LISBON — Quincy Thompson knew the ball was heading his way.

“All I was doing was focusing on the ball,” the 5-foot-8 Lisbon High School sophomore wide receiver said. “It was all I could see. There were a lot of nerves going through me. I just saw the ball.”

Thompson saw it all the way into his hands, shook off a Winslow defender and dove into the end zone to finish off an improbable play in an improbable 34-22 comeback victory over Winslow in a Campbell Conference Class C quarterfinal game Saturday at Thompson Field.

The Greyhounds improve to 7-2 and will play at top-seed Yarmouth (9-0) on Friday. No. 5 Winslow ends the season at 6-3.

The 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zack Splude, which came with 30.5 seconds left in the game, snapped a 22-22 tie.

“Crazy,” Splude said of the game-winning touchdown. “It was a hell of a game. I’m so amazed we won. When I threw it, I was just thinking, ‘Catch the ball, catch the ball.’ There wasn’t much time left. (Thompson) just laid out for it. It was amazing. It’s always crazy down here in Lisbon. Special things happen here.”

No. 4 Lisbon (7-2), which tacked on another score on an interception return in the closing seconds, scored 27 points in the fourth quarter. The Greyhounds outscored No. 5 Winslow 34-8 in the second half to storm into the conference semifinals.

“We talked about playing four quarters and we didn’t do it,” Winslow coach Mike Siviski said. “We just didn’t do it. Playoff (defeats) are always tough.”

The Black Raiders led 14-0 at the half.

“That was one of the better high school football games I’ve seen in a long time,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “We had a nice comeback in the second half. It’s tough because somebody has to win a game like this and somebody had to lose it.”

Splude, who made one magnificent play after another in the second half, rushed for a game-high 122 yards and threw for 88 more, completing seven of his 16 passes. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more.

His biggest completion came on his last attempt of the game on a strike to Thompson at the far side of the end zone. Thompson was well-covered, but still managed to come down with the ball.

“We practice that play all the time,” Thompson said. “It was amazing.”

The Greyhounds scored on their first three possessions of the second half to take a 22-14 lead with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter.

However, the Raiders recovered and pulled even on a Donald Camp 13-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Hapworth with 4:36 left. The score capped a 10-play, 69-yard drive. Hapworth rushed for the two-point conversion to pull Winslow even at 22-22.

Winslow got the ball back with about two minutes left, but was quickly forced to punt from inside its own 25-yard line.

Splude, Thompson and Greyhounds then put the game away in stunning fashion.

“We did our best,” said Winslow linebacker Brock Deschaine, who had 11 tackles. “It’s all we could do. It’s tough, though.”

Joe Hopkins led a balanced Winslow rushing attack with 81 yards. Eric Crawley (58) and Hapworth (49) also contributed on the ground. Camp threw for 53 yards and a pair of touchdown passes as well.

“We just refused to lose,” Splude said. “It was incredible.”

Winslow scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to go ahead 14-0. Cody Morrison hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Camp before Crawley rushed for a 1-yard score.

The Raiders had the lead and momentum going into the second half, but slowly lost both. Cam Graf caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Splude on the opening drive of the second half.

Splude rushed for touchdowns on runs of 1 and 4 yards early in the fourth quarter to give Lisbon its first lead, 22-14.

“Once they scored coming out in the second half, it all went downhill from there,” Deschaine said.

Graf returned an interception for a touchdown in the waning seconds to cap the scoring.

Bill Stewart — 621-5640

bstewart@centralmaine.com