Halloween heartbreaker:

A game the Port Washington High School football team seemingly won suddenly switched into a 17-15 Division 3 playoff loss at home to old rival Whitefish Bay last Friday.

The fourth quarter featured one tie, three lead changes and 24 points as both teams made multiple clutch plays in crunch time.

Port trailed 11-8 with three-and-a-half minutes left after the Blue Dukes made a field goal and had to answer.

Port’s Colton Struckman returned the kickoff 23 yards to the Pirates’ 47-yard line, and sophomore quarterback Jack Bunyan went to work.

After O’Neil Wright gained 11 yards on two carries, Bunyan hit Aedyn Brownmiller down the middle for a 35-yard catch that took the ball to the Blue Dukes’ 6-yard line.

It was redemption for Brownmiller, who dropped a deep ball on the Pirates’ previous possession.

“I was a little down on myself. When I got to the sidelines, I had all my teammates encouraging me and telling me to keep my head up,” Brownmiller said.

“I told Aedyn, because he dropped the prior one, ‘Hey, I’m coming back to you,’” Bunyan said. “There was no doubt in my mind. I came back to him right here and he made the play.”

On third and goal, Bunyan threw short left to Cal Loose, who snuck inside the pylon for a touchdown, highlighting another Port comeback story. Loose was the returning starting quarterback and injured his shoulder in a preseason scrimmage. He planned to sit out until basketball season, but returned last week and recovered a fumble.

“Two reasons I came back. One, I saw our playoff section and it was very, very winnable,” Loose said. “And just the boys, the culture and the love just pushed me to be back. I wanted one more game with the boys, however long we could go.”

The extra point made the score 15-11 with 1 minute, 12 seconds left.

Whitefish Bay started from its own 21-yard line after a personal foul penalty with one timeout.

Port stuffed the run all night, but the Blue Dukes found success in the short passing game against Port’s cover 3 defense that tried to slow deep balls. Chase Wolter completed six passes that took the ball to Port’s 9-yard line with 10 seconds left.

One second down, he floated a fade ball to the right corner of the end zone. Mace Miskel came down with the catch. Officials didn’t signal anything until conferring, then put their arms up. The Blue Dukes scored a touchdown with two seconds left.

It was bedlam for Whitefish Bay and pain for Port Washington.

The Pirates couldn’t do anything on their final play, and the careers of 16 seniors ended on their home field in a heartbreaker that came with fitting tears and hugs.

“It hurts,” Struckman said. “You never really expect it as an underclassmen, a junior. Senior year comes around and it’s just like getting stabbed in the chest. It really hurts.”

“I wouldn’t take anything away from our guys. We played our hearts out,” lineman Logan Walker said. “We’ve had so many things of adversity, people breaking feet, Cal got hurt at the start of the season. We faced every up and down. We still got here.”

“It’s tough,” nose guard Garett Kawczynski said. “This is an emotional moment. I love the effort and intensity our team brought. This team has faced more adversity than any other year I’ve been playing. I’m proud of every single one of us for the ability to just keep on fighting and keep on adapting.”

Bunyan went 13-for-25 for 219 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Wright ran for 53 yards and a score on 20 carries. Brownmiller caught three balls for 98 yards.

Kade Kintop made an interception inside Port’s 5-yard line that stopped a Blue Dukes’ scoring drive.

Penalties hurt Port again, this time 15 for 97 yards.

“That hurt. I feel really bad for my seniors,” coach John Bunyan said.

“We played really hard against the run. Obviously, we gave up some things with the pass. We put ourselves in position to win. That hurts.”

He loved that his team’s offense responded late in the game.

“I didn’t doubt that they could back from that. I’m really proud of them. Credit to the offensive line all night for giving a lot of time for Jack to be able to throw the ball. O’Neil ran hard again,” coach Bunyan said.

No. 5-seeded Port finished 7-4 after starting the season 0-2.

Bunyan lauded his seniors.

“They’re a special group. Really good kids, great leaders. They worked really hard and made other kids around them better. It’s going to be really hard to replace this crew. They’ve done such a tremendous job all year and all four years that they’ve been here,” he said.

“We had a great year, made a lot of memories and that’s what it’s all about,” senior Aiden Mitchell said.

“We built up this culture, this senior class Not just one individual person,” Loose said. “Hard work, just a bond and brotherhood. Positive energy day in and day out. It just really meant a lot to me for the four years here.”

Wright transferred from Grafton and had to sit out a year, according to Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association rules.

“They took me in with no initial thoughts of me being just a transfer kid,” he said. “They made me feel at home, like I belonged here. It meant the world.”

Walker said, “This has been my emotional hotline for the last four years.”

Kawczynski is grateful for the experience.

“This program has given me a great opportunity to find myself and help others. I got to play 45 varsity games. That’s my number. I’m thankful for every one of them,” he said.

Wolter went 22-for-37 for 242 yards with two scores and one interception. Miskel caught eight balls for 114 yards and two scores.

The No. 8-seeded Blue Dukes play Friday at No. 3 Martin Luther, which beat Whitnall, 51-49.

This was the third playoff game that went down to the last minute that the Pirates and Blue Dukes played in the last five years. Port lost, 20-14, on the road in overtime in a rainstorm in 2021. The Pirates won, 27-21, at home last season, coming back from a 21-8 deficit.