LA GRANDE — Everyone who was on the East roster at the 8-man all-star football game Friday, June 23, at Community Stadium, lost the last time they stepped on the field last fall.

That made it a bit redemptive when Powder Valley’s Cole Martin hauled in a fourth-down touchdown catch with 57 seconds to play and his high school teammate, Cade Lind, recorded a sack on the final play to seal a tight 20-18 victory for the East.

“It felt great,” said Lind, who was named the East’s defensive player of the game. “That last game we had, it was a heartbreaker. It’s hard to go out like that when you’re expecting to go back to the state championship, but you just come up short, so this was a great game to come back and win and polish off our high school career.”

Lind and Martin were among five Badgers on the all-star squad — along with Cooper Secl, Braxton Golar and Logan Profitt — who were bounced from last year’s playoffs by Lost River, the eventual 8-man state champions, in the semifinals. But Cove, Elgin and Enterprise were among local teams who had a similar fate — a loss in the playoffs or in the regular season finale that left a bitter taste — who had athletes on the team Friday: Patrick Frisch of Cove, Joe Lathrop of Elgin, and both Caden Fent and Chase Duncan of Enterprise.

“There’s only one team that gets to end their season on a win, unless you don’t make the playoffs,” Frisch said. “It’s tough to go out like that, but to be back to come back and play with those guys and have a fun, competitive last game and come out with the W, it was really fun for me.”

That victory was in serious peril down the stretch for the East, which led 14-12 throughout a second half that was scoreless until Andreas Villanueva of Myrtle Point scooped up a fumble and returned it 77 yards for a West score and a 18-14 lead with 5:50 to play.

The East, which could have put the game out of reach with a score, now needed a touchdown to keep its hopes alive. The East ate up 4:39 in driving 53 yards on 11 plays, but was faced with a fourth down at the West 7 with 1:05 to play.

On the ensuing play, Crane’s Jared Zander, whose fumble Villanueva had returned for a lead, got some in-game redemption. The quarterback rolled right, looked for a target, then zipped a pass to Martin, who was diving back toward him. He caught the pass, bobbled it, and then waited to see what the call would be. One referee initially called the pass incomplete, but he was overruled by another who said Martin had kept his hands under the ball and signaled a touchdown for the lead.

“We were trying to clear it out for an end drag across,” Martin, the player of the game, said of the go-ahead play. “I was dragging across, I looked back and I see that (Zander is) covered. I started drifting that way naturally, thinking he’s covered, and he ends up throwing it to me. I bobbled it, and then got my hand barely underneath it and touchdown, it worked out good in the end.”

While the call was initially ruled incomplete before being overturned, Martin said he had no doubt he caught it.

“I’ll go to my grave saying that was a catch,” he said.

Lind sealed the redemption for the East athletes a few anxious moments later. The West drove 52 yards in a flash, and with 11 seconds to go, took its last time out after a Villanueva 27-yard catch — somewhat redemptive after he had dropped two walk-in touchdown catches earlier in the game.

But the East brought pressure on the last play, and Lind sacked Perrydale’s Wyatt Burg with Frisch right on his tail to secure the win.

The final play was a microcosm of the game from a defensive standpoint, with the East getting strong defensive efforts from several players, among them Lind, Frisch, Lathrop and Duncan.

“The defense was great. We had really strong guys up front, really strong guys in the back,” Lind said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team to play defense with. We all did our parts. It was amazing to watch.”

Many of the athletes on the East squad were playing with players from teams that either eliminated them, or who they eliminated last fall. Indeed, that reality of playing with athletes who prior may have been seen as enemies was quickly set aside as the foes became friends to seek one final win.

“You never get to see their side,” Martin said. “You hate them when you’re playing against them, but this week, (we saw it was) a great bunch of guys. I love every single one of them. We’re going to continue to have relationships. It was just good to get to know them. You’ve been playing against them, hating their guts, and then you realize theyre a bunch of cool guys.”

Lind called the experience of playing with the other players “different,” but added, “we made some great bonds. It was really cool to have them, come out here, and play together instead of being enemies.”

Frisch felt the same way.

“You kind of grow up hating them, you think they’re a jerk or whatever, but once you get to know them, they’re all really great guys,” he said. “It’s fun when all those competitive guys can come together on one team and bring all that competitive nature into a game.”

The game’s conclusion, aided by its redemptive ending, capped a great week of returning to the football field, according to Martin.

“One of the funnest weeks I’ve ever had,” he said.