By Richard Polen

rpolen@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — In the mind of Carthage quarterback Derek Peterson, it was all just a blur.

Trailing 36-32 with 44 seconds left in the game, Peterson led his team on a 6-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a leaping catch by Trevor Hole on the sideline of the end zone with 2 seconds left in a 39-36 victory over Neosho in the first round of the Class 4 state football playoffs Wednesday night.

“I’m still in shock replaying everything in my mind,” Peterson said. “It was incredible.”

Neosho had taken a 36-32 lead with an 81-yard drive led by quarterback Alex Wise, who rolled to his right and found receiver Will McDaniel alone in the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown pass.

Carthage’s last-minute heroics began with a 21-yard pass on second down to Hole, and a 5-yard face-mask penalty by Neosho on the play moved the ball to the Neosho 49 with 22 seconds left.

After an incomplete pass, Peterson found Hole again on the sideline for a 13-yard gain, and another 5-yard penalty moved the ball to the Neosho 31 with 14 seconds to go.

Peterson then completed a 17-yard pass to Mason Siebert, who went out of bounds at the 14 with 8 seconds left. Hole’s catch on the next play set off a celebration on the Carthage side of the field.

“I love these matchups,” Hole said. “I get the best out of them.

“Heart. One word: Heart. This is my family,” Hole said. “We can do anything. If we work together, we can do anything.”

Wise riddled the Carthage defense all night and finished with 240 yards rushing on 27 carries, including a 77-yard touchdown run on Neosho’s first possession of the second half that pulled the Wildcats to within 26-21.

Carthage responded with running back Brian Poston, who had 235 yards on 34 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play after Wise’s 77-yard run. Carthage led at that point 32-21 with 1:50 left in the third quarter.

“They don’t give up,” Carthage head coach Jon Guidie said of Neosho. “We knew they had still some things left. I challenged our team before the game that they would have to fight for four quarters.”

Both teams made outstanding defensive plays at crucial moments of the second half. Neosho defensive back Blake Stauffer intercepted a pass with 30 seconds left in the third quarter with Neosho trailing 32-21. The Wildcats scored eight plays later on a 7-yard run by Jared Shurley.

Then, after a Carthage punt, Neosho drove to the Tigers’ 32-yard line when, on fourth-and-2, Wise was stopped short of a first down by Carthage’s Preston Shivley with 5:44 left in the game.

“The way the game was going, it looked like whoever had the ball last would win it,” Neosho head coach Shawn Flannigan said. “Our seniors, you feel for them to have it slip through. They’re a great group who gave such an effort all year.

“We lost four games this year by a total of 17 points. That’s frustrating,” Flannigan said. “That’s very, very frustrating. I’m sure our coaches will watch this a thousand times. It will always be the one that got away or the one that should have been.”

Ryan Doty recovered a fumble for Neosho on Carthage’s first possession of the game, but the Tigers got the ball back on a fumble recovery by Bishop Saba. Carthage then drove to the Neosho 5 but did not score when, on fourth down from the 10, Peterson’s pass for Siebert in the end zone was incomplete.

Neosho scored first on a 41-yard run by Shurley with 4:19 left in the first quarter, but Carthage responded on its next possession with a 4-yard touchdown run by Poston for a 7-7 tie.

Neosho took a 14-7 lead on a 5-yard scoring run by Shurley before Carthage unleashed its first big play of the night, a 74-yard bomb from Peterson to Siebert that tied the score at 14 with 5:12 left in the half.

After a Neosho punt, Peterson found Siebert again, this time uncovered, for a 44-yard touchdown pass that put Carthage in front 20-14 at halftime.

“I have to give credit to my offensive line,” Peterson said. “Neosho brought some blitz packages and they gave me all the time I needed.

“As a quarterback, this is what you dream of in a state playoff game,” he said. “It’s exactly what I’ve dreamed of.”