The Lancers entered the Oct. 29 game against CBC needing at least a four-point to advance through Districts. But on a cold night with few students in attendance, they were eliminated from postseason play by the team ranked fourth in St. Louis by the Post-Dispatch. The Cadets dominated with 266 yards in a 34-20 win that gave them the District 3 title and ended Lafayette’s season.

“CBC had a very strong run and pass defense and when you’re a top-ranked team, that comes with it. When they’re stopping the passing game, it makes it hard to open up the run,” junior Taylor Baden said.

After a scoreless first quarter in which the Lancers played smothering defense, CBC broke things open with three quick touchdowns in the second quarter. The first came when a partially blocked punt gave the Cadets possession in Lafayette territory and Antonio Brown scored on a 15-yard run. A second score by Brown and a pair of long passes to Josh Walker made it 27-0 by the end of the third quarter.

Lafayette kept the game close thanks to an electrifying fourth quarter by senior Al Nesbit. He opened the quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run and finished it with two more scores, an 86-yard kickoff return and a 53-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Matt Goro. But the Cadets added a 22-yard rushing touchdown by Jonathan Parker in between to put the game out of reach.

With the loss, Lafayette finishes the season with a 5-5 record. Before falling to CBC, the Lancers had won four of the last five games with a string of impressive offensive performances. But against the Cadets, they were held to just 196 total yards and managed only 30 yards on the ground.

“We finished strong. We competed, but we just wish we could have pulled one out for our seniors and our community,” Baden said.