Three yards was all that stood between the Highland Huskies and a chance to tie the game in the final seconds against the Lisbon Lions on Friday night.

Cole Adamson drove into the line, but was tackled at the 2-yard line, giving the Lions a 20-12 win over the Huskies.

“We didn’t give up,” coach Scott Morel said. “We had a chance.”

Missed opportunities were the story of the game for Highland.

“The biggest thing was we didn’t execute,” Morel said. “We had chances to score, and we didn’t. We’d have a missed throw or a penalty. They just executed better than we did.”

The Huskies looked strong early in the game, recovering a fumbled punt at the Lisbon four yard line.

Moments later, quarterback Connor Grinstead took the ball into the end zone to give the Huskies a 6-0 lead, but the two-point run failed.

The Lions scored twice in the second quarter, first on a 15-yard run by Cole Clark, then on a 5-yard run up the middle by Max Kohl.

Lisbon’s two-point conversions failed after each touchdown, and the Lions led 12-6.

With three minutes to go in the first half, the Huskies turned the ball over on downs after a fake punt came up a yard short.

With the half winding down, the Lions were driving, but Highland’s Zack Lasek blew through the line for a 6-yard tackle for loss to close out the half.

A minute and a half into the third quarter, Grinstead broke a 58-yard touchdown run. Another failed two-point conversion left the game tied at 12.

In the second half, the Lions’ running game picked up some steam. 

A steady barrage of runs up the gut were netting Lisbon four and five yards at a time.

“We were creating running lanes by running too far up field,” Morel said. “They took advantage of that.”

Zane Arnold kept the Huskies in the game with three second-half interceptions.

Midway through the final period, Owen Donavan appeared to put Highland back on top with a 64-yard touchdown run, but it was called back for an illegal block in the back penalty.

With just 46 seconds left in the game, Lisbon quarterback Gavin Wollum ran in a 2-yard touchdown. A successful two-point conversion gave Lisbon a 20-12 lead.

A 31-yard pass from Grinstead to Donavan, followed by a Lisbon personal foul gave the Huskies a first and goal from the 6-yard line, but the Huskies came up just short of the end zone with the final plays of the game.

The Huskies, now 3-1, travel to Brooklyn Friday night to face undefeated BGM.