In the end, those empty possessions cost the Hillbillies a title.

The second-seeded Steelers went up 22-6 on their first possession of the second half and then held off a furious rally by the fifth-seeded Hillbillies to win the 10th sectional crown in program history 22-20 Thursday at the home of the Buffalo Bills.

“It means everything,” Steelers head coach Adam Tardif said of his program’s return to prominence. “Football was a powerhouse at Lackawanna back in the 1960s. In the 1990s, we won two state titles and lost two state titles. … We really took a dive for like 12 years. … It really means a lot to me because I’ve been there for 25 years.”

“We knew it would come down to the end. It was a great defensive effort,” Lackawanna quarterback Billy Gechell said. “Chamarr Ware, Ashlin Alexander-Hall, Shyheim Smalls, Sunday Ikegwuonu are all dogs out there on the field. It was a great game by them.”

Fredonia’s Tim Field attempts to tackle Lackawanna’s Jeremy Perez. OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

Antwan Threeths led Lackawanna with 21 carries for 188 yards, including a 75-yard second-quarter touchdown, while Gechell completed eight passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

While the Steelers gave up a boatload of yardage to Fredonia, they won the game with several key defensive stops in the second half.

The Hillbillies cut their deficit to 22-14 midway through the third quarter on an Ethan Fry 8-yard keeper before Jay Hawk caught the 2-point conversion from Fry.

After a Lackawanna punt, Fredonia drove to the Steelers’ 20-yard line, but on fourth-and-3, Fry was stopped by Threeths 2 yards short of the first down.

“Their quarterback made some comments and said they had the better offensive line,” Tardif said. ” … Our defense has been our leaders all year. Our defense really stepped it up. … I think our defense persevered in the end.”

Fredonia’s Tyler Kuzdale lifts up teammate Jameson Quinn after his touchdown on Thursday. OBSERVER Photo by Ashleigh Brown

The Hillbillies were gifted great field position on their next drive when Keegan Whitfield intercepted Gechell at the 17-yard line, but eight plays later, Lackawanna’s Sammy Ikegwuonu blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt.

“The bottom line is, we didn’t get the ball up in the air,” Fredonia head coach Greg Sherlock said. ” … The ball just didn’t get high enough.”

“That was a huge play. Sammy is a gamer,” Tardif said. “He’s one of the best players on the field when he’s out there.”

The Steelers went three-and-out on their next possession, but again Fry was stopped short of the line to gain on a fourth-and-2 from the 33-yard line.

“These kids got down by two touchdowns and they fought back,” Sherlock said. “They played great defensively for the rest of the second half.”

Fredonia capped its next drive with a Fry-to-Hawk 7-yard touchdown to make it a 22-20 game, but a successful 2-point conversion was called back on an illegal block before Fry threw incomplete on the ensuing try from 18 yards away.

“Maybe we should’ve just abandoned the run, for the most part, the entire game,” Sherlock said.

Needing to run out 2:29 to advance to next Saturday’s Far West Regional at Batavia High School, Lackawanna again went three-and-out.

The Hillbillies took over at their own 20-yard line and Fry connected with Hawk for a 50-yard gain on first down. But after three incompletions and a penalty, Fry’s last-ditch effort was intercepted by the Smalls at the goal line.

“Shyheim Smalls has been with me for four years. I love that kid. … He’s the leader of our defense,” Tardif said. “It couldn’t have happened to a better player and a better person.”

Fry finished 22 of 51 for 353 yards and two touchdowns with Jameson Quinn catching seven balls for 135 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

“Ethan is a great quarterback. He’s a great competitor. Sometimes he tries too hard,” Sherlock said. ” … Sometimes he has to stick to the pocket, but you have to give Lackawanna a lot of credit.”

Fredonia needed to throw the ball that many times because Lackawanna held the Hillbillies to 39 yards on 24 carries – including 13 carries for just 16 yards in the first half.

“To be honest with you, we probably ran too much in the first half. … We have to take what’s given to us,” Sherlock said. ” … As coaches we have to stick to our reads. We got away from it thinking we had to be more balanced. It just wasn’t working.”

All told, the teams combined for 129 offensive plays totaling 738 yards.

“We talked about going 3-0 locally and winning a sectional title,” Tardif said. “After the sectional title, we have to go 3-0 again to win a state title.”

In the end, a pair of missed field goals and three turnovers left Fredonia short of its third sectional crown and first since 2010.

“Personally, as coaches … we really felt, knowing what we had coming back … we expected to go further,” Sherlock said. ” … We thought we were the best Class C team. Obviously, today we weren’t.”

Fredonia 0 6 8 6 – 20

Lackawanna 0 14 8 0 – 22

Lac-Alexander-Hall 27 pass from Gechell (Smalls pass from Gechell)

Fre-Quinn 80 pass from Fry (run failed)

Lac-Threeths 75 run (pass failed)

Lac-Smalls 14 pass from Gechell (Gechell run)

Fre-Fry 8 run (Hawk pass from Fry)

Fre-Hawk 7 pass from Fry (pass failed)