No. 4 Mount Vernon couldn’t overcome four turnovers in a Class 3A state semifinals Saturday night at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. No. 3 Humboldt beat them 28-25 and advanced to the 3A title game.

“It was tough,” Mount Vernon coach Brad Meester said. “We knew it was going to come down to three or four plays, and unfortunately, those went against us today.“But I was proud of how we kept fighting to the end. Nobody gave up.”

The Mustangs trailed 28-18 after Humboldt got a 23-yard scoring pass from Coen Matson to Valley Davis with 3:44 left in the fourth quarter.

Mount Vernon came right back with a four-play, 66-yard drive that took just 50 seconds. It included an 8-yard pass to Cooper Hird (and an extra 15 yards on a face mask), then passes of 22 and 21 yards from Kellen Haverback to Michael Ryan, the second of which went for a touchdown.

A Bennett Harp extra point later, and it was 28-25 with 2:54 left to play. And Mount Vernon had three time outs.

The Mustangs tried three onside kicks – two were killed by offside penalties and one was disallowed because Mount Vernon kicked it before the referees whistled play to begin.

So instead, Harp popped it up for the Wildcats, who bobbled it before falling on the ball at their own 33. Mount Vernon senior Ethan Wood came up with a big sack on the second play, and two plays later, Humboldt punted it back to the Mustangs with 1:57 remaining, setting things up perfectly for a two-minute drill.

Mount Vernon started at their own 36. But on the very first play, Haverback stepped up and out of the pocket with his eyes downfield. A Humboldt defensive lineman, Isaiah Busick, peeled off and bear hugged Haverback from behind. The ball came out, and Humboldt’s Syler Brown fell on top of it. Game and season, over.

Haverback finished 22-of-30 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 27 yards on eight carries.

“He shoulders a lot of our offense,” Meester said. “And he does a tremendous job. He leads this group. “I’m proud of where we started the season with him to where he is now. When things happen out there, everybody looks at him, and that’s hard. But he kept fighting. A tremendous leader. And I can’t wait to see what he does in the future.”

Early on, it looked like it would be Mount Vernon’s night. The Mustangs put together a 13-play, 49-yard drive to open the game that ended in a 32-yard Harp field goal.

After forcing the Wildcats into a 3-and-out, the Mustangs took the next drive 67 yards in six plays for a touchdown. Haverback connected with Watson Krob for a 29-yard score to the back corner of the end zone, near the famous garage door in the UNI-Dome. A Jase Jaspers conversion run made it 11-0.

But Humboldt quarterback Coen Matson engineered two touchdown drives before halftime. The Wildcats led 14-11 at intermission.

And before half, the first of a handful of game-changing plays occurred. Or didn’t, depending how you look at it.

On third-and-4 from their own 26, the Mustangs got a 73-yard pass from Haverback to Krob down to the Humboldt 1. Krob made the incredible one-handed catch despite a defensive pass interference penalty … but there was also an offensive holding penalty. That made it offsetting penalties and negated the play. The replayed down ended up an incomplete pass.

Then, about a minute later, when Humboldt had the ball back, Matson was hit in the pocket by Nova Lane and the ball squirted loose. The referees ruled it an incomplete pass. Fan can, and probably will, argue if Matson’s arm was moving forward, but there was no replay booth to check in with.

“We told the guys it was going to come down to three or four plays,” Meester said. “Unfortunately, those went against us today. It was a weird game.”

Humboldt increased its lead in the third quarter. During that touchdown drive, A.J. McDermott had an interception in his hands, but Keegan Groat ripped it away for a first down, instead. And five plays later, a 21-11 lead.

The Wildcats ended up with zero turnovers.

“We were opportunistic on defense and were able to get some turnovers, and that’s what led to our suc-  cess,” Humboldt coach Derrick Elman said. “And when we can force turnovers like that, then protect ball on offensive side … You can ride those emotional waves all the way through.”

Humboldt’s quarterback had a different take.

“We played our balls off today,” Matson said. “That was so much fun.”

Matson finished with 208 passing yards on 16-of-27 passing. Groat had seven catches for 83 yards. “Coen just does a tremendous job leading our team,” Elman said. “Credit to Coen finding open receivers.”

Mount Vernon outgained Humboldt in yards, 324 to 279 and in first downs, 19 to 15. But the turnovers were too much to overcome.

“It is the one stat we hammer on,” Meester said. “The one stat that matters. In big games like this, you have to win the turnover battle.”

Mount Vernon finished 10-2 and adds a semifinal trophy to a crowded trophy case.

“Obviously, you always hope to get further,” Meester said. “This group, the way they played as a team, the way they fought … they will go much further beyond just the game of football.”

Meester, in his first season as head coach, said he “loved” the experience and is already looking forward to his second season.

“I love this game,” Meester said. “The game has given me a lot, and I want to be able to give a lot back.”

Humboldt (11-1) advances to face No. 1 Dubuque Wahlert (12-0) in the 3A championship at 1 p.m. Friday. All seven championships will be played Thursday and Friday.

“You’ve just got to ride the wave,” Matson said. “We had a 10-point lead with 3:45 left, but we knew (the Mustangs) were in the dome for a reason.”