The Thursday, Oct. 21, weather — constant, drenching rain — admittedly caused some problems for the Lakeridge football team.

The field was slippery and the football sometimes slipped through hands, but the Pacers made sure the game itself didn't slip away. Lakeridge held a two-score lead after three quarters, then held on for dear life as Tigard battled back before finally holding on to win 21-19 at Tigard High School.

"We haven't played in rain all season so it was definitely an adjustment," said Lakeridge senior running back Jake Reichle, who finished with 207 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries. "But I think by the second half, we got our act together and played pretty good."

With the win, the Pacers snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 2-2 in Special District 5 play and 6-2 overall. The Tigers, meanwhile, lost for a second straight time and fell to 1-3 in SD5 play and 3-5 overall.

"I think if we were able to limit some of our self-inflicted wounds, we could be sitting a little differently right now," said Tigard coach John Kemper, referring to his team's three turnovers. "When you're playing some of the top teams in the state, mistakes and turnovers are going to cost you."

"We fought to the last second of the game and that's something we've been working on," said Tigard running back Konnor Grant. "We've had some really good first halves, but we've just been trying to get to the point where we can close out a game. We didn't tonight because of a few mental and physical mistakes, but we're going in the right direction."

Trailing 21-13, the Tigers got the ball at their own 20-yard line with 2 minutes, 39 seconds to play and immediately moved the ball to midfield on a 28-yard Grant run. But a holding call on first down put Tigard behind the chains and the home team failed to connect on two straight pass attempts, then turned the ball over on downs when quarterback Cameron Masters-Doble's fourth-down scramble came up short.

Tigard had another opportunity to tie the game after recovering a Pacers fumble at its own 27-yard line, but after Grant battered his way into the end zone from six yards out with 4:40 remaining in the game, the Tigers' two-point attempt was thwarted and Lakeridge walked off with the victory.

Reichle breathed a bit of a sigh of relief in the wake of the victory, but thought his team played well in what were undoubtedly difficult conditions. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior scored on runs of two, 27 and 66 yards, but also was there when the Pacers needed him most – on both sides of the ball.

"We knew it was going to be a physical game and whoever was more physical because of the rain was going to win," Reichle said. "We won the turnover battle, played together as a team and it worked out. It's about making plays when you need them and I thought we did that."

Lakeridge drew first blood when Reichle scored from two yards out to put his team ahead 7-0 with 3:59 left in the first quarter. After a series of punts, Tigard took advantage of a Pacer mistake when a Tiger punt hit a Lakeridge player and the home team recovered at the visitors' 23-yard line.

Tigard tied the game five plays later when Masters-Doble found Henry Masters open in the left corner of the end zone with 5:36 left in the half.

As if on a mission, Lakeridge took back the lead in the half's final minute when Reichle ran 27 yards on a fourth-down play, and after a successful extra point attempt, led 14-7 at the half.

Reichle stretched the lead to 21-7 in the third quarter when he ran 66 yards around the left end for a score, but Tigard responded with a nine-play, 87-yard drive capped by a 12-yard Grant TD run to get within 21-13, but got no closer due to a botched snap on the ensuing extra point attempt.

The win came at a good time for a Pacers team that had lost two straight to state powers West Linn and Tualatin after starting the season 5-0. And with just their regular season finale with Lake Oswego left before the playoffs, Reichle feels good about his team and their prospects going forward.

"It was good to bounce back, but we know we've got a tough game next week against (Lake Oswego," Reichle said. "We've got eight days to prepare for that and whatever comes after that, and I think we'll be in good shape if we prepare right and execute."

Tigard is also likely headed for the playoffs, potentially in a rivalry game versus No. 2-ranked Tualatin next week. Grant said he's excited for the game and what he believes this team can accomplish.

"We're fired-up and looking forward to that game," he said. "I think we're kind of hitting our peak and these guys are giving their blood, sweat and tears every day in practice and every game, and we're looking to do something big."

For Lakeridge, quarterback Ryan Oliver completed 7 of 12 passes for 105 yards, with a long completion of 40 yards to junior wide receiver Joey Olsen; Olsen finished with three catches for 65 yards. Grant finished with 152 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.

Lakeridge senior lineback Zac Waible led Pacer defenders with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery he returned for 13 yards. Reichle and sophomore linebacker Ethan Biondine added 12 tackles each, and senior linebacker Jonathan Curry had 11 tackles.