In a battle for the Boxelder Cup in the Canvas Community Classic, Wellington and Timnath were tied 7-7 in the fourth quarter. At 10:36, Cubs’ senior Davis Payne ran a 40-yard punt return TD to lead 14-7. At this point, the Cubs were minutes away from their first victory over Wellington in three matchups since the start of the rivalry in 2022.
The Eagles pushed the ball to the Cubs’ 10-yard line, where QB Eli Lavelle found WR Cash Altschwager for the TD. After a gutsy 2-point conversion by Altschwager, the Eagles took a 15-14 lead over the Cubs.
“No questions asked, everyone’s hurt. We put in our best players’ hands, and we knew we were tough; we knew we could do it. We practiced that, and we did it,” said Wellington coach Travis Peeples.
At fourth and four on the Cubs’ possession, looking to move to ball into field goal position, desperation set in, as Kyle Nelson threw the pick to Seamus Pike that sealed the win for the Eagles.
“Coach said one team one heartbeat, I can’t let them down,” Pike said. “So I had to go try my best to get that pick. I saw the ball go up and gave it my all my all and got it.”
Wellington QB Tanner Gray after scoring the first TD of the night was seen getting his knee wrapped on the sideline. Eagles’ backup QB Lavelle went on to dominate the offensive play.
“I knew if I gave him more of an inside move, he was going to bite,” Altschwager said. “And I’d have a split second until the safety got to me. That wasn’t even a me play, that was all my quarterback Eli Lavelle.”
Coach Peeples admits that the game was not as clean as it could be. Wellington picked up three fumbles with two fumble recoveries. By the end, the chances of driving full-field and scoring a conversion under fleeting time were slim.
“There was no managing, we gave it to our best players, and we were hoping he could score it in the next five to seven plays,” Peeples said.
In the matchup history, Wellington leads 3-0. Altschwager anticipated this night for a long time. Despite the nail-biting ending and a game riddled with offensive mistakes for the Eagles, it managed to rally for the victory.
“I’m feeling pretty Goddamn good about it, Altschwager said. “We’ve been talking all week about how we got to put it on them. It wasn’t what we expected but it was the first year where we never quit and I’m just proud of my team.”