It seemed like all 22 players on the field had a shot at the ball.
Leading 28-24 as time wound down Saturday night at Adkins Stadium, St. James Academy was facing a third-and-5 at the Helias 29.
A running play netted a first down and it appeared the Thunder had iced the win. Except after running for enough yards for a first down, there was a fumble and a Helias recovery would give the Crusaders a final shot at rallying for a Homecoming win.
The ball was batted and bobbled by members of both teams all the way down to the Helias 8. And when the stack finally unpiled, St. James Academy had recovered and held on for the four-point victory.
"It stinks and it hurts," Helias coach Tim Rulo said. "In the end, it comes down to the things we always talk about - blocking, tackling, taking care of the football. It's that way in every game."
The Thunder jumped out to a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
St. James opened the game with an 11-play, 69-yard drive capped by a 5-yard run by quarterback Trey Keith. Mason Dunsmore booted the first of his four PATs and it was 7-0.
A fumble by the Crusaders later in the quarter gave the Thunder the ball at the Helias 28. Five plays later, Keith scored on a 16-yard run and it was 14-0.
Helias answered that with its first score. Starting at its own 23, Helias needed eight plays to go the 77 yards. A 31-yard pass from Alex Faddoul to Adam Bax keyed the drive, with the score coming on a 22-yard toss from Faddoul to Nolan Sachse. Sam Heckart's PAT cut the deficit in half at 14-7 early in the second quarter.
St. James Academy was forced to punt on its next series and that started a run of three fumbles in four plays. Helias bobbled the punt and St. James recovered. Two plays later, St. James fumbled it back to Helias near midfield. On the next play, the Crusaders fumbled it back to the Thunder.
"It was almost like a wet game," Rulo said. "We were plus-one going into this game in turnover margin, it's something we stress. It was uncharacteristic of us this season, maybe we were trying to do a little too much."
The fumbling stopped for the remainder of the half. Helias forced St. James Academy to punt on the next series and took over at its own 11.
Helias worked its way down the field as time wound down in the half, using eight straight runs to get from midfield down to the St. James Academy 18.
A three-yard run by Faddoul on a fourth-and-1 play kept the drive alive, then Faddoul connected with Bax for a 13-yard score with :18.7 left in the half. Heckart's PAT tied the game at 14 at intermission.
Helias got the ball first in the second half and 13 plays later were facing a second-and-10 at the St. James Academy 13. But a fumble, and an ensuing 71-yard return by St. James Academy, gave the Thunder the ball at the Crusader 15. On the next play, Dylan Streeter scored and St. James Academy led 21-14.
The Thunder fumbled the ball back to the Crusaders on their next offensive series and Helias had it at its own 32. After an incompletion, Sachse scored on a 32-yard run and Heckart's PAT tied it at 21.
St. James Academy was poised to retake the lead on its next series when it lined up for a 22-yard field goal. But the kick was blocked and Helais took over at its own 20.
Helias worked its way down to the St. James Academy 22 before the drive stalled. Heckart came on to drill a 39-yard field goal and the Crusaders had their first lead of the night at 24-21.
"It felt like we were behind the whole game," Rulo said.
After the ensuing kickoff went out of the end zone, St. James Academy got the ball at its own 20. The Thunder then faced a fourth-and-1 at the 29 and went for it with a little more than four minutes to play.
Streeter picked up eight yards and a first down, then the Crusaders were flagged for a face mask and a 15-yard penalty on the next play to move the ball near midfield. On the next play, Keith and Dunsmore hooked up for a 35-yard completion deep into Helias territory.
Two plays later, Streeter scored on a 7-yard run and it was 28-24 with 2:28 left.
"Football's funny, things just build up and you need to find a way to finish," Rulo said. "These are tough learning experiences for us."
Helias threw an interception on the first play of its next series to set up the final possession of the game for St. James Academy.
"I'm sad for the guys, we showed tremendous growth in some areas," Rulo said. "But it comes down to putting it all together for one game and if we can ever do that, look out."
Faddoul left the game for a few plays in the fourth quarter after suffering an ankle injury. He returned to finish the contest, but his status for next Saturday's home game against Rock Bridge is unknown.
Helias (1-5) will face Rock Bridge at 4 p.m. Saturday. St. James Academy is now 4-0.