As the ball floated through the air at Don Breese Stadium, Palmer Ridge’s fan section fell silent as they awaited the result of the play.

The Bears, down to their final play, needed a completion in the fourth quarter on fourth down to remain in the game against No. 5 Broomfield and had seven yards to go.

But the Bears never reached the sticks. The pass hit the turf and Palmer Ridge players returned to their sideline as Broomfield began to celebrate.

Incomplete pass. Turnover on downs. Season over for Palmer Ridge.

The No. 4 Bears dropped their 4A quarterfinals contest 32-23 to Broomfield on Friday night to conclude their year.

“It’s not the result we wanted, but I’m proud of our effort,” coach Zach Carlton said. “We had a couple of guys step up after injuries, but I just wish we could’ve got the job done.”

Late in the second quarter, with 2:20 left in the half, Bears starting quarterback Carson Campbell left the game after injuring his left ankle and did not return to the contest.

Rhett Armstrong filled in at quarterback for the Bears and thrived in the role.

“Ever since our loss to Mesa Ridge, we’ve challenged our guys to be ready in all scenarios,” Carlton said. “We battled some injuries in that game and we battled injuries tonight. They didn’t quit and went hard for all four quarters. Rhett did a great job of stepping up when his number was called.”

Palmer Ridge trailed 18-10 at the break. But midway through the third, Armstrong kept the drive alive with a 39-yard pass completion to Cole Harris on third-and-3 from the Eagles 44.

Jackson Mabe, who finished the night with three rushing touchdowns, punched it in to cut the lead to 18-16 with 6:37 left in the third.

“We always have belief and that never wavered,” Armstrong said. “At halftime we kept telling each other to keep going. We’ve won these games before. It sucks to not pull this one out, but we never gave up.”

The Bears’ final score came with 7:22 left in the game after the Eagles built a 25-16 lead. Armstrong led another masterful drive, 11 plays, 84 yards, where he completed multiple 20-yard passes.

Mabe earned his final rushing touchdown of the night on a 1-yard score on fourth-and-1 from the Eagles 1 to cut the lead to 25-23.

“I’ve taken pride in running scout team all four years at Palmer Ridge,” Armstrong said. “I’ve had a lot of experience running other teams’ offenses in practice. With the way (Broomfield) runs its defense, we knew I might come in and throw … I was thinking it would happen, but we didn’t know it would happen to this extent. I’m just happy I got the chance to air it out for the guys.”

Broomfield pushed the lead to two scores after bleeding the clock late in the game, then getting a 20-yard rushing touchdown with 2:03 on the clock.

Carlton spoke to players postgame about their effort and his pride in watching them battle back despite injuries in the contest. He knows it hurts, but Carlton wants players to use this loss as inspiration for next season.

“It’s a motivating factor for them, at least it should be,” Carlton said.