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CRYSTAL FALLS -- Home field provided no advantage to Forest Park in a crushing 44-12 loss to visiting Lake Linden-Hubbell in a MHSAA Division 2, Region 1 8-player football playoff clash Friday night.
It's a game the host Trojans (7-3) might have literally fumbled away.
Forest Park lost four fumbles and threw two interceptions in the playoff loss to the visiting Lakes (7-3).
"We cannot have six turnovers in a big game and expect to keep the game close," said Forest Park coach Brian Fabbri. "We were very fortunate to be only down by 14 at halftime, since we already had four turnovers committed in the first half."
At the start of the playoff contest, the Trojans seemed headed in a more positive direction. Forest Park got on the scoreboard first, with star running back Sam McKissack finding the endzone at the end off a 24-yard touchdown romp.
But Lake Linden-Hubbell would score the game's next 36 points to take control and, ultimately, end the Trojans' season. The Lakes held a 30-point advantage by the time Forest Park would score its second and final TD of the game, a 54-yard pass play from Payton Woollard to Will Curtis, in the fourth quarter.
It was Woollard's only completion of the night.
"There were a couple of key moments to the game," Fabbri said. "Lake Linden-Hubbell was able to take advantage of their passing game and made two big plays in the first half -- a long pass led to their first touchdown and then they were able to score on a half-back option pass with 1:09 remaining before halftime, after their quarterback was removed with an injury."
"The other sequence that really turned the tide in the game came after halftime," the coach added. "LL-H drove down the field and scored on their first possession and then created a fumble on our next drive."
It didn't help that the Trojans were missing two key players, with starting fullback and senior captain Reagan Alder and running back/defensive back Felix Quevedo both unavailable due to injuries.
"Reagan was hurt in the first game and was not able to come back at all this season," Fabbri said. "We really struggled with our base offense with Reagan out."
Quevedo suffered an ankle injury in the Trojans' regular-season finale against North Central.
"He was our major contributor on offense when Sam was out," Fabbri added. "Felix also flies around the field and makes a lot of plays on defense. We missed him on both sides of the ball on Friday."
Overall, the Trojans racked up 199 yards in total offense, with McKissack accounting for almost half of that. The senior running back finished the night with 97 yards rushing and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Nikolas Stephens added 18 yards on six carries, and Woollard chipped in 15 yards on five rushing attempts.
Stephens added to his offensive contributions by also leading the Trojans on defense with seven solo tackles and seven assists.
Devon Basirico had five tackles and six assists in the loss, while Adan Brazieka hit the Lakes for four tackles and five assists.
"I am proud of how the team played hard right until the end of the game," Fabbri said after the season-ending loss. "I cannot thank the other coaches -- coach Gerald Valesano and Chris Nocerini -- and the volunteer coaches enough for all their help throughout the season.
"We will miss our seniors a lot and we have tons of holes to fill in the lineup, but I am looking forward to the offseason grind and cannot wait to get back on the field next August," he added.