Despite a furious rally, the Washington Panthers lost to East St. Louis Flyers 34-18 in an Illinois High School Association Class 6A state semifinal Saturday at Babcook Field in Washington.

The No. 3-ranked Panthers (11-2) scored twice in a 60-second stretch of the fourth quarter to get within a possession, but the Flyers answered with a long touchdown run to seal it.

Washington's backup quarterback Masyn Burke and running back Kainon McQueary helped engineer the scoring drives after starting quarterback Tyler Humphrey was sidelined with an injury.

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The loss ends the 19-year career of coach Darrell Crouch, who ends with 156 victories — most all-time in Washington history.

The defending state champion and top-ranked Flyers (11-2) advance to face Cary-Grove (11-2) in the Class 6A championship game, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Illinois State University in Normal.

More coverage of Washington's semifinal season is at the bottom of the updates.

3:15 p.m. — Washington loses the ball on fourth down

One last gasp for Washington ended with a fourth down fumble and own recovery. East St. Louis takes over and will kneel on it for the victory. The Washington fans gave the offense a standing ovation as it walked off the field.

East St. Louis 34, Washington 18 | FINAL

3:06 p.m. — East St. Louis gets a big run

Flyers quarterback Robert Battle broke containment on a pass attempt and darted through the line and 55 yards for a touchdown with 2:50 remaining.

Nearly all the momentum Washington seized with its furious rally evaporated with one big play from Battle.

East St. Louis 34, Washington 18 | 2:50 4Q

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3:00 p.m. — Washington pulls within a possession

Kainon McQueary takes a pitch from Masyn Burke and scores a 5-yard touchdown with 3:53 left. Devin Miller's extra point makes it a one-possession game. They don't get the onside attempt.

East St. Louis 26, Washington 18 | 3:53 4Q

2:57 p.m. — Washington recovers onside kick

Washington's Jase Harlan recovers an onside kick and the Panthers take over at the 40 with 4:35 remaining.

East St. Louis 26, Washington 11 | 4:35 4Q

2:55 p.m. — Washington scores its first touchdown

Washington gets on the board with a 1-yard run from Kainon McQueary, who piled into the endzone off the left side of the offensive line to give the Panthers their first touchdown. Masyn Burke finds Tyler Brown in the end zone for a two-point conversion pass.

East St. Louis 26, Washington 11 | 4:40 4Q

2:48 p.m. — Washington quarterback hurt

Washington quarterback Tyler Humphrey was twisted up on a run with 7:20 remaining and was replaced at QB by Masyn Burke.

2:42 p.m. — East St. Louis adds another touchdown

Quarterback Robert Battle found Jesse Watson for a 4-yard touchdown to extend the lead for East St. Louis, which has taken full control of the game. The two-point try is no good.

East St. Louis 26, Washington 3 | 8:47 4Q

2:35 p.m. — East St. Louis driving at end of third

East St. Louis forced another Washington punt and now is driving as the third quarter clock winded down. The Flyers run game is proving tough to contain.

East St. Louis 20, Washington 3 | Start of 4Q

2:22 p.m. — East St. Louis scores on fourth down

The Flyers convert on fourth down, with quarterback Robert Battle finding Rico Bond for an 8-yard touchdown reception in the middle of the third quarter. ESL has picked up the pace on both sides and seems to be playing with more confidence than in the first half.

East St. Louis 20, Washington 3 | 6:18 3Q

2:04 p.m. — The other semifinal

Cary Grove leads Lake Zurich 14-3 at halftime of the other Class 6A semifinal game. The winner here advances to face the ESL-Washington winner.

1:54 p.m. — Quick half here at Babcook Field

Washington's ball-control offense has this clock rolling. We head into halftime after less than an hour of real-time.

East St. Louis 13, Washington 3 | HALFTIME

1:51 p.m. — Washington misses field goal try

The ball gets away from the holder on a 26-yard field goal attempt and Washington's deficit remains 10 points just before halftime.

East St. Louis 13, Washington 3 | :20 2Q

1:44 p.m. — Washington forces another turnover

Defensive end Garrett Cox strips the ball on the quarterback/running back exchange and gives Washington the ball back on the 36 late in the second quarter.

East St. Louis 13, Washington 3 | 6:30 2Q

1:36 p.m. — ESL extends the lead

Rico Bond catches a 16-yard touchdown pass from Robert Battle to extend ESL's lead. The extra point was missed. The key play on the 48-yard drive was a quarterback scramble from Battle when facing third down and 16 near midfield.

East St. Louis 13, Washington 3 | 9:19 2Q

1:29 p.m. — Washington on the board

Sophomore Devin Miller knocks in a 27-yard field goal to get Washington on the board as the first-quarter horn sounds. The drive was aided by a fourth-down conversion and a personal foul call a few plays later.

East St. Louis 7, Washington 3 | end of 1Q

1:15 p.m. — Washington forces a turnover

After a Washington punt, East St. Louis took over at midfield. Two plays into the drive, the Flyers fumbled and it was recovered by Panthers defensive lineman Noah Bell.

East St. Louis 7, Washington 0 | 8:59 1Q

1:05 p.m. — East St. Louis starts with a bang

Jaion Jackson of East St. Louis returned the opening kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown and the Flyers struck first and fast. Extra point is good for a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game.

East St. Louis 7, Washington 0 | 11:43 1Q

12:55 p.m. — Battle of the marching bands

In a rare occurrence, both teams have their bands at the stadium — including the visiting Flyers. The Washington band is also here in full effect, set up just outside the endzone. They took the field to play the school song and the National Anthem. The ESL band is set up in the visiting bleachers.

12:20 p.m. — Washington and East St. Louis take the field

The Panthers have exited the Panther Plex football building and spilled onto the turf at Babcook Field, circling for warmups. They are dressed in black pants with orange stripes, black jerseys with orange numbers and white trim. They're wearing white helmets with black facemasks.

East St. Louis warms up on the other half, dressed in orange pants with blue and white stripes. Their jerseys are white with blue numbers with orange trim and blue and orange shoulder stripes. They're sporting orange helmets with blue facemasks.

Washington vs. East St. Louis news

• Who's going to win? What to know ahead of the Class 6A semifinal at Babcook Field

• Semi-tough: How Peoria teams have fared in IHSA football semifinals over the last 15 years

• 8 classes, 32 teams: The 2023 IHSA football playoff semifinals by the numbers

• 64 teams, 64 facts: 1 thing to know about each program in the IHSA football playoffs

• East St. Louis quarterfinal: Flyers stop unbeaten Kankakee in quarterfinal victory

• Washington playoffs: First round | Second round | Quarterfinals

• Washington profiles: Kainon McQueary | Coach Darrell Crouch | Eli Papis | Tornado anniversary

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football: Washington vs. East St. Louis in 6A state semifinal