By Scott Rasmussen, Journal Editor

The outcome of any football game almost never rests on one single play, unless you’re the Seattle Seahawks.

But the Friday Harbor football team, in the wake of its second straight heartbreaking loss, knows all too well that two plays can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

The Wolverines saw a comeback win slip from their grasp as Blaine defensive back Cole Muder gobbled up a fourth-quarter fumble and raced 96 yards with the game-winner, the exclamation point in Friday Harbor’s 26-19 loss, at home, Friday, in a Northwest Conference 1A clash against the Borderites (5-1, 2-0).

Two plays earlier, wide receiver Donald Galt, on a fourth-and-five pass from C.J. Woods, appeared to break the plane of the end zone with a 25-yard touchdown pass that would have put the Wolverines up by eight with just over seven minutes left in regulation. Instead, Galt was ruled down about a foot from the goal line.

“He said my knee hit the ground,” Galt said of the referee call.

Trailing 12-7 at the half, senior Michael Powell gave Friday Harbor its first lead of the game, 13-12, on a 12-yard TD run with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Blaine reclaimed a 18-13 advantage on its next possession on a 5-yard carry by speedy running back Mario Gobatto, who racked up 190 yards on 27 carries.

Friday Harbor’s Dylan Radden broke free for a 30-yard TD carry to tighten the score at 26-19 with just over five minutes to play. But the Wolverines final drive came to an abrupt halt on an interception with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Next: Friday Harbor (4-2) is at Mount Baker, Friday; kick off is 6 p.m.