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With time expiring and his team trailing the DuVal High School football team by eight points in the midst of a torrential downpour, Northwestern High School quarterback Diamond Hansford trudged through the muddy pocket, pulled his arm back and heaved a Hail Mary pass toward the end zone.

The wet ball, however, slipped out of his hand and fell into the arms of DuVal defensive back Hillman Degoh well short of the goal line.

The final play of the County 4A League game epitomized Northwestern's struggles with the weather on Saturday. Sloppy play largely caused by a steady second half rain saw Northwestern twice spot DuVal with excellent field position. The Tigers took advantage, scoring touchdowns on both possessions to come back for a 14-6 victory. DuVal improved to 4-4 with the win.

"We talked about ball security, and we talked about holding two hands on the ball," said Northwestern coach Bryan Pierre, whose team slipped to 2-6. "We ran some of our base plays. We had a game plan for the rain, but the rain game plan didn't work."

Moving the ball efficiently on offense while keeping visiting DuVal scoreless, the Wildcats took a 6-0 lead into halftime on the strength of an early 5-yard touchdown run by Augustine Sahr.

"We haven't been up a lot this year," Pierre said. "We had a decent game plan put together for what we thought we could do, and it was working in the first half."

The intermittent light showers of the first half turned into a driving rain during the halftime break, quickly transforming Northwestern's grass surface into a maze of puddles and mud.

"We feel like we're a running team, so we thought it would help us," said DuVal coach Dameon Powell. "We actually prepared for the rain. We put the ball in the bucket, and got it all wet all week. So it didn't hurt us as much."

Pierre said his players thought having played their last game against Henry A. Wise in the rain would help them deal with the conditions, but that was not the case.

Midway through the third quarter, a short snap bounced through the mud to Northwestern punter Derek Amenyendor, who couldn't get a firm grasp on the wet ball. Amenyendor eventually resorted to kicking the ball off the ground for a punt that traveled -1 yard.

DuVal running back Marcus Jackson broke to the left side of the field on the next play, freeing himself for a 56-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers ahead, 7-6. Jaquan Perry later returned a fumble to the Northwestern 12-yard line, and quarterback Ricardo Smith scored on a 10-yard run as DuVal made it 14-6.

The Tigers had their fair share of problems with the conditions, as well. They fumbled the ball three times in the second half, turning it over once. But Northwestern didn't take advantage of that turnover, going three-and-out on the ensuing possession.

Trying to mount a comeback with time winding down in the fourth quarter, Northwestern quarterback Guillermo Herrera lost his grip on the ball while evading a DuVal blitz. Tigers' defensive end Jaquan Perry picked up the loose ball and took it to the Northwestern 12-yard line, setting up Ricardo Smith's 10-yard touchdown run.

"That turnover at the end really put the nail in our coffin," Pierre said. "That really hurt us."