Scott Blanchette is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Peoria High School for AZPreps365.com

The No. 6 Peoria Panthers could not spoil the homecoming celebration at No. 7 Northwest Christian on Friday night, losing 35-32 in overtime, in a game marred by penalties and missed opportunities. 

The most unfortunate of those mistakes came late in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 29. Panthers senior quarterback Seth Galligan dropped back to pass on fourth-and-5 from the Crusaders’ 37-yard line and found junior receiver Grayson Prassas running toward the left sideline. 

Prassas dodged a defender, made his way up the sideline and into the end zone for the go-ahead score. The Panthers and their fans celebrated until the unwelcome sight of a yellow flag appeared in the backfield, penalizing Peoria for holding. 

The touchdown was negated, the Panthers were forced to punt and the game went to overtime where the Crusaders eventually prevailed.

Self-inflicted wounds such as penalties in crucial moments can be hard to swallow for coaches watching from the sidelines. 

“We had four holding calls in the second half, including one on a touchdown that probably would have sealed the game,” Peoria coach Jason Golden said. “It was two great teams battling it out, and I felt like we shot ourselves in the foot.”

Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Panthers also failed to recover a fumble on defense when Northwest Christian was driving inside the red zone. Several Peoria defenders got their hands on the ball but could not secure it. 

On the next play, Crusaders senior quarterback Conner Main threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior running back Deebo Vitale that tied the game at 29 with a little over nine minutes remaining. 

A mishandled touchdown pass in the second quarter, a dropped interception in the fourth, and various red zone struggles added to Peoria’s missed opportunities. 

“We had three field goals,” Golden said. “At the end of the day, we have to look at how we can score and put six points on the board instead of three. Against a team like that, you have to score touchdowns.” 

All of this transpired in a game that could not have started any better for the Panthers. Star wide receiver Dontay Tyson returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. 

Peoria converted the two-point conversion and put the Panthers up 8-0 early. 

The Crusaders, however, contained Tyson for the rest of the game, holding him to just three catches for 47 yards, despite Galligan’s best efforts to get him the ball in the red zone. 

Galligan finished with 163 yards and one TD on 12-of-26 passing. Junior receiver Ryan Henderson hauled in a receiving touchdown and added another one on the ground for the Panthers. 

Peoria’s junior running back Jamarion McClurge, who’s averaging 119 rushing yards per game this season, was held to just 39 yards on 10 carries. 

The story for Northwest Christian was the performance of Main, who ran for three touchdowns and threw for another two, including the game-winning pass to senior running back Timmy Sands in overtime. 

Main, who’s normally a linebacker and running back, has answered the call of quarterback duty the past two weeks after Crusaders starter Luke Pearson went down with an injury. He was in celebration mode after his team’s big win.

“It's a crazy moment,” Main said. “It's insane. Winning this game, knowing it was going to be a dogfight, is incredible. We’re overjoyed.” 

Northwest Christian coach David Inness had nothing but  praise for the way his newfound quarterback stepped up in the victory.

“That's normally my middle linebacker,” Inness said. “He's amazing. He's a dog. He's the alpha of our ballclub, and the guys feed off him.” 

It was a hard-fought victory for Inness’ squad, who improved to 7-2 and will look to make some noise in the playoffs. 

“That's just Crusaders football, man,” he said. “If you let us hang around, we're not going to quit. Our guys gave everything they had.” 

Northwest Christian will finish off its regular season next Friday night when they travel to Paradise Honors (4-4)

The Panthers (6-3) will travel to No. 10 Thunderbird (6-3)  in their regular season finale next Friday. 

Golden and his team have their work cut out for them as they look to make improvements and bounce back. 

“It's about digging deep,” he said. “Watching the film, grading ourselves and figuring out what we need to correct moving forward.”