The Enumclaw Hornets scored a pair of touchdowns in the final four minutes of play, securing an exciting, end-of-season, on-the-road victory over Bellarmine Prep.

The Thursday night game, on Bellarmine’s campus in Tacoma, was a Week 10 affair. Usually there’s little drama in such games as both teams are playing their last games of the year with no playoffs on the slate, but this one was different. It was a back-and-forth battle that saw Enumclaw erase a 21-10 deficit to close the season on a joyous note.

The Lions scored with 5:47 remaining on the game clock to take their biggest lead of the game and that’s when the Enumclaw offense kicked into high gear.

Thanks to a long kick return by Dylan Watterson, the Hornets found themselves on the Bellarmine 35-year line. It took just four plays for Enumclaw to score, with Ben Pozun carrying the final 11 yards for the touchdown that sliced the Lion lead to 21-16. Needing a two-point conversion to stay in the hunt, quarterback Cam Brauer connected with a wide-open Cameron Brazier to get the Hornets within three points.

Any chance for late heroics would depend upon a defensive stop and the Hornets came up big. Bellarmine was forced into a three-and-out situation and a 30-yard punt gave Enumclaw the ball in Lion territory. Starting with 90 seconds on the clock and on the 44-yard line, Brauer first hit Kaden Loop for a 22-yard gain then threw to a sliding Ricky Portillo who caught the pass on the 1-yard line. The Hornets again turned to Pozun, who crashed through the middle of the line for the game-winning TD.

The extra-point attempt failed, giving Bellarmine 45 seconds to pull off a miracle. Three pass completions kept the Lions’ hopes alive but the Enumclaw defense, along with the game clock, allowed the Hornets to close out the 2019 season on a winning note.