HARLAN, Iowa -- One bad break after another didn't stop the Crusaders of Bishop Heelan from believing they could pull off a minor miracle.

And, by the time they were officially dethroned as Iowa's Class 3A state football champion, it was almost difficult to believe they didn't get the job done.

Sophomore Luke Musich's pass interception in the end zone with 34 seconds to play foiled a potential game-tying drive and let Harlan hang on Friday night for a dramatic 21-14 state quarterfinal playoff win.

In a game the Merrill Field public address announcer called "one of the best high school games you're ever going to see,'' Heelan very nearly overcame three costly fumbles and a 99-yard Harlan kickoff return.

Nonetheless, the last of four Crusader turnovers on the night enabled the tradition-rich Cyclones to advance to the state semifinals for the first time in four years.

Not since 1977 had Harlan fallen short of the semis three years in a row and Heelan had been responsible for the last two of three consecutive quarterfinal losses for a program that boasts a state-record 11 state championships.

Coach Curt Bladt, architect of 10 of those titles, saw his team capitalize on Heelan's turnovers while improving to 12-0 and backing up a 24-6 win from an early season matchup on this same field Sept. 4.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy,'' said Bladt. "Their quarterback did a super job and their receivers caught the ball well. We were able to come up with a couple of key turnovers. Sometimes you've got to have a little bit of luck to go along with a little bit of skill.''

Heelan quarterback Zach McCabe, committed to playing basketball at Iowa, went out in a blaze of glory in his final football game. The 6-7, 210-pounder completed 29 of 34 passes for 390 yards before his 35th and final attempt on a second-and-two from the Harlan 17-yard line was picked off by Musich.

"I thought he (Musich) was going to go more inside (on coverage),'' said a tearful McCabe, who finished his record-setting senior season 170 of 277 for 2,461 yards and 21 touchdowns. "I loved playing football. It's going to be hard to let it go.''

That included one TD each Friday to the Berger twins, Nick and Nate.

Nick, eight seconds younger than Nate, the anchorman on Heelan's Class 3A state record-setting 4x400 relay team from last spring, turned a short throw into a 66-yard touchdown play that opened the scoring with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

It was just the beginning of a phenomenal night for the talented wide receiver, who finished with 16 catches for 247 yards and capped his senior year with 69 catches for 982 yards.

Nate Berger's 42-yard scoring play, meanwhile, launched the Heelan comeback bid in earnest with 5:53 remaining in the game. He backed up his brother's huge numbers with six catches for 80 yards.

After needing four plays to speed 71 yards and pull within 21-14, Heelan surrendered two first downs before getting the ball back at its 19 with 1:22 left and no timeouts remaining.

McCabe hit Brady Van Dusen for a 23-yard gainer, then found Nick Berger for a 33-yarder at the Harlan 25. An eight-yard pass to Nate Berger followed, but then came the game-icing interception.

In the interim, rather remarkably, Harlan had scored all three of its touchdowns in the space of just two minutes and 26 seconds.

First came a tying score on Adam Cave's five-yard catch from Michael Kaufmann with 2:10 left in the first half. One play earlier, Kaufmann's fourth-and-four pass to Luke Lansman had been his first completion for positive yards, a very clutch 23-yarder to keep the 80-yard march alive.

Just when Harlan was feeling a bit fortunate to have tied it up, Heelan's Preston Ives, who had returned four kickoffs for touchdowns this fall, had the ensuing kick yanked from his grasp and recovered by Harlan's Anthony Hough at the Heelan 26.

Getting help from a pass interference penalty, as they did on the preceding drive, the Cyclones punched home a go-ahead score with a five-yard keeper from Kaufmann with 20 seconds left in the half.

Then, when Harlan's Brian Kloewer returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, Heelan might very well have folded its tent, suddenly trailing 21-7.

"We squandered some opportunities, but these guys never quit,'' said Heelan Coach Roger Jansen, whose team's only losses in a 10-2 campaign were both as guests of top-ranked Harlan. "I think that goes to the character of these kids. I thank them for letting me be a part of it.''

Earlier, Jansen's team had a 7-0 lead and a chance for a two-touchdown advantage after a tipped pass was intercepted by Justin Baker at the Harlan 25. One play later, though, on just the third snap of the second quarter, Harlan separated the ball from sophomore tailback Michael Malloy, denying that Heelan bid.

The third and final fumble was charged to McCabe after Heelan responded to Kloewer's kickoff return by completing passes on its first six plays of the second half. The drive, which included a 14-yard halfback pass from Van Dusen to McCabe, covered 71 yards to the Harlan one-yard line. And, that's where McCabe, believing he had reached the ball over the goal line on a second-down sneak, had it knocked from his grasp.

"I swear I had it stretched over the goal line and that guy just punched it out,'' said McCabe.

"That's kind of what we saw,'' concurred Jansen. "Obviously, the powers to be didn't see it that way.''

Heelan finished with a 390-244 advantage in total yards, piling up 404 through the air while finishing 14 yards in the red in the rushing department. That's where Harlan held sway, netting 185 yards between tailback Dylan Barrett along with Kaufmann and 6-4, 245-pound fullback/linebacker Matt Hoch, an Iowa football recruit.

Harlan 21, Heelan 14

Heelan 7 0 0 7 -- 14

Harlan 0 14 7 0 -- 21

First Quarter

Heelan: Nick Berger 66 pass from Zach McCabe (Zach Maxey kick) 4:14

Second Quarter

Harlan: Adam Cave 5 pass from Michael Kaufmann (Trent Wendt kick) 2:10

Harlan: Kaufmann 5 run (Wendt kick) 0:20

Third Quarter

Harlan: Brian Kloewer 99 kickoff return (Wendt kick) 11:44

Fourth Quarter

Heelan: Nate Berger 42 pass from McCabe (Maxey kick) 5:53

TEAM STATISTICS

Heelan Harlan

First downs 17 14

Rushes-yards 13-(-14) 48-185

Passing yards 404 59

Passes 30-36-1 5-12-1

Total plays-yards 49-390 60-244

Punts-average 2-52-5 5-43.2

Fumbles-lost 4-3 0-0

Penalties-yards 4-33 0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Heelan -- Michael Malloy 6-11, Zach McCabe 6-(-23), Team 1-(-2). Harlan -- Dylan Barrett 23-69, Matt Hoch 14-68, Michael Kaufmann 10-48, Team 1-(-1).

PASSING: Heelan -- Zach McCabe 29-35-1--390, Brady Van Dusen 1-1-0--14. Harlan -- Michael Kaufmann 5-12-1--59.

RECEIVING: Heelan -- Nick Berger 16-247, Nate Berger 6-80, Preston Ives 3-28, Michael Malloy 2-4, Brady Van Dusen 1-23, Zach McCabe 1-14, Derek Tigges 1-8. Harlan -- Matt Hoch 2-21, Luke Lansman 1-23, Joey Buman 1-10, Adam Cave 1-(-5).