Mid-Prairie quarterback Vinnie Bowlin refused to go quietly.

Scoring his second touchdown of the night on a 5-yard run last Friday night, Bowlin’s score and Jake Swartzendruber’s extra point pulled the Golden Hawks to within 18-15 in its Class 2A playoff game against Tipton.

The comeback from an 18-point deficit ended there.

As Mid-Prairie head coach Pete Cavanagh watched the final seconds tick down helplessly with no timeouts remaining and Tipton’s offense running the ball, he couldn’t help but think that this moment defined the Golden Hawks’ season.

An interception in the final seconds of the season opener against Sigourney-Keota spoiled a Mid-Prairie comeback from a deficit of three touchdowns.

Weeks later, attempting to come back from 14 points down at Belle Plaine, the Golden Hawks fell on an incomplete pass in the end zone on the game’s final play.

On Friday, a Bowlin touchdown and a two-point conversion in the third quarter, followed by another Bowlin touchdown late in the fourth quarter left the Golden Hawks just three points short in the second round of the playoffs.

As players from both teams slapped hands with each other in the final seconds and senior lineman Conner Shalla was among the Golden Hawks fighting off tears, the season ended with as much drama as it began in a year that was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and cost Mid-Prairie two scheduled games.

“One of the most trying years we’ve ever had,” Cavanagh said.

While the Golden Hawks finished the season with a 4-4 record, Tipton (5-3) will go on to face Comanche in the third round of the playoffs this coming Friday.

Mid-Prairie’s ground battle against Tipton turned into a war in the trenches, along the offensive and defensive lines. Eighty-nine of the 111 offensive plays were rushing plays, many of them resulting in two or three yards and a face of mud.

Tipton’s defense focused on stopping Mid-Prairie senior running back Kayden Reinier, who was No. 2 in Class 2A with 17 rushing touchdowns and more than 1,000 yards. Carrying the ball 27 times, Reinier was held to 81 yards by a crushing defense.

Taking some of the pressure off Reinier, Bowlin kept the ball for 22 rushes and a bruising 117 yards and two touchdowns behind a senior offensive line that had cleared the path all season long.

The Golden Hawks defense gave the same attention to Tipton’s ground game. Senior quarterback Payton Elijah rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns and completed just 3-of-7 passes for 69 yards.

Elijah put the Tigers up 6-0 with a scoring run in the second quarter, but he broke the game open with an 80-yard touchdown run on Tipton’s first offensive play of the second half. Taking the snap from center, he kept the ball, sprinted through a hole created in the middle of the line and cruised the rest of the way untouched on the longest play of the game. The score gave Tipton an 18-0 advantage.

With 5:50 left in the third quarter, Bowlin scored his first touchdown from three yards out, then trimmed the score to 18-8 with a two-point conversion pass to Cain Brown.

Another Bowlin touchdown in the fourth quarter made things not only close, but reachable. Just like the season’s opening game, Mid-Prairie ran out of time to complete a comeback.

“We waited too long to get going,” Cavanagh said.

M-P STAT LEADERS

Rushing: Vinnie Bowlin, 22 carries, 117 yards, 2 TDs; Kayden Reinier, 27-81; Keegan Gingerich, 2-5.

Passing: Bowlin, 5-of-15, 68 yards.

Receiving: Gingerich, 4 catches, 68 yards.

Defense: Justice Jones, 12.5 tackles; Bowlin, 6.5 tackles; Reinier, 4 tackles.