The clock struck midnight on the Colcord (Okla.) Hornets' magical 2023 football season on Friday.
The Hornets were defeated 38-22 by Fairview (Okla.) in the Class A semifinals at Harrah, bringing an end to their undefeated season and state title hopes.
Colcord finishes the season 13-1 overall.
"These guys have done some amazing things this season," Colcord coach Austin Martin said Monday. "We're going to have a team later and I'm going to talk to them on stuff they've accomplished and where we were a couple of years back and where we are now. It's all because of these kids and the time they've put in, their attitudes, being good teammates and working hard."
The Hornets finished the regular season 10-0 and winning the District A-7 championship -- Colcord's first district title since 2005.
The Hornets then defeated Haskell, Tonkawa and Ringling in three straight playoff games before their season-ending loss Friday.
"It's tough to win that many games," Martin said. "You have one off game and it can haunt you for a long time. I'm so proud of what they did. They fought to the bitter end."
Colcord got on the scoreboard first to take a 7-0 lead when Gabe Winfield threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Treyden Larmon in the first quarter.
Fairview tied it up 7-7 and then took a 17-7 lead in the second quarter after a touchdown and a field goal.
Colcord came back late in the first half to pull within 17-14 when Winfield found Larmon for an 11-yard touchdown pass.
The Hornets were seconds away from being down 17-14 at halftime, but Fairview was able to score on an 11-yard touchdown pass with no time left to go up 24-14 at halftime.
"That was a big-time play," Martin said. "If we tackle the guy it's 17-14."
The Hornets were driving on their second possession of the third quarter to try and cut into Fairview's lead when Fairview made a goalline stand to keep the lead at 24-14.
Fairview then cashed in two more touchdowns to go up 38-14 in the fourth quarter.
"It felt like anytime we got a big play, they got a bigger one," Martin said. "We fought the whole game. It was super close."
Colcord kept battling as Eyan Williams hauled in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Winfield, an Colcord converted the two-point conversion to set the final score.
"I'm super proud of how they played to the final whistle," Martin said.
Colcord finished with 301 yards of offense, but the Hornets had three turnovers.
Winfield completed 18 of 38 passes for 182 yards, three touchdowns and three picks. He also rushed for 72 yards on 17 carries, while Cooper Mott had 40 yards on 12 carries.
Larmon finished with four catches for 78 yards, while Williams had six catches for 65 yards.
Mott led with 11 total tackles, five solo and six assisted. Larmon had 10 total tackles, including seven assisted and one sack. Cade Linn had eight assisted tackles, one solo and one sack, while Winfield had seven solo tackles and two assisted.
Fairview finished with 354 yards of offense, 192 passing yards and 162 rushing yards.
Despite the defeat and loss of several seniors, Martin believes the ingredients are there for Colcord to make another run next season.
"I think we've got a good thing going in Colcord," he said. "I think we can build off it and I think we can be back next year."