The last bus ride is always the toughest. On the way back to the home campus, thoughts of what might have been invade the journey through the darkness.

Lincoln-Way Central’s last ride was Saturday. The Knights held three one-touchdown leads on host St. Rita, but the Mustangs proved tougher in the final quarter and pulled out a 31-28 victory on Saul Ruiz’s 23-yard field goal as time expired in a Class 7A second-round game.

Lucas Andresen had a sterling Saturday with 10 receptions, three for touchdowns, plus a fourth score on a rush. Drew Woodburn completed 15 passes in all for 158 yards. But St. Rita had the ball last.

“Playing with these guys for so long, it’s become such a family culture, and it’s tough to see it end like this,” Andresen said. “We had high expectations.

“I think we got a little tired and a little unfocused, and that definitely cost us.”

The Mustangs (7-4), who’ll face Hersey in next week’s 7A quarterfinal, wore the Knights (9-2) down with old-fashioned Catholic League toughness. As for being unfocused, a pair of penalties on a drive early in the fourth quarter, first an unsportsmanlike conduct foul by running back Justin Cobbs, and then an offensive lineman downfield, killed a Knights’ drive.

St. Rita took the lead on Brandon Johnson’s 8-yard run on the next possession, and while the Knights tied it at 28 with 2:50 left on Andersen’s 13-yard reception of Woodburn’s perfect pass, they would not see the ball again. The Mustangs moved the ball 63 yards on nine plays, the big gainer a 40-yard pass from Steve Armbruster to John Fennell on the Central 6 with 20 seconds to play, and Ruiz took care of the rest.

“The defense didn’t play as well as we thought it was gonna do,” Knights coach Dave Woodburn said. “The offense was pretty fantastic, and at the end of the game, our guys and their guys made plays on offense. It seemed like it was going to be who had the ball last – and they did.

“This one’s going to hurt for a long time.”

Conversely, St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins was floating on air.

“They weren’t easy to beat,” Hopkins said. “Our goal all day was to get the ball back to our defense. They had dangerous guys out there.”

Andresen, who rushed for three touchdowns in last week’s romp over Reavis, caught a pair of Drew Woodburn passes for scores in the first half. He hauled in a nine-yard reception to open the scoring, then caught a 23-yard pass for a 21-14 lead with 12 seconds left in the half.

In between, he scored on a 1-yard plunge. That put the Knights ahead 14-7, and followed the 86-yard kickoff return score of St. Rita senior Walter Jones. The Mustangs tied the game a second time courtesy of Jones’ 23-yard run down the right sideline 1:02 into the second quarter, and a third time when Johnson galloped 51 yards with 2:25 left in the third.

Johnson (10 carries, 83 yards) earned St. Rita a 28-21 lead with an 8-yard run with 9:42 remaining. Anderson’s game-tying reception came on the 15th play of a 76-yard drive, but the 170 seconds left hanging on the clock was just enough for the Mustangs to break the deadlock.