Topeka ? For nearly three quarters, Ben Balman made Craig Bell look like the Tony Gonzalez of eight-man football.

Balman connected with Bell for two touchdowns, which momentarily gave Veritas Christian a lead Tuesday night against Topeka Cair Paravel.

The Lions eventually caught on to the scheme, though. It was rather obvious that Bell, a 6-foot-4 senior, was Balman’s go-to guy in the red zone. Cair Paravel made it a priority to stop Bell after his second touchdown, and in doing so, defeated Veritas, 48-28, in the Kansas Christian Athletic Assn. state playoffs at Chandler Field.

“He was double-teamed all but once in the second half,” Balman said of Bell. “They were doubling him and made it hard for him to get off the line.”

Bell scored on a 10-yard touchdown the one time the Lions put single coverage on him with 8:39 left in the third quarter. Veritas led, 22-20. But after that point in the game, Bell was a non-factor.

The game proceeded to turn into the Jeremy Wynne show for Cair Paravel (7-2). The sophomore quarterback scored three touchdowns from that point forward on his way to a five-touchdown night.

It came as a bit of a surprise to the Veritas coaching staff. In the previous meeting between the two teams, Cair Paravel won, 40-0, but Wynne didn’t have nearly as big a role. In fact, he didn’t even score.

“He definitely wasn’t someone we were keying on coming into this game,” Veritas coach Doug Bennett said. “He didn’t show any of that the first time.”

VERITAS CHRISTIAN QUARTERBACK BEN BALMAN tries to carry the ball through the Topeka Cair Paravel defense. Cair Paravel earned a 48-28 playoff victory Tuesday night in Topeka.

He showed Houdini-like escapability in the rematch, though. Wynne had a 61-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that easily could have gone for a loss. Veritas defenders grabbed Wynne in the backfield, but he sprung free, spun around to the right side and took it into the end zone.

“The things that hurt us tonight were a couple of turnovers and tackling,” Bennett said. “It’s too late to become better tacklers. We had them for large losses, and they turned them into big gains – sometimes touchdowns.”

Wynne showed signs of inexperience at times, too. Veritas senior defensive back Josh Masrud picked him off twice.

“I just read the quarterback’s eyes the whole time and knew they were on the receiver,” Masrud said. “I just kept the receiver in my peripheral and watched the quarterback.”

Despite its poor tackling, Veritas (4-5) made the game considerably closer than the first meeting. The rematch also felt much closer than the score indicated. For example, the Eagles trailed by 12 with more than nine minutes remaining. Veritas marched down the field, but Balman fumbled on the Cair Paravel 9-yard line.

VERITAS CHRISTIAN QUARTERBACK BEN BALMAN tries to outrun a Topeka Cair Paravel defender. The Eagles saw their season come to an end with Tuesday night's 48-28 playoff loss.

The Lions received the ball with 9:30 left in the game. They milked the clock to perfection and didn’t end the drive until the scoreboard read 2:37. Wynne punched in a 1-yard run to cap the drive.

“Our defense was worn down,” Balman, also a defensive end, said. “They were on the field a long time and I have to take the blame for that.”

Aside from the fumble, Balman played well. He accounted for three touchdowns and frequently led drives deep into Cair Paravel territory.

Although Veritas didn’t advance, Bennett said he wasn’t simply disappointed in the defeat.

“Obviously, you like to win them all,” Bennett said. “Winning is one of our goals. We left everything we had on the field. In the end, if the scoreboard isn’t in our favor, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Topeka Cair Paravel 48, Veritas Christian 28

Topeka Cair Paravel 14 6 14 14 – 48

Veritas 8 8 12 0 – 28

Scoring Summary:

TCP – Ben Iliff 3 run (Jarod Hay pass from Jeremy Wynne)

V – Craig Bell 3 pass from Ben Balman (Ben Reynolds run)

TCP – Wynne 61 run (run failed)

TCP – Hay 36 pass from Wynne (run failed)

V – Balman 3 run (Michael Kay pass from Balman)

V – Bell 10 pass from Balman (pass failed)

TCP – Hay 50 pass from Wynne (run failed)

TCP – Eric Packer 4 run (Jake Copp pass from Wynne)

V – B. Reynolds 29 run (run failed)

TCP – Wynne 1 run (pass failed)

TCP – Wynne 1 run (Wynne run)