Not quite two months later, it was a different story entirely.

But, thanks to sophomore Chase Bonta and senior Keith Miller, the Red Raiders were still able to write a happy ending.

Bonta rushed for three touchdowns and caught a pass for a score, while Miller rushed for 194 yards on 19 carries and another TD to lift No. 3 Jamestown to a wild 48-32 victory over No. 6 Niagara Falls in a Section VI Class AA quarterfinal game at Strider Field on Friday night.

“Both teams played really hard and wanted it,” Red Raiders head coach Tom Langworthy said. “This is a AA playoff game. It gets different in the playoffs, because your season is on the line. Credit to Niagara Falls. They definitely had a game plan, they executed it, they made plays and we did, too. We didn’t back down and we didn’t panic.”

Jamestown’s Chase Bonta finds running room in Friday’s Section VI Class AA quarterfinal against Niagara Falls at Strider Field. P-J photo by Tim Frank

The win moves Jamestown (7-2) into the semifinals next Friday at No. 2 Lancaster (8-1), which blanked No. 7 Hutch Tech 40-0 last night. The Wolverines, meanwhile, finish their season 2-7.

But the visitors hardly resembled a two-win team through early in the third quarter.

In fact, led by sophomore quarterback Michael Taylor, Niagara Falls led 26-20 following his 1-yard sneak — his second of the game — just two minutes into the second half.

As it turned out, Taylor injured his right leg on the play, had to be helped off the field and he didn’t return.

With Taylor sidelined, the Red Raiders scored on their next four possessions — Jack Carlson TD passes of 40 yards to Bonta and 12 yards to Carson Panebianco sandwiched around TD runs by Bonta from 13 and 1 yards — to finally gain some separation from the inspired Wolverines.

Armed with a 48-26 lead with 6:46 remaining in the fourth quarter, Langworthy could breathe a little easier than he was at halftime.

“We did make some adjustments defensively,” he said. “I did ask them to step up, tested their will and we got done what we had to get done in the second half.”

Niagara Falls closed out the scoring when it successfully executed a fake punt, resulting in a 62-yard touchdown pass from Paul Harris to Ke’ire Walker at the 5:45 mark.

The first half was a figurative track meet.

Jamestown’s Ayden Samuelson returned the game’s opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown; Niagara Falls’ Jeremiah James scored on a 10-yard run; Bonta found paydirt from 10 yards out; and James scored again on a 15-yard pass from Taylor.

After the first quarter, the game was tied 14-14.

In the second quarter, Miller found the end zone on a 31-yard burst, but Taylor tied it with the first of his 1-yard TD runs.

Tied 20-all at the break, the momentum was clearly in Niagara Falls’ favor. And after the Wolverines needed just five plays to score on their first possession of the second half, highlighted by a 48-yard Taylor-to-JaVon Sitzer pass, it appeared that whoever had the ball last would win the game. But Taylor was injured on his TD sneak and Jamestown took over from there.

“I’m happy to get the win,” Langworthy said. “It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t pretty, but we got the win and move on and play together another week.”

The Red Raiders now advance to the semifinals next Friday at Lancaster, which defeated Jamestown 41-21 on Oct. 6.

“Lancaster is an outstanding program,” Langworthy said. “They have had success for many years. I have nothing but positive things to say about them. We didn’t play the second half (against the Legends) the way we wanted to. We felt coming off the field if we were who we thought we were, we could see them again, and now it shakes out that way. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

NOTES: Carlson completed 6 of 9 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns; Panebianco caught four passes for 61 yards and a score, while Bonta, who ran for 86 yards on 13 carries, had two receptions for 76 yards and a TD. …. Cole Bloomquist led Jamestown’s defense with 15 tackles; Tommy Pratton had 13 tackles, including four for loss, and five sacks; and Panebianco had 12 tackles, including three for loss. … Donovan Hubbard intercepted a pass in the third quarter and had a 31-yard return that set up a Bonta TD run. … Ella Propheter continued her fine season by successfully booting all six of her extra-point attempts.

Niagara Falls 14 6 6 6 — 32

Jamestown 14 6 14 14 — 48

JHS–Samuelson 82 kickoff return (Propheter kick)

NF–James 10 run (Hewitt pass from Taylor)

JHS –Bonta 10 run (Propheter kick)

NF– James 15 pass from Taylor (run fail)

JHS–Miller 31 run (run fail)

NF–Taylor 1 run (run fail)

NF–Taylor 1 run (run fail)

JHS–Bonta 40 pass from Carlson (Propheter kick)

JHS–Bonta 13 run (Propheter kick)

JHS–Bonta 1 run (Propheter kick)

JHS–Panebianco 12 pass from Carlson (Propheter kick)

NF–Walker 62 pass from Harris (pass fail)