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It was a hard end to a great season for the Hot Springs Savage Heat in their clash against the Chester-Joplin-Iverness Hi-Line Hawks at Hot Springs Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks bumped the Savage Heat from the Class C six-man playoffs in the first round with a 55-54 victory in double overtime.

"It was a heartbreaker for us," said Hot Springs Coach Jim Lawson. "The kids gave a heck of an effort and I'm proud of what they accomplished this year. The effort they gave on Saturday was tremendous."

Savage Heat had six wins and two losses during the regular season and were state champions in 2012 and 2016. The Hi-Line Hawks also had a 6-2 regular season record, though neither team had faced each other during the season.

With just over three minutes left in the first quarter, Hot Springs drew first blood when sophomore Nick McAllister shot a touchdown pass to sophomore Johnny Waterbury, followed with Waterbury running in the extra point. However, less than two minutes later the Hawks scored and nabbed the extra point for an 8-7 score. Hot Springs scored again with under a minute left in the quarter, but failed on the PAT.

Savage Heat continued putting on the heat in the second quarter, but the Hawks flew in for another touchdown. The Hawks took the ball to within the five-yard line for a first and goal, but the Savage Heat boys pushed them back to the 20-yard line. The Hawks faked a field goal kick and tried to pass, which was incomplete.

"It was back and forth all game and came down to whoever had the ball last was going to win," said Lawson. "There were so many big plays and momentum shifts. PATs were a big factor in the game. We both scored the same number of touchdowns and it could have gone either way," he added.

The third quarter began with Hot Springs having a 20-16 lead, but it wasn't long before McAllister dashed in from the 30-yard line for six more points. The Hawks scored to make it a 26-22 game. Hot Springs then took the ball down to the 12-yard line, but the Hawks intercepted a pass, ran it to the 30 and then scored to take the lead for the first time in the game. Savage Heat regained the lead with a Waterbury touchdown, followed by a McAllister to Waterbury pass for the extra point with less than two minutes in the third.

The Hawks came alive in the fourth, scoring within a minute of the quarter's start and getting the conversion, retaking the lead 35-33. With 6:20 left in the quarter, the Hawks pounced again to bring the score to 41-33. Two minutes later, the Hawks intercepted the ball in the end zone, but on the first snap the Savage Heat got a safety, followed soon with a long pass to junior Quincy Styles-DePoe to tie the game 41-41, but didn't get the extra point.

Chester-Joplin-Iverness was within striking distance, but couldn't pull it off before time ran out, sending the game into overtime, where each team started on the 15-yard line. The Hawks were first and scored a touchdown and the conversion. It was Hot Springs' turn, but they matched the Hi-Hawks on the third down with a touchdown and a conversion pass to senior Garth Parker to send the game into a second overtime. Parker is the sole senior on the Hot Springs team and Lawson said they will miss him.

Ed Moreth

BIG TRY – Hot Springs Savage Heat Johnny Waterbury reaches for a touchdown as Hi-Line Hawk Adam Grammar stops him during a playoff game at Hot Springs.

McAllister took the ball to the two-yard line, followed by Hot Springs sophomore Weston Slonaker running in for a touchdown. The conversion pass was incomplete. The Hawks, however, scored and completed the conversion to win the game 55-54.

"It was a long game. The kids poured their hearts into it. Chester is a good football team. We had trouble tackling their running backs at times. They had a lot of big plays," said Lawson, who

added that he was proud of the improvements he saw in his team. "We had a lot of growth in our younger

players. The sophomore class stepped into starting roles this year," he said. "Our offense as a whole went from struggling to score points to scoring in the 50s and 60s and we saw a lot of improvement there. We had to figure out our identity at first, but the kids responded well and worked hard. I think the future is bright for us. It's been a fun season and I'm really happy with what the kids accomplished. There's a lot to look forward to."