CHARLES CITY | On paper, Friday nights Class 3A, District 3 clash between third-ranked West Delaware and Charles City looked like it could be a competitive game as the two teams both entered the contest undefeated in district play.

The battle lived up to the hype as West Delaware held off Charles City 20-14, improving to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in district play while the Comets fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the district.

What we take away from this game is that were legit, Charles City coach Darren Bohlen said. Were a good team. We showed that we can compete for a district title. We fell a little short but we still have other opportunities. We have to win out and hope that West Delaware gets knocked off by a team here, which could happen. A district title is still not out of the question.

After forcing the Hawks to punt on their first possession, the Comets went 66 yards in nine plays as Levi Blaine scored on a 31-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes, 9 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Blaine, who threw for 60 yards and ran for a team-high 110 yards on 14 carries, gave the Comets their only lead as West Delaware scored three times in the first half including twice in the final four minutes to take a 20-6 halftime lead.

We were doing a great job in the first half but we gave up a few too many big plays that athletes make sometimes, Bohlen said. We didnt score and then they came down and scored at the end. That little stretch of the game right there was the difference. We were in their territory and didnt score and then they scored right before the half.

On their final drive of the half, the Comets turned the ball over on downs with 1:54 remaining at the West Delaware 36 before Brent Lammers connected with Austin Bishop for a 17-yard touchdown strike with 3 seconds remaining.

Lammers, who also threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Dallyn Putz and ran for a 1-yard score, had 50 yards on the ground while adding 144 yards through the air.

However, Lammers had just 11 yards passing in the second half while the Comets limited Coy Roussell, who ran for a game-high 115 yards on 22 carries, to 43 yards in the second half.

Our defense did a great job containing the quarterback and the tailback, Bohlen said. On film, they spread it out a little bit but they tried power running. We showed that teams arent going to be able to run it down our throats. We bent a little but we didnt break.

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Comets push No. 3 West Delaware in 20-14 loss