PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Lampasas cornerback Luis Capallera, 4, jars the ball out of Jaquail Haskins' grasp during the first series of the Badgers' 21-17 loss at Killeen last Thursday. Haskins -- District 25-4A's fourth-best rusher -- committed two fumbles on the drive, but Lampasas could not recover either. Despite several critical mistakes late in the game, Lampasas almost pulled off the upset. The Badgers literally let the game slip through their fingers -- over and over again.

Lampasas had several opportunities to upset the No. 29 Class 4A team in the state, but a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers that included a botched snap inside the Kangaroos' red zone, and a dropped pass on the potential goahead drive, doomed the Badgers. The team lost to Killeen 21-17 at Leo Buckley Stadium last Thursday.

Despite the late-game blunders, Lampasas head coach Joey McQueen was thrilled with his team's performance as it heads into the season finale against Hutto this Friday. The winner advances to the playoffs.

"We played [Killeen] to a 21-17 score on their field and held the lead twice," the coach said. "The kids know they played well enough to win.

Tailback Edward Hall vaults over a teammate as Lampasas works its way down the field. "They ought to be smart enough to understand that next week is it. If we want to be in the playoffs, then we'll win. If we don't want to be in the playoffs, we'll lose."

So far, the Badgers have won all the games they had to.

Lampasas (3-6, 2-3 District 25- 4A) defeated Dripping Springs and Marble Falls in consecutive weeks to remain in contention for the postseason before falling to Killeen in what McQueen referred to as a "want-win" situation, opposed to a must-win.

While a victory would have been a nice feather in his team's hat, the Badgers' playoff fate did not depend on it.

Regardless, the Badgers were right in the thick of things late in the contest.

Trailing by four points entering the fourth quarter, Lampasas was in prime position to take command, as it stared at a third-and-four on the Roos' seven-yard line. A false start penalty knocked it back five yards and, on the next play, quarterback Vann Millican fumbled the snap, turning the ball over to Killeen with 11:54 left to play.

The Roos (7-2, 4-1) worked their way to midfield before Lampasas stiffened up defensively.

Then, on fourth down, cornerback Aaron Reyna intercepted a pass at the Badgers' 12-yard line. While the play prevented Killeen from moving into scoring position, it also severely damaged Lampasas' field position late in the game.

"You've got to know where you are on the field," McQueen said.

Still, Lampasas had a chance.

The Badgers marched down the field to the Roos' 39-yard line behind a relentless running attack that saw fullback Brode DuBose convert a fourth-and-one before Millican fired a pass toward the Badgers' sideline that was dropped by Reyna at the 20-yard line.

"They are going to make me lose the rest of my hair," McQueen said. "I was all excited about it, and then [he dropped it.]

"But things like that just happen, and you have to regroup."

After a timeout, the Badgers' butter fingers came into play once again as Reyna fumbled a reverse handoff. The senior managed to scoop up the ball, but Killeen defensive back Terry Brown immediately stripped and recovered the football, virtually ensuring his team the victory with just 1:14 left on the clock.

"We [successfully] ran [the reverse] three times, but we just didn't get the handoff on that one," McQueen said. "I can't fault our kids; they did everything they could."

Lampasas fell behind early, as Killeen capped off the game's opening drive with a six-yard touchdown run by Deontre Huey.

The Badgers responded by eating almost eight minutes off the clock with a 15-play, 54-yard drive that eventually stalled at the Roos' 10- yard line. Michael Shaughnessy gave Lampasas its first points of the evening when he split the uprights with a 27-yard field goal.

On the first play of the second quarter, Badger safety Brandon Abbott tackled Da'Juan Sylvester for a three-yard loss on fourth-andone at the Lampasas 41-yard line.

The turnover resulted in points for the visitors, as the Badgers found the end zone on their second drive of the game when DuBose pounded his way through the defense for a one-yard score to give Lampasas a 10-7 advantage.

Less than four minutes later, the Roos answered with a one-yard touchdown of their own by Jacquail Haskins to complete a 65- yard drive and reclaim a four-point lead at 14-10.

After receiving the kickoff to start the second half, tailback Edward Hall went to work. He posted 55 of his game-high 174 rushing yards during the possession. On the drive's ninth play, the senior bolted up the middle and bounced off a would-be tackler en route to a 30-yard touchdown run that put his team back in front 17-14.

The lead did not last long, however.

Killeen needed just six plays to score, as Haskins hit paydirt for a second time on a 15-yard run with 5:36 remaining in the quarter.

The Badgers then began the drive that ended with Millican's bobbled snap to start the fourth quarter.

Despite the critical turnovers, the offense played a solid game, producing more total yardage than the home team. The Badgers finished with 319 yards -- all on the ground -- while Killeen was limited to 297 yards after averaging 441.6 yards per game entering the contest.

Although Lampasas' ballhogging philosophy helped keep the Roos' offense off the field, the Badgers' defense was equally responsible for Killeen's belowaverage performance.

In addition to holding Killeen below its average yardage, Lampasas became just the second team this year to keep the Roos under 30 points.

"We found out we could play with somebody that has speed, and we'll build on that and use that next week," defensive coordinator Jimmy Randolph said.

Killeen quarterback Michael Cummings entered the game as the district's second-leading passer (1,728 yards, 16 touchdowns) and the fifth-best rusher (606 yards, 13 touchdowns), but the junior never found the end zone. He accounted for 205 of the team's 297 yards of offense but was well below his average of 291.75 total yards per game.

"I thought we did a pretty decent job on him," Randolph said. "He didn't take one to the house on us. We were scared to death because if he gets in the open field, he's a problem."

Now, the only "problem" left for the Badgers is the fact they must defeat the Hippos (5-4, 2-3) at Badger Stadium Friday night in order to complete the metamorphosis from district disappointment to playoff participant.

"Problem," however, is just another word for opportunity to McQueen.

"If you would have told me at the first of the year that we'd be playing for a playoff spot in the 10th ballgame, I would have said, 'Yeah, right,' " McQueen said. "But these kids have progressed, and they've changed the minds of a lot of people, especially people in our district.

"I just love these kids, and I love Lampasas. I just want it to be an exciting game next week, and take it to them and kick their butt."

***

The Badgers' subvarsity teams both defeated Killeen last week to continue the programs' winning ways.

The junior varsity team shut out the Roos 28-0 to win its third consecutive game, while the freshmen matched the win streak with a 21-14 victory.

Game Stats

Score By Quarters

Scoring Summary

LHS — Michael Shaughnessy 27-yard field goal Second Quarter LHS — Brode DuBose one-yard run (Shaughnessy kick)

KHS — Jaquail Haskins one-yard run (McCain kick) Third Quarter LHS — Edward Hall 30-yard run (Shaughnessy kick) KHS — Haskins 15-yard run (McCain kick) Fourth Quarter NONE

Team Stats

Individual Stats

Rushing — LHS: Hall 28-174, DuBose 25-89, Aaron Reyna 8-53, Ronnie Branch 1-3, Vann Millican 1-0. KHS: Michael Cummings 12-98, Haskins 11- 70, Huey 4-13, Ja'Corie Baker 1-12, Da'Juan Sylvester 1- -3.

Passing — LHS: Millican 0-4-1-0. KHS: Cummings 6-11-1-107.

Receiving — LHS: NONE. KHS: Baker 3-78, Sylvester 2-23, Huey 1-6. Missed field goals — NONE