Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Lafayette Christian had to dig deep in its final regular season home game. The Cougars eked out a 19-16 win over Central Christian in a game that wrapped just two hours after kickoff.

The Cougars got off to a quick start as Noah Childree found the end zone for just two yards out halfway through the first quarter. 

The Crusaders responded with a long touchdown drive and two-point conversion that gave the team an 8-7 lead heading to the second quarter.

The game was a defensive slugfest throughout. The one truly big play of the game came with 26 seconds to go in the first half as David Karvelas hit Connor Hudson for an impressive 54-yard touchdown that gave the home team a 13-8 lead at halftime.

Not much would change in the second half as each team’s defense controlled the game. 

The Crusaders would eventually retake the lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter, 16-13. It was a long, clock-draining drive from Central Christian, who took nearly eight minutes off the clock to start the second half. 

The Cougars would find what would end up being the winning score with just 36 seconds left in the third quarter as Childree found the end zone for the second time on the night.Childree finished the game with 101 yards rushing and seven tackles on defense.

It looked like the Crusaders would take the lead back halfway through the fourth quarter, but the Cougars made a stand and forced a turnover on downs on their own 12-yard line. Lafayette Christian continued to play with fire as a fumble gave the ball back to Central Christian on the Crusader 30-yard line with just 1:39 on the clock. The defense of the Cougars would come through one last time to ensure it was the Cougars who walked off the field victorious. Eli Carroll led the defense with 11 tackles while Cody Batistini had 10.

Lafayette Christian improved to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in region play. The Cougars will play at Young Americans Christian next Friday in a showdown for a region championship. The Cougars have already closed in a playoff spot, but will get a first round bye with a win next week.