KING CITY, Mo. - A long run from Christian Robbins on a jet sweep. A couple of King City penalties. A smattering of short completions.

Nothing overwhelming from Mid-Buchanan's

offense.

But when Christian Robbins capped a 17-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown reception, the Dragons led King City for the first time. The score, 3.4 seconds from halftime, started a streak of 24 unanswered points from Mid-Buchanan.

What started so inconspicuously morphed into a 24-12 Mid-Buchanan win in Wednesday night's Class 1 regional at Wehrli Field.

"It was a little ugly," said Mid-Buchanan quarterback Drew Gray, who started 2 of 9 passing but finished 9 of 20 and added two second-half rushing touchdowns. "That was a huge momentum shift, but that broke us loose and gave us that momentum."

The comeback win gave Mid-Buchanan (7-4) the second postseason victory in school history, first since 2003 - the Dragons' only previous trip to the playoffs. After nearly missing the playoffs with a loss in the district finale, Mid-Buchanan plays North Platte (7-4) in a rematch of that defeat during Monday's sectional round in Dearborn.

The Dragons' playoff run nearly ended in a stagnant first half of offense.

Holding the ball for 4:05 in the first quarter with a measly 15 yards of offense, Mid-Buchanan found itself behind 6-0 after King City scored on its opening possession with a big play. Ethan Hall hauled in a short pass on a third-and-5, outjumping three Mid-Buchanan players for a fluttering Dalton Workman pass.

After reeling it in, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior turned up the visitor's sideline for a 67-yard catch-and-run score.

Mid-Buchanan continued to struggle, even after Robbins picked off a Workman pass early in the second quarter. He returned it 56 yards to King City's 17, but the Dragons managed only one positive yard on three plays and settled for a 33-yard Adam Burkart field goal.

King City then went three-and-out on its next possession and gave Mid-Buchanan the ball on a punt. The Dragons started with 5:36 left on their own 21.

On the second play of that drive, Robbins ran 14 yards for the team's first first down. The drive continued for 14 more plays with 9 yards in King City penalties aiding Mid-Buchanan, along with a fourth-down conversion on a 9-yard pass to Brett Pierce.

After a pass interference put Mid-Buchanan at King City's 4, Gray needed only one play to find Robbins on a short out route and a sure touchdown.

Mid-Buchanan accrued 69 of its 85 yards of offense on the march with Gray going 4-for-5 for 28 yards.

Suddenly trailing 10-6, King City didn't gain another first down until the fourth quarter, and the Wildkats didn't enter Mid-Buchanan's territory during the third quarter. King City's second possession ended on a failed fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak, turning the ball over to Mid-Buchanan at the Wildkats' 41.

"I gambled a little bit," King City coach Anthony Hays said. "And maybe you think what if I punted there. I feel like I put my team in a bind there. But if we would have got it, it would've been a great play call."

Three plays later, Gray scrambled from the left side of the field back to the right on a busted pass play, scampering 30 yards for the score and a 17-6 lead.

King City again went three-and-out, and even after a holding penalty backed Mid-Buchanan to its own 42, Tyler Marable immediately broke off a 45-yard run. Gray scored from 10 yards out two plays later.

Mid-Buchanan struggled to close out the win, turning it over twice on its final three possessions, once on a Gray interception, the other on a fumbled exchange from Gray and Marable that he picked up only to fumble again.

The fumble set up a one-play, 7-yard scoring drive to provide the final margin.

"I think the kids looked at the scoreboard and went, 'We're close to wrapping this thing,' and they got kind of tense," said Mid-Buchanan coach Dave Rapp, who saw the Dragons recover the ensuing onside kick and run out the final 1:44. "We do have some things we have to clean up at the end of the game, but hopefully, we'll take care of that."

Even the sloppy finish closed out King City's 8-3 season that included a second straight district title, but for a second straight year, the Wildkats failed to win a playoff game - this time with a senior-laden group.