WEST BRANCH - The Ogemaw Heights Falcons saw their season come a close in heart-breaking fashion on Saturday afternoon, falling to Kingsford 19-14 in a division five district final.
The Falcons led nearly the entire game, but Kingsford kept things close, and after getting a turnover on downs with a minute and a half to play in the fourth, the Flivvers needed just two plays to take the lead, as Nic Novara found Jack Kriegl behind the defense for a 50-yard go-ahead touchdown with 1:05 to play that would prove to be the game-winning play.
Ogemaw Heights got on the board first late in the first quarter with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Xander Kartes to Nolan Hines. That would be the only points of the first half, as the Falcons took a 7-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Kingsford got on the board on the second snap of the third quarter, on a long touchdown run by Elizin Rouse. The Falcons would block the point-after attempt to hold a slim 7-6 lead.
Ogemaw Heights answered by marching right down the field and punching it in on a 2-yard TD run by Kartes to give the Falcons a 14-6 advantage.
Kingsford would start a drive late in the third quarter, and on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Nic Novara, who sat out much of the first half due to injury, found Cardel Morton with a beautiful pitch-and-catch at the back of the end zone to pull the Flivvers within two points. The two-point conversion attempt was stuffed by the Falcons defense to make it a 14-12 game.
After the teams traded punts, Ogemaw Heights got the ball midway through the fourth quarter, and marched into the Kingsford red zone while working on killing the clock. But, with 1:21 to play, Kingsford stuffed an Ogemaw Heights run on fourth and three for a turnover on downs. Novara quickly completed a 31-yard pass to get the Flivvers out to midfield and set up the heroics by Kriegl.
Ogemaw Heights got to their own 45-yard line with less than a minute to play, but threw three incomplete passes, followed by a sack on fourth down to clinch the win for the visitors.
Kingsford (10-1) advances to face Frankenmuth on the road next week in a regional final, while Ogemaw Heights finishes their season with a 9-2 overall record.