t meant to be.”

The tight setback was a complete contrast to Roncalli’s lopsided loss at home in the playoffs two years ago.

“Honestly, I prefer a game like this though, close game, back and forth, punches thrown,” said Roncalli senior lineman Tom Niederbaumer of the physical contest. “I prefer that over a blow out, either way, any day of the week.”

The nail-biter of a finish was nothing new for the Blackhawks, who have been in their share of them in recent years.

“Our last couple of playoff games have came down to one-play games,” said WWSSC quarterback Holden Havlik. “I have faith in my teammates and we came out with the win.”

While Havlik threw for a pair of touchdowns, the Cavaliers were able to prevent the Blackhawks from producing big plays throughout the contest, forcing the senior to throw shorter passes.

“They like to blitz and they showed their blitz a lot,” Havlik said. “We really worked on our blitz replacements, and audibling if they’re going to load the box.”

Backous, who scored Roncalli’s first touchdown by breaking multiple tackles on a 7-yard run, said the Blackhawks presented a major challenge on the field.

“That’s a tough team. That’s about as good a football team as I’ve played throughout my high school career. … They were good,” Backous said. “They were really, really good.”

Niederbaumer had the rare opportunity to record his first ever reception in the contest when the ball got tipped and he was there to catch it.

“I just saw that thing tipped up,” Niederbaumer said, “and I was like well, oh well.”

However, in the end, it proved to a frustrating finish to the season as the Cavaliers lost three games this season by the closest of margins: a 2-0 setback, a loss in double overtime, and then the one-point decision on Thursday.

“Like I told our guys before the game it was probably going to come down to one or two plays and it did,” Young said. “Matchups like this usually always do.”

While the game was the final one at Dacotah Bank Stadium for the Roncalli seniors, it was the first of many for Havlik, who will be coming to Northern State and playing football for the Wolves next season.

“It’s an awesome atmosphere” Havlik said, “and I’m excited to be up here.”

While there was plenty of raw emotion among the Roncalli players following the contest, there was also plenty of gratitude among the seniors who just finished playing in their final game with their teammates.

“We’ve got a lot of special players on this team. I’m proud to play for this team,” Niederbaumer said. “The coaches, the players, it’s a real good group here, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Backous, a standout clay target shooter and baseball player, said there is something special about football that he is going to miss.

“The brotherhood is absolutely unmatched in this game,” Backous said. “I played a lot of different sports over my time, the brotherhood and the familyhood that you create with these guys, it’s unmatched.”

Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central (7-2) 0 7 0 7 – 14

Aberdeen Roncalli (6-3) 0 0 7 6 – 13

Second Quarter

WWSSC – Ryder Michalek 15 pass from Holden Havlik (Sam Poncelow kick), 2:28.

Third Quarter

AR – Zane Backous 7 run (Aiden Fisher kick), 3:50

Fourth Quarter

WWSSC – Wesley Molnar 28 pass from Havlik (Poncelow kick), 8:27.

AR – Brody Weinmeister 2 run (kick failed), :34.

OFFENSE: Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central, rushing 25-94 (Payton Uecker 7-39, Tyson Eddy 6-26, Bryce Larson 5-10, Grant Edwards 1-6, Colby Flowers 1-5, Hayes Havlik 1-5, Molnar 1-2), passing 15-21-2 for 131 (Holden Havlik 15-21-2 for 131 ), receiving (Molmar 4-54, Michalek 5-31, Flowers 3-28, Larson 2-9), first downs 13; Aberdeen Roncalli, rushing 33-121 (Fisher 16-68, Backous 6-28, Weinmeister 9-24, Kaden Larson 1-5), passing 18-26-3 for 150 (Fisher 17-25-3 for 150, Backous 1-1-0 for 0), receiving (James Behan 6-100, Backous 6-32, Jett Johnson 1-10, Noah Kramer 1-5, Weinmeister 1-4, Tom Niederbaumer 1-2), 11 first downs.

DEFENSE: Woonsocket-Wessington Springs-Sanborn Central, Nathan Gaikowski 5 tackles, Caleb Kneen 5 tackles, Eddy 4 tackles, Robbie Hine 4 tackles, Hayes Havlik 4 tackles, Grady Gran 4 tackles, Uecker 4 tackles; Aberdeen Roncalli, Noah Kramer 9 tackles, Weinmeister 5 tackles and 1 interception, Behan 1 interception.