Stepping off Milne Stadium's fake turf was more than Michael Marthe could stomach.

Over and over he walked toward the sideline of the almost empty, almost frozen field Friday night.

Over and over the Cibola senior lineman didn't make it, not even out of bounds.

Marthe got close, a couple of times. But he always stopped. Once, Marthe abruptly U-turned. Another time he put his hands on his knees, stifling tears and vomit.

Finally, Marthe mustered enough strength.

Deep breath.

As his cleats crossed the boundary, pain and tears melted his face.

Marthe didn't make a sound as he left the field for the last time.

Scotty Gallardo's 46-yard field goal with three seconds left lifted Alamogordo to a 24-21 triumph.

It put the Tigers into their first state title game since 1985.

It ended the prep football careers of 28 Cibola seniors, including Marthe.

"It just sucks," said Cibola senior tight end Joe Lehocky, fighting a losing battle with his own tears. "To have it come down to a field goal like that, man. We weren't better than each other; it just didn't play out for us. Last year when it ended, we were kind of separate. Now, we're together. I love all these guys. . . . We're going to remember this for the rest of our lives."

Besides Marthe, four other seniors lingered on the field after the loss, including Lehocky.

As they left, a Cibola fan yelled out to them.

"Great job, seniors," the man said. "Hey, they're going to follow you."

Cibola coach Ralph "Judge" Chavez echoed the man's statement.

"To see them crying and see them hurt like that, I feel for them," Chavez said. "But I'm so proud of them. We told them to leave it all on the field. Don't go back to school and say you could have done this or that. They did that. . . . A great foundation's been set for the future. I love my kids. Print that. I love my kids."

As the raw emotion subsides, this season's repercussions will last.

The tangible remnants - most notably Chavez's brown-and-gold debut, the school record for wins (10) and the Cougars' first state semifinal berth since 1985 - will be printed on paper or painted on locker room walls.

Perhaps more beneficial to future Cibola teams is what the 2006 team gained and discarded.

"We know that a state championship isn't going to be given to us," said Jon Mader, the Cougars' junior quarterback. "We'll remember this for next year."

Cibola receiver Brent Jorgensen, who wrestled a pass from Alamogordo defensive back Josh Browning for the game-tying touchdown in the fourth quarter, said the team's postseason experiences will make them tougher in coming years.

"We hadn't been in a game or an atmosphere like this before," Jorgensen said.

After Friday's loss, Cibola's junior-heavy team knows how tough playoff games can be. More important, the Cougars know they are strong enough to win them.

In the past there were doubts.

Cibola was considered perennially soft.

Or an underachiever.

Or both.

Even in defeat, Friday's performance erased that image, an image that had started to fade this year.

Soft teams don't come back from sizable deficits, especially against teams such as Alamogordo, who many considered to be among the state's most physical.

Cibola did.

Two Mader mistakes - a poor punt and an interception returned by Browning for a score - spotted the Tigers a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

But the Cougars punched back with a grinding 17-play touchdown drive to pull within seven.

Teams that have the fortitude of a wet paper towel don't stuff a venerable running game like Alamogordo's.

Cibola did.

Two of the Tigers three running backs - future Lobo C.J. Oakley and Clay Griffin - have amassed more than 1,000 yards. The third, Carlos De La Cruz, could surpass that mark in next week's state title game.

But Friday, the Cougars defense surrendered only one run longer than nine yards. It was a meaningless 15-yard scramble by Alamogordo quarterback Dustin Thomsen that ended the first half.

In the second half, the Tigers could squeeze out just 50 total yards, all on the ground.

"Our defense gave us a lot of opportunities," Chavez said. "But so did our offense."

Cibola outgained Alamogordo, 298-173.

But the Tigers generated three clutch plays in the final minutes to earn the win:

Cibola had a chance to take the lead but their final drive stalled. On 3rd-and-1 at their own 31 the Tigers stopped the usually reliable Chase Bennison for no gain.

Despite a short punt, Cibola looked as though it might force overtime. But Alamogordo drew a pass interference penalty on a halfback option pass during the ensuing drive, giving the Tigers the ball at the Cougars' 35.

Four plays and two Cibola timeouts later, Gallardo, who has a strong leg but made only four field goals all season, split the uprights.

"I was glad they called those timeouts," Gallardo said. "It cooled me down. I was so nervous. But my teammates kept telling me I could do it. If it wasn't for them, I probably would have shanked it."

For now, the accomplishments of Cibola's historic season seem small and the loss still stings.

"I told them there's nothing wrong with crying," Chavez said. "I'm probably going to go home and do it myself."