NEW PHILADELPHIA: The anguish and pain that the Northwest football program went through this week were almost unbearable.

And the Indians were hoping that a win against Licking Valley on Friday night in the Division III Region 11 regional championship game would at least soothe some of that pain.

It didn't happen.

Licking Valley rallied with a late touchdown for a 21-17 win, handing Northwest (12-1) its first loss of the season.

As the Northwest players gathered near the locker room after the game, being consoled by family, friends, coaches and teammates, a supporter yelled, ''Keep your heads up, guys, you're still champions.''

Considering what the Indians went through, the gentleman who made that statement was right.

Earlier in the week, defensive end Matt Hosking and fullback Frank Steen were injured in a serious head-on car accident, driving different cars and crashing into each other.

They are recovering from their injuries, but the team had a tough time recovering.

''You saw it all week,'' Northwest coach Vic Whiting said. ''We didn't practice well all week. I thought they would jump-start it tonight.''

The Indians did get off to a slow start against Licking Valley. They were able to move the ball against the Panthers (12-1) with an effective mix of runs and passes, but managed only three first-half points: a 43-yard field goal by kicker Chris Koy late in the

first quarter.

Licking Valley took a 7-3 lead with 7:44 left in the second quarter on a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Phillips to Drew Ryan in the left corner of the end zone.

The Panthers threatened to add another score in the final minute and drove deep into Northwest territory, but, with no timeouts, couldn't stop the clock, and time expired.

The Indians' only other scoring threat in the first half ended when running back Dan Beers was stopped a half-yard short on fourth-and-3, and Licking Valley took over at its 20.

''I thought we should've scored 21 points in the first half,'' Whiting said, referring to several missed opportunities.

Northwest was forced to punt on its opening possession of the third quarter, and Licking Valley increased its lead to 14-3 on a 14-yard run by Josh Bailey with 9:35 left in the quarter.

Then the Indians came to life.

Led by Beers (114 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries) quarterback Jimmy Shiplett (11-of-26 for 131 yards and a touchdown) and receiver Paul Hensley (five catches, 62 yards and a touchdown), Northwest fought back.

They scored 14 unanswered points on a 22-yard run by Beers with 6:20 left in the third quarter and a 20-yard touchdown reception by Hensley on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 17-14 lead.

Then came ''The Drive.''

Licking Valley put together an 18-play, 95-yard scoring drive that took up most of the quarter. The winning score came with 2:49 left when running back Storm Klein scored on fourth-and-goal at the 1.

It was a valiant goal-line stand for Northwest, and Klein even looked to be stopped short, but extra effort got him in the end zone.

The Indians still had a shot and moved the ball to the Licking Valley 30, but a desperation pass to the end zone on fourth down in the final minute was knocked down.

''Our guys went through a lot of adversity this week, and they did what they could,'' Whiting said.

''They played hard.''