One photo that does not truly tell the story. On the scoreboard, Odessa took the place of the host venue “Chiefs” in Moses Lake. Naselle was the visitor. The Tigers won 76-74, advancing to a semifinal Nov. 26 in the same stadium against Liberty Bell of Winthrop, which beat Mossyrock 54-20. The other 1B semi will feature Neah Bay and Liberty Christian.

MOSES LAKE — The stadium announcer was the harbinger of teenage tears.

Kolten Lindstrom had punched through the Odessa defense to apparently score the extra points and tie the football quarterfinal with less than two minutes remaining.

“There’s a flag on the play.”

The scoreboard remained at 76-74. Officials called a holding penalty and walked back the Naselle scrimmage line for another attempt. Lindstrom received the ball from his quarterback brother Jacob and rocketed into a hole. It closed in an orange shroud.

Naselle’s comeback died.

The game was lost.

Shortly afterward, Odessa, the No. 1-ranked team in WIAA’s 1B division, whooped off the field. The Tigers will battle Liberty Bell of Winthrop in a semifinal at the same Moses Lake stadium Dec. 26. That day, Neah Bay, which is ranked No. 2, will play Liberty Christian in Tacoma.

Pain

Naselle linebacker Elmer Toftemark had played with a damaged elbow, yet still made 16 solo tackles and five with his teammates helping. He emerged from the locker room and was enveloped in a hug from parents Poul and Zenaida.

Lindstrom followed, his face a picture of pain. He had scored seven touchdowns, but couldn’t enjoy them. “I’m just glad that we left it all on the field,” he said. “I just wish we could have got it done.”

Together with Luke Johnson, who ran in the final touchdown to bring the scores to within two points, the trio of senior captains had played their last game of eight-man football.

Naselle had never led, but had tied the scores, at 14-14 and at 44-44. The chronology was one of alternating touchdowns, although there was a moment when the Tigers were ahead by two scores. Converted extra points made a difference.

Highlight

Odessa opened its account in the second minute when senior running back Gage Starkel broke a tackle and powered in. The man with the microphone would announce that name multiple times. Naselle’s tacklers would put him down (then help him up) over and over.

The Tigers led 28-14 as the first quarter came to a close, two other players adding to Starkel’s early tally. For Naselle, sophomore Jack Strange had scored the first of his two touchdowns, as had Johnson.

In the second, Naselle caught up to 44-36, thanks to a couple of Lindstrom runs. Jacob Pakenen provided a highlight, his 6-4 frame unguarded by Tiger defenders as he caught a delicate pass from sophomore quarterback Jacob Lindstrom to secure two extra points.

The Tigers’ largest lead was 44-28. Freshman Leith Chadwick prevented Odessa adding to that with a lengthy kickoff return that set up the Comet offense to allow sophomore Strange to make a diving catch to score at the other end of the field.

‘Push ‘em”

The pace didn’t abate in the second half as the eastern Washington sunshine started to chill again. Six alternating touchdowns. At one juncture it was 52-50, but Naselle’s extra-points play was stopped, preventing a tie. Lindstrom had two successes bringing the Comets close to the goal line then diving into the end zone rugby-style. His third was a 55-yard run in which he high-stepped away and put daylight between his heels and three pursuing defenders.

Undefeated Odessa had won every game by at least 20 points, most by substantial margins. In a timeout, Comet Head Coach Kevin McNulty drew on that stat. “They have not been in a game in the fourth quarter,” he urged. “Let’s push ‘em to the limit.”

Sophomore William Anderson made two tackles on consecutive plays. With a minute remaining in the quarter, Johnson and Pakenen wrestled a ball carrier away from the goal line.

Cheering

The fourth quarter saw Kayli Wirkkala and her warmly wrapped Comet squad calling the cheer cadence, as they had all game.

A short pass from his brother put Lindstrom over to make it 68-62. Moments later, Johnson shook off the impact of tackling an opponent who was 20 pounds heavier into the sidelines. McNulty addressed the senior. “One play away from everything changing,” his coach reassured.

Next, Lindstrom caught a lofted pass into the end zone that was a fingertip away from being batted away. The extra point pass was incomplete. The scoreboard showed 76-68.

A bass voice from the bleachers spoke for the visitors. ““You gotta keep fighting, white!”

A diving tap tackle by the outstretched hand of one of Odessa’s four six-footers prevented another Lindstrom score mere yards from the line.

On a subsequent play, Johnson forced his way into the end zone and the Naselle players were bumping chests. The penalty call that nullified the extra points afterward wasn’t the final play, however. As cries of “Comet power!” rang from the crowd, Jacob Lindstrom made two bold pass attempts; being incomplete, they stopped the clock. On fourth down, Kolten Lindstrom caught the third pass, but was tackled immediately.

It wasn’t long before the Odessa line was taking a knee from a final soft snap to run out the remaining seconds.

‘Proud’

After the handshakes, McNulty gathered his squad at midfield. “I am really proud of the effort. The difference was some miscues. It wasn’t for a lack of heart. It wasn’t from execution,” he told them. “Any time you put in the effort you guys have put in, it’s going to hurt a little bit.”

A blast of raucous rock music from the stadium speakers precluded more as students from Toledo and Chewelah paraded onto the field for their 2B quarterfinal.

The 36th year coaching football for McNulty was over. For a moment he sat quietly on a bench as assistant coach Ryley Queener tidied away the ball bag and headphones case.

There had been fumbles — some lost, some recovered; there had been penalties — on both sides. McNulty sought to be positive.

“The fact that they were in the ball game at half time is a tribute to them,” the coach said. “At times we got it tied up. The kids just kept going … we battled back.

“It was a really good season. We were ranked No. 8 and had an opportunity to win it. I can’t ask for more than that.

“It didn’t turn out right, in the Comets’ favor. But they represented themselves, their school and their community well.”