KANSAS CITY - Ten seconds from a trip to quarterfinals, Savannah had its playoff hopes ripped away in one of the cruelest ways imaginable.

Savannah's stunned supporters watched in horror as O'Hara receiver Aaron Stubblefield hauled in a 20-yard touchdown strike with 2.9 seconds remaining that gave the Celtics a shocking, 21-16 victory in Class 3 sectional play at Paul Monteil Stadium.

Celtics quarterback TJ White threw two touchdowns in the final 4 minutes to help his team win in the final seconds for the second straight week after doing nearly the same thing to Chillicothe in regionals last week.

"Our kids were ready. We played hard. We played our hearts out," Savannah coach Mark Cole said. "It's a shame that it came down to the fact where we get beat on one play there at the end.

"It's heartbreaking."

Three quarters of physical dominance staked Savannah (8-4) to a lead that looked comfortable enough entering the fourth quarter.

Savannah's workmanlike rushing attack bowled over the Celtics from the start thanks to physical play up and down the offensive line and two standout rushing performances. Quarterback Justin Roach and running back Quinton Peak each piled up more than 100 yards on the ground and helped wear down O'Hara's sizable defensive front.

"We felt like we could run the ball on them," Cole said. "Everybody who blocked up front did a great job tonight, and we just pounded the rock at them."

One drive in particular encapsulated the Savages' rough-and-tumble mentality.

After O'Hara (11-1) scored on the opening drive on the second half, Savannah took the ball on its own 13-yard line with just a one-point lead.

In the next 15 plays, the Savages marched down the field using a balanced run-pass attack and picked up six first downs to drive into the red zone. From the 5-yard line, Peak epitomized his team's work ethic on his second touchdown run of the day.

Stood up at the 1-yard line by a pack of Celtics, Peak somehow churned his way across the goal line that helped Savannah retake control of the game. His touchdown run ended a drive that chewed up 8 minutes, 20 seconds and gave the Savages their swagger back.

"That's one heck of a football team. Those kids are all over the field," O'Hara coach Jim DeMarea said "Our kids couldn't keep up with them for 99 percent of the time.

"I feel for them because they did a super job preparing for us."

But Savannah gave White and his Celtics one too many chances.

The shifty senior signal-caller set the stage for a thrilling finale with a 25-yard touchdown toss to Louis Golden with 3:44 remaining. But Peak swatted down the 2-point conversion attempt to help Savannah hold on to the lead, 16-14.

Following the kickoff, Savannah realistically needed just one first down to seal the victory with O'Hara out of timeouts. Instead, the Savages went three-and-out and punted the ball away with 1:21 left.

"It's tough to not look at it this way, but in a game like this, you cannot look at the what-ifs and the just-one-plays," Cole said. "If you do that, you're going to drive yourself crazy. You've just got to look at the fact that we played great, but we lost."

Just as he did against Chillicothe, White summoned up the magic for one more spectacular drive. Sixty-four yards from his own end zone, White completed a pass on fourth-and-3 that set up the decisive pass to Stubblefield that sealed the game.

Three Savannah players were in the area, but White lobbed a precise pass only Stubblefield could reach.

"We just had to believe. We believe in ourselves," White said. "We just kept our composure like last week. Nobody got too hyped. We just kept our composure and came through."

White's elusive, dual-threat play helped him finish with 210 yards passing, 88 yards rushing and two touchdown passes.

After the ensuing kickoff bounced out of bounds, Cole dialed up a double reverse option pass in hopes of one more miracle. But Blake McFadden's desperation heave was swatted away and ended the season in crushing fashion.

Following a post-game speech from Cole, Savannah's players formed a circle and shared a final moment together at the end of the memorable season that produced the school's second district championship in program history, as well as the school's second playoff victory.

Tears streaming down his face, senior lineman Derek Yost fought his emotions and reflected on his team's best season in more than a decade - a season that he hoped was the start of something much more for the up-and-coming Savages.

"We did everything we could tonight, and sometimes it's not in the cards, you know? We played our game," Yost said. "It's let everybody know. Savannah football is here, and it's going to stay. It's not going anywhere."