Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Springfield’s MaCoy Krick (7) hauls in a 42-yard TD pass over Tracy-Milroy-Balaton defender Julius Williams (16) in the first half of the Tigers’ Section 3A playoff football game at Riverside Park on Saturday. TMB won 29-19.

SPRINGFIELD — A tough defense and a balanced offense led third-seeded Tracy-Milroy-Balaton past second-seeded Springfield 29-19 on Saturday afternoon in a Section 3A semifinals playoff football game at Riverside Park.

While Springfield made its share of big plays in the first half, TMB buckled down and held the Tigers to one TD in the second half, a 3-yard TD grab in the end zone by Ashtin Johnson on fourth down late in the third quarter. Ashtin Johnson also had 71 yards rushing during the game.

TMB answered back on its next drive, marching down the field and going up 22-19 after a 10-yard TD run up the middle by Ayden Horner, who had three TD runs in the game.

With the Panthers in possession of the football late and the Tigers’ defense looking to get its offense back on the field, Horner broke away on third-and-11 for a 37-yard TD run with 1:53 left in the game.

Trailing 29-19 and without any timeouts left, the Tigers had to go back to work in a hurry. After a completion, senior quarterback Brendon Buerkle was forced to throw on the run on his next pass and was intercepted by Caden Anderson, allowing the Panthers to kneel the remaining clock away.

While the TMB defense made things tough for Buerkle and picked him off four times, Buerkle ended up throwing for 304 yards and three TDs.

Despite the turnovers, the Tigers’ defense kept things close for most of the game.

Caleb Hauger racked up 13 tackles to lead the Springfield defense, while Ashton Toll had 11 tackles and an interception in the second quarter. MaCoy Krick forced a fumble also for the Tigers, while Buerkle recovered a fumble.

Springfield co-head coach Adam Meyer said that TMB was a physical team that just made a few more plays.

“Hats off to their team,” Meyer said. “They play very physical, and I thought that our kids stepped up and played really well, played hard the whole game. [TMB] made a few more plays than we did and came out on top.”

The Tigers’ first two offensive drives of the game ended in turnovers after TMB’s 6-foot-3 defensive back Christian Wendland picked off Buerkle twice. Wendland ended up intercepting Buerkle a third time on a deep ball early in the fourth quarter.

Springfield’s defense held TMB at bay after Wendland’s first two interceptions, however, and allowed its offense to score first on a 76-yard, catch-and-run TD by Carter Olson. Olson ended the game with 11 catches for 167 yards.

The PAT by Hauger gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 3:33 left in the opening quarter.

TMB recovered a Springfield fumble in the second quarter and took an 8-7 lead after a 15-yard TD run by Ayden Horner and a two-point conversion run by Caden Johnson with 6:46 to go in the half.

A big kickoff return by Sam Pidde to midfield ended up leading to a 42-yard TD pass to Krick. The PAT was blocked and Springfield led 13-8 with 4:58 left in the half.

The Panthers ended the half strong after receiving a punt with 52 seconds left in the half at their own 46. They drove the field and after a pass put the ball on the Tigers’ 3-yard line, they got a timeout just in time with .4 left on the clock. The Panthers managed to put the ball in the end zone as time expired on a run by Caden Johnson. The PAT was good, giving TMB the 15-13 advantage at halftime.

“We’re really just thankful for our kids and the buy-in that they have and how hard they played for us all season,” Meyer said. “We lose a great senior group with outstanding leaders and people that are going to do great things. We also bring back a lot of talent coming forward here and we’re looking forward to building on to this and the legacy the seniors left behind and continuing forward with that.”

The Tigers end their season with a 7-3 record, while TMB (8-2) will play Friday against Murray County Central in the Section 3A finals.