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Outside a mass of jubilant teammates, Seneca Valley senior Xavier Hughes' expression was the most fitting, perfect image of the 48 minutes of football that had just been.

The unbeaten Screaming Eagles (11-0 record) persevered like they hadn't had to all season, rallying from a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to nip rival Damascus, 27-26, in the Class 3A West Region semifinals. And there was Hughes, a three-year starting defensive back, staring out into space by himself.

And he just kept standing there for about a minute, not moving, not making any expression at all. He was in shock.

"Oh my God, oh my God," he said. "We can't have another one of these. No, we can't. This was just … man. We played like champions."

In a season that will be defined — in-house, at least — by whether it wins a state championship, Seneca came within an eyelash of watching its title shot go down the drain. After taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, it saw the visiting Hornets (7-4) score 26 unanswered points.

The onslaught began when safety Jason Lee picked off Eagles quarterback George Lerch and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown. Superb senior kicker Marc Magas missed the extra point — which proved costly in the end — but the Hornets cut the lead to two before halftime after Brian Lucas ran to pay dirt from 4 yards out.

The third quarter then became the Lucas show, as he destroyed Seneca out of the now-famous "Wildcat" formation. On the third play of the second half, he burst up the middle and sped to a 76-yard touchdown, also running for the 2-point conversion and a 20-14 lead.

On the Hornets' next drive, he gashed the county's top defense for a 32-yard run, setting up an 11-yard touchdown from quarterback Connor Frazier to receiver Kane Brenneman.

For the game, Lucas ran for 178 yards, 154 coming in the second half.

"We didn't know how to guard him," said Hughes. "He has speed and power."

Added running back C.J. Jones, who rushed for 111 yards himself: "He's like Mike Alstott with speed."

But the Eagles aren't the region's top seed for nothing. They fought back, getting the momentum-changer when Lerch threw an out route that was tipped and finally caught by sophomore Dimitri Parker, who zigzagged for 58 yards to the Damascus 13-yard line. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Lerch sneaked in from the 2 to cut the lead to 26-21.

Three minutes later, senior cornerback/running back Joe Rankin — who was momentarily knocked out of the game on a vicious hit by Lucas — caught a third-and-5 screen and broke several tackles en route to the game-winning 20-yard touchdown.

But the game wasn't clinched until the game's final drive. The Hornets got the ball back one final time with just over 2 minutes to go at their own 35. Frazier's first-down scramble on fourth-and-10 evoked memories of the week before, when he completed three fourth-down passes en route to a playoff-qualifying come-from-behind win over Paint Branch.

After a sack and two incompletions, Frazier lobbed a fade down the right hash mark to Brenneman, who caught the game-winning score the week before. But it sailed over his right shoulder and out of bounds, allowing the Eagles to clinch the game.

Despite failing to defend their Class 3A state championship, the Hornets have plenty of reason to believe they could take the road back to prosperity next year. Their top skill-position players are back next year: Frazier will be just a junior. His most explosive target, Brandon Phelps, will as well. Lucas, who finished with 1,162 yards and 14 touchdowns, will also be back for another year.

"We felt after the first game [a 13-7 loss in which Frazier did not play], we could play with them, and I guess we showed we could," Damascus coach Eric Wallich said. "We're definitely excited about the future. We've got good JV players coming back and a good core."

They Eagles host Urbana, the region's No. 2 seed, in the 3A West Region final Friday at 7 p.m. The Hawks advanced with a 3-0 first-round victory over No. 3 Tuscarora.

"I'm happier than I've ever been," Seneca Valley coach Fred Kim told his players after the game, "but mission not accomplished."