Missed opportunities.

In close ballgames, scoring chances that slip away can mean all the difference between winning and losing.

On Friday night, a determined Tamaqua team battled back and forth with visiting Executive Education, and while the Blue Raiders had a lead and momentum for a good part of the contest, a couple of key possessions came back to haunt them in an eventual 32-30 loss.

Tamaqua had the ball at the Raptors’ 3-yard line late in the third quarter and failed to score, and then when the home team recovered an onsides kick with eight minutes to play and drove inside the 10, a fumble ended another scoring opportunity.

“Unfortunately we had two stalls down inside the 10, one a turnover and one when we didn’t have our starting quarterback on the field, which made it a little tougher,” said Raider head coach Sam Bonner. “It kind of took away a lot of the offense we were running not having Ace (Schickram) on the field.

“But that being said, we’ve got to make the most (of those opportunities). In a game like this, you have to score when you’re down inside the 10. We had a good drive going but we fumbled. ... I thought we really had momentum going there.”

The Raiders used a potent rushing attack in the opening half and converted on two of their two-point conversions to earn a 22-20 halftime advantage. Both teams scored on their first three possessions but Executive managed to convert on just one of their two-point tries.

Talented quarterback Shawntez Whitsitt, however, put the Raptors ahead early in the third frame on a 58-yard catch-and-run to Darius Kohler.

Tamaqua looked like it would go back ahead later in the period when it used 12 plays to drive inside the 10. Unfortunately for the Raiders, starting QB Schickram was forced to the sidelines and Executive held on downs.

Whitsitt gave his team some needed insurance soon after when he broke free for a 44-yard touchdown run, making the score 32-22 with 11:20 to play.

“Shawntez, he’s a senior, he’s been in the program for three years now, and he just make plays,” said Executive mentor Kyle Haas. “He puts the ball on the money. He makes good decisions, he understands the gameplan when we come in, and it helps when we get guys open. But running the ball, throwing the ball, Tez can do it all. He’s a special player.”

Whitsitt finished with 230 yards passing and 93 rushing.

“They’re a quick-strike offense,” said Bonner. “They’re kind of scary. But we were going blow for blow with them.”

The Raiders, playing without standout Terrence McDowell, showed a lot of fight by responding with a scoring drive that made it a one-score game. CJ Walker capped a nine-play march with a 5-yard scoring run. The key play was a 32-yard run by Ryder Holmberg.

“No doubt (we missed Terrence), but I thought CJ did a heckuva job of picking stuff up for us this week,” said Bonner. “Ace ran his tail off, he made a lot of plays for us, and Ryder Holmberg had some nice carries for us in the second half. We had guys step up offensively.”

It looked like Bonner’s troops might pull out the victory when they recovered an onsides kick after their score.

Tamaqua, thanks to another big Holmberg run, got inside the red zone midway through the quarter. But with a second-and-four at the Executive 9-yard line, a fumbled snap was recovered by the Raptors.

Executive, though, couldn’t run out the clock and the Raiders had one final chance with under four minutes to play. But a fourth down pass near midfield with under a minute to play was incomplete.

“If we had a little more time at the end, maybe we could have got a little bit more going, but we were running short on time there at the end,” said Bonner.

“Credit to Tamaqua and how physical they are,” said Haas. “I’m really impressed with the way their kids just went after us. And they have some really good football players. Sam runs a good program over here. (The game was) great for the fans, but it’s a killer for coaches.”

STATS ... Schickram ran for 160 yards on 23 carries, while Walker added 133 on 28 attempts. Holmberg added 58 yards on just four carries. Schickram also threw a touchdown pass.

INJURED STAR ... While the Raiders were without McDowell, who had an ankle injury, his presence was missed on both sides of the ball. “At times, I think Terrence is probably one of our better if not our best defensive back,” said Bonner. “In a game like this, we’re missing him in the secondary probably as much on defense as we are on offense.”

Executive 32, Tamaqua 30

Executive Ed. 6 14 6 6 - 32

Tamaqua 8 14 0 8 - 30

T - Schickram 3 run (Faneck run)

EE - Bravo 20 pass from Whitsitt (pass failed)

T - Shannon 6 pass from Schickram (Makovec pass from Schickram)

EE - Reid 16 pass from Whitsitt (pass failed)

T - Walker 5 run (run failed)

EE - Conner 61 pass from Whitsitt (Whitsitt run)

EE - Kohler 58 pass from Whitsitt (kick failed)

EE - Whitsitt 44 run (run failed)

T - Walker 5 run (Schickram run)