HERSCHER -- The fact that Seneca's Fighting Irish football team did so many things well and so few things badly, made their 24-21 loss to Herscher last night at Kenneth Seebach Stadium just a bit harder to swallow.

Seneca held the Tigers to 14 yards rushing, committed no turnovers, ran for 174 yards, had only three penalties and held a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter, yet lost this Intertstate Eight Conference crossover contest by a field goal.

"We had everything but the win," said Irish coach Don Brown. "We're a lot better than we were a year ago at this time, but we have got to find a way to seal the deal. On third and fourth down, they made some big plays and we didn't. High school football is a game of two or three big plays and we had our share in the first half and they got theirs in the second half."

Both clubs scored touchdowns on their opening drives. Herscher had the ball first and put together a 10-play drive, using five minutes and seven seconds, finally scoring on an 11-yard TD pass from Rob Winnicki to Eric Pustmeuller, followed by a successful point after.

The Irish came right back, with Seth Hobbs capping a five-play march by scooting around right end for a 29-yard TD. Chad Humphreys PAT kick made it 7-7 with 4:36 to go in the first quarter.

Herscher failed to move the ball on its next series and punted from its own 34 yardline on fourth down. Seneca's Griffan Callahan fielded the 41-yard boot at his own 25 and returned it 49 yards to the Tigers' 26. Five plays later, Jaret Trager connected with Hobbs for a 14-yard touchdown, and after Humphrey's kick split the uprights, Seneca led 14-7 with 28 seconds to go in the initial frame.

Neither club did much in the early stages of the second quarter, but the Tigers then proceeded to control the ball for the next five minutes and 22 seconds, running 14 plays and kicking a 21-yard field goal at the 3:24 mark to make it a 14-10 game. That score held for the remainder of the half.

Defense dominated the third quarter as each team gave up just one first down in a scoreless period.

Seneca had the ball third-and-two at the Herscher 32 to begin the final stanza, and on the fourth snap of the quarter Trager hit Callahan near the right sideline for a 20-yard TD completion. Humphrey's kick made it 21-10, Irish.

Both teams went three-and-out on their respective next series, but when Herscher got the ball back with 5:27 to play, it went 53 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a fourth-and-goal from the eight yard line on a TD reception by Kyle Koerner from Winnicki. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Irish up 21-16.

Seneca failed to gain a first down on its next possession and Herscher began its next set of downs from the 50 yardline. Six plays later, the Tigers were in the end zone as Winnicki hit Askew with a 15-yard touchdown strike. Winnicki and Zach Stetson hooked up for a two-point conversion to give Herscher a 24-21 advantage. The Irish still had 1:03 to reclaim the lead, but were unable to advance the football, giving it up on downs with 25 seconds to play.

"I can't fault the effort the kids gave against a very good team," coach Brown said. "I'm just very disappointed in the result. We lost Luke early and a couple two-way guys went down, but that's part of the game. We knew going in that depth can be a problem. The guys who filled in did it admirably. This group of kids has a good attitude and they can come back tomorrow and go to work."

Hobbs led the Irish in rushing with 71 yards on 10 carries, while Michael Maierhofer was good for 59 yards on nine attempts. Luke Underhill, who was injured and out through for the night at 7:29 of the second quarter, had 18 yards on three carries. Trager finished with 38 yards and two TDs on a three of 10 evening.

Winnicki put the ball in the air 40 times, completing 21 passes to nine different receivers for 214 yards and three touchdowns. Askew caught five balls for 62 yards.

In the sophomore contest, Herscher scored the only 20 points in the first half and Seneca had all 12 second-half points, leaving the Irish with an eight-point deficit at the end of the night.

The Irish host Manteno on Friday.