SWEETWATER — The Merkel offense dug deep into its bag of tricks for Thursday’s Region I-3A Division II area-round matchup with Slaton at the Mustang Bowl.
Three different players threw touchdown passes to three different players, but it wasn’t enough as the Badgers dropped a 43-36 heartbreaker to the Tigers.
Slaton scored the game-winning touchdown on a 28-yard screen pass from Jacob Lopez to Trae Harris with nine seconds to play and held on for the win when Eli Delgado was tackled at the Slaton 44 on the ensuing kickoff as the horn sounded after a 34-yard return — keeping the Badgers from winning multiple playoff games in a season for the first time since the 2017.