CALEDONIA — In the last regular season game of the year for both teams, Cal-Mum was able to squeak out a thrilling win over rival LeRoy 34-29 on Friday night.
Raiders senior quarterback Kurtis Haut battled with Knights junior quarterback Mike McMullen as both were able to show their resiliency and come back from deficits throughout the game. But it was Haut who was able to hand McMullen and the Knights their first loss of the season.
The Raiders controlled the game on the ground in the first half, and if it weren’t for three fumbles, two by senior running back Joe Cappotelli, it would have been much closer than 14-12 when both teams went into the locker room for halftime.
LeRoy got the ball to start the second half and it didn’t take them long to regain the lead. McMullen found his junior receiver Jake McQuillen for a 52-yard touchdown pass to make the score 18-12 in favor of the Knights.
The teams continued to trade scores in the third quarter and early in the fourth. McQuillen caught a five yard touchdown from McMullen and then the Knights converted the two point attempt to go up 26-20 at the end of the third quarter.
Haut scored his third rushing touchdown of the game to regain the lead, 27-26 with 7:52 remaining in the game.
After a stop by the Raiders defense, Cappotelli managed to overcome his early fumbles and score the key touchdown for Cal-Mum, a 46-yard run, to go up 34-26 with 6:27 remaining in the game.
The Knights got the ball back and moved the ball all the way down to the Cal-Mum red zone before kicking a field goal on fourth and nine from the 12 yard line to get within five points.
Although LeRoy was able to stop the Raiders on the next possession and try one last time for the win, they came up short and left Cal-Mum with a win that will be remembered until the teams see each other again next year.
“I just couldn’t be happier for our seniors and our kids,” Raiders head coach John Walther said. “And it was just a typical Cal-Mum vs LeRoy game.”
Cal-Mum (6-1) will host the first round of the playoffs next week.