By Dee Grenert Correspondent
BREMEN — Bremen kicker Justin Nick delivered just in the nick of time.
Nick booted a 30-yard field goal with 11.8 seconds left in the final frame to lift the Lions to a 3-0 Class 2A Sectional 26 semifinal win over visiting Garrett at muddy Don Bunge Field Friday.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound senior lineman and kicker missed two previous field-goal attempts, but tucked the game-winning blast safely inside the right upright with plenty to spare, sending the Lions to next Friday’s sectional final round at Fairfield.

“(Teammate) Cody Barrier told me before that last play, ‘You’re the most clutch person I know, other than me,” Nick said, chuckling. “I was thinking about what he said as I went out there. I had two chances before then. The first one was blocked, the second I shanked, and my coach always tells me, ‘Head down, straight through,’ so I was thinking about that.
“I have to thank God, too,” he added. “I was saying Philippians 4:13 over and over in my mind: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. By the grace of God it went through and we get to go to Fairfield next week to play the Falcons for a sectional championship.”
With overtime an ever-growing possibility as both teams struggled  with a field that looked more like a mud pit than a playing surface, as well as occasional monsoon conditions, the Lions started their last possession on the Garrett 47 with 5:10 left to play in the game.
Bremen converted a trio of third downs — a pair of short Brock Molebash gains up the middle with a 9-yard scamper off the right side from senior Eryk Zimmerman sandwiched in between — to set up Nick’s field goal.Sophomore quarterback Nate Leeper also completed a 7-yard pass to senior Drew Bennitt down the right side to push the ball inside the Garrett 15.
“I’m really proud of our seniors,” Bremen head coach Richard Moren said. “In that last drive Eryk Zimmerman, a senior, made some key runs. We had a couple of senior linemen doing a great job running the wedge to set up the field goal, and then Justin Nick, a senior, punched it through. We hung in there, and the seniors stepped up and cashed it in.”
The Railroaders returned the ensuing kickoff to the Bremen 38 with  
2.4 ticks left on the clock. With Garrett’s receivers blanketed down field on the final play, quarterback Spencer Burns rolled left, and then turned up field. When Molebash came up to deliver the presumptive game-ending hit, Burns pitched back where Bremen linebacker Braxston Miller slid to cover up the loose ball, ending the game and setting off a wild celebration for a Bremen team that entered the postseason with just a single win.
“These guys have done a good job not buying into what everyone else is saying,” Moren said. “When you only win one game in the regular season, it’s tough. We have people encouraging us, don’t get me wrong. These guys have stayed focused, blocked out distractions and done a good job sticking with our game plan. The talent’s there. Putting it together has taken some time. I’m excited to have the opportunity to play for a sectional championship.”
Defensively, the Lions ceded just 60 yards in total offense and four first downs to the visitors. Senior Cody Barrier recovered a fumble and blocked two punts for the Lions, while Zimmerman, Molebash and Garrett Hiester figured prominently in the shutout.
Meanwhile, Molebash slogged out 63 rushing yards on 18 carries, including a couple of big gains that helped Bremen travel all the way to the Garrett 5 during its first possession that ended with a blocked field goal.
The adverse conditions, though, clearly hampered both offenses as both struggled with footing, and a gusty breeze made anything through the air tricky.
“It was tough,” Moren said of the elements. “I thought maybe the rain would help offset the size advantage that Garrett had. We wanted to throw the ball more, but even with the wind it was hard to throw. It was blowing more at a crosswind. It was tough.
“I thought in the first half Garrett’s special teams outplayed us,” Moren, whose team had a punt blocked in the first half, continued.  
“We challenged our special teams at halftime. They responded in the second half.”
• CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 26
   BREMEN 3,
   GARRETT 0
At Bremen
Score by quarters
Garrett:   0  0  0  0 — 0
Bremen: 0  0  0  3 — 3
Scoring summary
Fourth quarter
B — Justin Nick 30 FG, 11.8.
Team stats: G B
First downs:         4         11
Rushing yards:     60       101
Passing yards:      0         26
Passing:                 1-4      3-9-1
Fumbles-lost:       4-2      1-0
Punting:               8-25    4-23
Penalties:             4-40    3-15
Individual stats
Garrett
Rushing: Zac McCray 12-29, Spencer Burns 10-26.
Passing: Burns 1-4, 0 yards.
Receiving: McCray 1-0.
Bremen
Rushing: Brock Molebash 18-63, Nate Leeper 12-21, Eryk Zimmerman 4-19.
Receiving: Zimmerman 2-19, Drew Bennitt 1-7.
Records: Garrett 6-5 (final), Bremen 3-8.