By NICK BEDWAY

WHEELING - During the years, the Linsly-Wheeling Central backyard football rivalry has produced numerous heart-stopping, down-to-the-wire battles.

Friday night's clash at Wheeling Island Stadium just might have topped them all for high drama that ended in a gut-wrenching defeat.

After the Maroon Knights rallied from a 35-14, second-half deficit to pull within a kick of a tie with 9 minutes remaining, Central's Jordan Sorge dropped the high snap but then alertly scooped the ball off the turf and circled left end for what turned out to be the game-winning, 2-point conversion and an improbable 36-35 victory.

Even after this shocking turn of events for the Cadets, Coach B.J. Depew's team kept its dream of an upset alive and twice moved the ball deep into Wheeling Central territory. However, the first possession ended with a fumble that was recovered by the Maroon Knights' Austin Frohnapfel. With just more than a minute remaining the Cadets' fourth-and-4 play was blown up when McKenzie Peluchette dropped Phil Acrie in his tracks behind the line of scrimmage.

''This was a great football game played by two teams who were determined not to lose,'' Central coach Mike Young said. ''It was the perfect backyard brawl. Both teams played their hearts out.

''The football gods have smiled on us a couple of times this year. It happened two weeks ago at Martins Ferry and now against Linsly. This comeback speaks volumes about the character of our kids.''

For Linsly, last night's disappointing defeat marked the second straight game in which it gave away a big lead in the second half. A week ago, the Cadets led the Columbus Crusaders 28-14 with 5 minutes remaining but couldn't hold on.

''Compared to what happened last week, I can't say enough about the way our kids played,'' Depew said. ''There was no letdown this time. They fought to the bitter end and I'm very, very proud of their effort.''

In an offensive shootout that produced 71 points and a combined total of 902 yards, both sides had their share of offensive stalwarts.

The Maroon Knights' Marcus Clifford found the end zone three times, including a 33-yard reception of a pass thrown by Zack Hood and runs of 25 and 14 yards. Hood overcame two interceptions that wound up in the hands of Linsly's Zach Werner to throw for 231 yards and he also connected with Johnny Belancic and Sorge for touchdown strikes of 16 and 39 yards.

Acrie, who didn't get a medical clearance to play until mid-week because of a shoulder injury, played with a passion that even surprised his head coach. The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder displayed an awesome combination of speed and power while rushing 17 times for 144 yards and two touchdowns, covering 60 and 8 yards.

''That is about as emotionally charged as I have ever seen Acrie play,'' Depew said. ''Even with that injured shoulder, he showed what he is capable of doing when he's running with the football.''

Sophomore fullback Mark Dodd powered his way into the end zone from 3 yards out and turned an simple screen pass from Kyle Pytlak into a 91-yard score that gave the Cadets their 21-point lead 1:47 into the second half. Pytlak also had a 12-yard TD toss to Craig Kuhar plus 112 yards rushing on 10 attempts.

Played on the same field that saw Parkersburg South outlast Wheeling Park 77-71 in double-overtime the previous Friday night, the Maroon Knights and Cadets came out determined to stage their own offensive circus.

Linsly drew first blood with an eight-play march that featured three keeper runs covering 51 yards by Pytlak and his fade pass into the end zone on fourth-and-3 that Kuhar hauled in for the TD. John-Michael Brunner kicked the first of his five PATs for a 7-0.

Central needed 2:18 to get the equalizer, which came when Clifford ran a crossing pattern toward the West stands to snag Hood's well-thrown ball for a 33-yard touchdown.

Linsly went up 14-7 on a quick-hitter that saw Acrie show his heels to the Central defense during 60-yard TD, that was matched by Clifford's 25-yard run with 3:06 left before halftime.

But the fired up Cadets scored two more times in that short span to go up 28-14. Pytlak broke off a 43-yard run, setting up Dodd's blast up the middle from the 3 for a 21-14 Linsly advantage.

Hood's 31-yard completion to Alex Gompers had Central thinking tying TD again but Werner jumped a route over the middle for his first interception followed by a spectacular 74-yard interception return inside the Central 10. It took just one play for Acrie to take a pitchout and sweep the right side for an 8-yard score.

At halftime, Young tried to rally his troops.

''I told them, 'hey guys, we have to win the second half.' We scored 34 points in one quarter this year, so 28-14 was not out of your reach.''

It looked good at the outset of the third quarter when Linsly had trouble fielding the kickoff and had to start from its 6.

However, on third down at the 9, Pytlak hit Dodd with a little screen pass coming out of the backfield and, thanks to a couple of outstanding blocks on the corner, he quickly found himself racing down the sideline all alone for an easy touchdown, stretching the lead to 35-14.

After an exchange of punts, Central trimmed its deficit back to two scores as Hood stepped up into the pocket and found Belancic running an inside route for a 16-yard touchdown at the 4:40 mark of the third quarter.

The Maroon Knights quickly got the ball back and needed only five plays to drive 76 yards, the touchdown coming when Hood connected with Sorge running a fly pattern along the right sideline from 39 yards away to make it a 35-28 game with 1:11 still to play.

Linsly's next possession ended with a three-and-out with Central taking over after a short punt on its own 47. Sorge dashed for 26 yards and Hood later ran a keeper for a first down at the Cadets 14. On the next play, Clifford took a direct snap and didn't stop until reaching the end zone.

The came the attempt for the game-tying extra point. However, the high snap dropped from Sorge's hands to the turf. But he was able to turn disaster into success by picking up the ball and using his speed to outrun the defense to the goal line. The 2-pointer gave Central its first lead and the defense made it stand up when it counted the most.