It wasn’t supposed to end this way but nothing in 2020 has really gone down the way that it is supposed to.

The Hot Springs Savage Heat fell 41-38 to the visiting Bridger Scouts in the first round of the Montana 6-Man football playoffs Saturday.

The Scouts came back from a 38-20 deficit in the third quarter to win, scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 30-yard pass interception return by Baylor Pospisil midway through the fourth quarter. The Heat had one more scoring chance late, but that chance evaporated on downs at Bridger’s five-yard line in the closing seconds.

Disappointed with the loss, long-time Hot Springs coach Jim Lawson, who guided the Heat to Montana 6-Man championships in 2012 and 2016 and into the playoffs virtually every other season he has spent at the Hot Springs helm, knows another good team when he sees one.

“Bridger is tough, a good team with a lot of athletic kids,” Lawson said. “We had a decent lead but a few late turnovers kind of sealed our fate.”

Lawson said that in addition to the late interception, the Heat also fumbled deep in their own territory, leading to another touchdown, during Bridger’s second-half run to take the lead.

“It was a wild game, we traded turnovers all the way through,” he said, “but they got the last ones.”

Lawson added that the game was ultimately decided by extra points. The Heat converted only one two-point conversion in six tries, while the Scouts were good on five of six one-point conversions.

“I had a feeling going in that it could come down to points-after-touchdowns,” he said, “and that is what ended up happening.”

The loss overshadowed fine performances by the Savage Heat team leaders.

Jack McAllister completed 19 of 25 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns besides rushing the ball 21 times for another 89 yards and three more touchdowns. McAllister also intercepted a Bridger pass at the goal line and returned it the length of the field before being stopped just short of the other goal line.

McAllister’s main partner in gridiron crime, Kyle Lawson enjoyed another fine outing with 14 pass catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and nine rushing attempts for another 45 yards.

Lincoln Slonaker ran the ball seven times for 30 yards and caught three passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. Slonaker led the Heat defense with 10 tackles an interception, Bert DeTienne and Kyle Lawson had five tackles each and McAllister three.

Coach Lawson was reflective about the strange football season of 2020. The COVID-19 addled season ended with Hot Springs owning a 3-2 record, far short of the 10 games or more the Heat usually end up playing.

“I can’t take anything away from the kids, they gave it everything they had,” he said. “But there were a lot of weird issues this year and we absolutely did not get enough games. I hope 2021 ends up being a more normal year, that’s for sure.”