Red Bud suffered their second consecutive close loss of the season as the Musketeers fell to Breese Central 27-20 Friday night at Breese.
The Musketeers fell to 4-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Cahokia Conference with the loss, while Breese Central improved to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Central scored 13 points in the game’s final minute to get the important conference win.
The Cougars struck first, scoring six points in the second quarter, as they held a 6-0 lead at halftime. An 80-yard kickoff return by Nathan Poelker to start the second half led to a 14-0 lead for Central.
Red Bud answered back four minutes later when Jake Hoffman scored from five yards out, and Stefan Gregson added the extra point. With 7:40 to play in the third quarter, Red Bud trailed 14-7.
The Musketeers came out hot to start the fourth period, as Hoffman connected with Tyler Hubert for a 29-yard touchdown pass play. Gregson added the extra point, and with 11:54 to play in the ball game, the score was tied at 14-14.
The potent Red Bud offense scored again just under two minutes later as Hoffman tallied his second touchdown run of the game, this time from three yards out. The kick failed, and with 10:00 remaining, Red Bud led 20-14.
With 1:04 left in the game, Breese Central tied the contest as Kevin Grayling scored on a one-yard plunge.
Red Bud was sent home with a heartbreaking loss, as Joe Luebbers gave his team the lead for good, as he connected with Scott Brown on a 31-yard touchdown pass with only 16.5 seconds left in the ball game.
Breese Central finished the game with 260 yards of total offense, with 205 of that coming from the ground.
The Red Bud offense had 112 yards rushing and 138 yards passing for a total of 250 yards of offense.
Hoffman led the Musketeer offense with 138 yards passing as he completed 8 of 20 passes with one touchdown and ran the ball 19 times for 87 yards. Hubert had 12 carries for 31 yards.
Red Bud travels to Edwardsville Friday night to take on Metro-East Lutheran (0-6).
In other local football action, Du Quoin rolled past Pinckneyville 41-6, as the Indians improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the SIRR Mississippi. The Panthers fell to 1-5 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. Pinckneyville hosts Sparta (0-6) Friday night.
Hamilton County shut out Elverado-Trico 44-0, as the Falcons dropped to 6-0 on the season and in the conference. Elverado-Trico will host undefeated and conference leader Sesser-Valier Friday night.