A back-and-forth battle between the Kewaunee Storm and Racine Lutheran Crusaders came down to the final play. After an 86-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left tied the game at 30, the Crusaders capped the comeback with a 42-yard game-winning field goal as time expired, 33-30.

The Storm leaned on the legs of quarterback Brett Paulsen, who set the tone early with a 25-yard touchdown run on the opening drive. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0 Kewaunee. Racine immediately answered with a kickoff return touchdown, but trailed 8-7 after choosing the extra point.

Both defenses traded blows after a pick-six by Myles Bunch put Racine up 13-8. Bunch struck again later in the second quarter, hauling in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Cohen Kraus to stretch the lead to 20-8.

Paulsen kept the Storm close, breaking free on a 32-yard run before halftime and finishing the drive with his second score to cut it to 20-14 at the break.

After a scoreless third quarter, Paulsen powered in his third rushing touchdown on a goal-line push to open the fourth. His two-point conversion pass to Kilgore gave Kewaunee the lead, 22-20.

The teams traded points down the stretch. Racine’s Max Contreras drilled a 29-yard field goal to go back up 23-22, but Kewaunee answered when Waylon Delain broke free for a 22-yard touchdown run, reclaiming the lead 30-23.

That set the stage for the Crusaders’ late heroics. With under two minutes left, Eli Gossow turned a short catch into an 86-yard touchdown to tie it. Then, after one final drive, Contreras delivered the 42-yard winner as time ran out.

Kewaunee falls to the team they beat by 20 to open last season and will look to bounce back next Friday, August 29, against Brillion.