CARRINGTON (NewsDakota)- The home and region 2 opener at Cardinal Stadium came down to the games’ final play.

But unfortunately for Carrington, quarterback Max Whitman was stopped inches short and the Grafton Spoilers defeated the Cardinals 18-14 on Friday night.

The game started with the field tilted in Carrington’s favor and eventually Whitman broke free for his first career rushing touchdown from 32 yards and the Cards led 7-0.  Grafton then responded with a six yard touchdown pass from Brody Lillemoen to Reggie Rice on fourth down to cut the lead to 7-6 at half time.

The second half started with the Cardinals connecting as Whitman hit Maddox McIlone for a 30 yard touchdown and it was 14-6.  The key play came after Lillemoen hit David Jelinek for a fourth-quarter 9-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-12 as the Spoilers (2-1, 1-0) recovered an onside kick and drove down the field when Lillemoen snuck home from a yard out with 5:12 left for an 18-14 lead.

The Cardinals (1-2, 0-1) were not done, as after a stop with 1:50 left, Whitman methodically drove the team into Grafton territory and connected with McIlone on a 34 yard pass to the Spoilers 4 yard line on fourth-and-11.  But two plays later, Whitman’s last gasp dive was stopped just shy of the goal line on the final play.

Carrington will next travel to Harvey/Wells County (1-2, 0-1) on Friday night with coverage on KDAK The Cardinal beginning at 6pm.