It was all Rock Island could ask for. A shot.

The Rocks had forced Oak Lawn Richards to punt and took possession down six, with 91 seconds left to drive 86 yards. The game was theirs to decide.

And when Chris Suhr's pass intended for Nathan Gray fell to the Almquist Field turf on fourth down, so did Rock Island 22-16.

"I thought we were going to do it, I really did," Suhr said.

But it was missed opportunities all night, not just on the last drive, that ultimately cost the Rocks.

"We had the ball inside the 15-yard line three times and didn't get points," Rock Island coach Vic Boblett said.

Rock Island had flirted with danger all night. Despite two bad punts, two failed fourth-down conversions and fumbling away a golden scoring opportunity before the half, Rocky still had a shot on its last possession.

The fumble before the half was key. With that score Rock Island would have went into the locker room tied and would have received the kickoff to start the third quarter.

"I just kept thinking 'Hang on,'" Boblett said.

Rocky running back Chris Glover ran up 208 yards but failed to find the end zone. Backfield mate Nikko Watson added a 1-yard touchdown and 74 yards on the ground. Suhr found Devon Jones in the end zone for Rock Island's other score.

Richards had only one play of more than 30 yards, but seemed to pick up every first down it needed to continue drives.

To a man, Rock Island walked into their locker room with tears in their eyes. Boblett went out of his way to praise his senior leaders.

"It's so hard to say good-bye," Boblett said of his seniors. "Especially a group that has worked so hard and accomplished so much."