A fourth-quarter rally fell short for the Albert Lea Grizzlies Saturday at Grizzly Field in Frank Hall Park.

The defending Southern Plains Football League champion South Central Hawgs held on to top the Grizzlies 22-15.

Albert Lea scored the first points of the game with 45.2 seconds left in the first quarter on a screen pass from Tony Tolbers to Lamar Sayles.

The Hawgs responded by driving into Albert Lea territory, but Dustin Peterson gave the ball back to the Grizzlies when he grabbed his second interception of the afternoon.

“Our corners have been playing absolutely phenomenal,” said Albert Lea defensive coordinator Jeff Jimenez. “I’m really proud of them. They were staying home and not biting on the stuff these guys run.”

After a 32-yard pass to Sayles, Albert Lea’s drive stalled, the Hawgs drove into the red zone on a 30-yard catch and run by Storm Soto with 35 seconds left in the half. Peterson made a touchdown-saving tackle on the 1-yard line with 3.6 seconds left, but South Central used a dive play to punch the ball into the end zone and tie the game 7-7 at halftime.

The Hawgs took their first lead in the third quarter, 14-7. They tried to build on that lead, but a fumble recovery by Peterson and a pick by Talamantes helped the Grizzlies halt their momentum.

With 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, South Central’s defense stopped a promising drive by the Grizzlies by intercepting a pass by Tolbers in the end zone. However, as South Central neared the red zone, a fumble recovery by Talamantes gave Albert Lea the ball back.

Sammie Rucker Jr. cashed in on the turnover for the Grizzlies with a 51-yard touchdown run over the right side of the line with 7 minutes, 16 seconds left in regulation.

“Once I got past the line of scrimmage, I just saw all green,” Rucker said. “Trent Leesch and Lamar Sayles had the hole open for me, and I was able to cut through it and go.”

Grizzlies’ offensive coordinator George Gerdes decided to roll the dice on the extra point. Tolbers found Marquis Shaw in the end zone to make the two-point conversion successful, and Albert Lea took a 15-14 lead.

“We thought they’d be expecting us to run, so we had a better chance to get the ball in the end zone by throwing,” Gerdes said. “We didn’t want another overtime game.”

However, the air was taken out of Albert Lea’s sails on the next play. The Hawgs returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to take the lead back, and Trey Diggs plowed into the end zone on the two-point conversion.

The Grizzlies mounted a drive into South Central territory with less than four minutes left, but a Hawgs defender hit Tolbers from behind and caused a fumble that South Central recovered.

“All-in-all, it was a good game,” Jimenez said. “It’s always a good game against these guys. One of these times, we’re going to get them. We’ve still got half the season left. Last year at this time we were 0-2, and then we ended up running the table the rest of the year and taking second in the conference.”

Next, Albert Lea (2-2 overall) plays at 4 p.m. Saturday at the North Iowa Bucks at Rockwell Campus Field. The Bucks (0-3) have lost their last two games by a combined score of 103-0.