Friday night's game between McIntosh and Fayette County was Peachtree City Packer Night at Chiefs’ Stadium. Little did the youth football players know they would be witnessing a high school football game they will probably remember for the rest of their lives.
For the second game in a row, Fayette County overcame a late fourth quarter double digit deficit to win on the road. This time, the Tigers did in the most dramatic way possible: a last second Hail Mary touchdown pass.
"I dont know what to say other than the fact that if you've got a tick on the clock and kids that believe and a big player makes a big play, anything can happen,” exclaimed Fayette County head coach Tommy Webb.
In a match of longtime county rivals, the battle is always intense, but when both teams are playing well, the stakes are even higher. The McIntosh Chiefs came into the game 3-1 and riding the high of their finest start to the season in recent memory. The Fayette County Tigers sat at 2-2, but were coming off of a thrilling comeback victory over Luella in week four. McIntosh looked at the game as a chance to build on their amazing early season run while Fayette had a chance to crush their rivals hopes on the road.
The Chiefs came out of the gates flying. Kicker Matt Mateos drilled the opening kick for a touchback and the Chiefs defense responded right away. After moving the ball to their own 42 yard line, Fayette set up to pass on first and 10. Quarterback Justin Murray looked downfield for receiver Eric Lauderdale but a miscommunication on his route sent the ball into the arms of the Chiefs. Cornerback Nick Morrow picked off the pass and took it down the right sideline for a 25 yard return. Running back Darius Miliam moved the chains on third and long with a 13-yard run. Quarterback Cam Porter then hooked up with Nick Morrow for a 17 yard pass to get the Chiefs into the red zone. On third and 8 Porter dropped back and found receiver Brandon Hannon underneath the coverage in the right flat.
Hannon raced the Tigers to the corner and stretched the ball to the pylon for the 8-yard touchdown. Hannon's catch and the Matt Mateos extra point staked the Chiefs to a quick 7-0 lead.
McIntosh seized control for much of the game, but a theme developed on the next Fayette County drive that would haunt the Chiefs the rest of the night. Starting Quarterback Justin Murray left the game with a knee injury and was replaced by Jensen Floyd. Floyd, who played quarteback for much of 2008, has typically lined up at receiver this year, but came through when his team needed him most. Twice on the next drive Floyd would get loose of the McIntosh defense and convert on fourth down. On fourth and 4 from the 27, Floyd scrambled and connected with Lauderdale on an 8 yard pass. On fourth and goal from the 3 yard line, Floyd faked the handoff and took a bootleg right into the end zone untouched.
The Chiefs answered back on their next drive. Miliam continued slashing through the Tiger defense, picking up chunks of yardage into enemy territory.
Cam Porter dodged the blitz and found tight end Matt Fergus for 13 yards to keep the drive humming. Miliam added 16 yards off left tackle down to the 5 yard line. But Fayette cornerback Corey Smith broke up a pass for Brandon Hannon in the end zone and Matthew Francois and Jonathan Seldon combined to sack Porter, stimieing the drive. Mateos drilled an 18 yard field goal to give McIntosh a 10-7 lead.
Floyd went back to work right away, taking a quarterback option for 16 yards and following it up with another 17 yard sprint. Floyd then connected with Lauderdale on a slant route for 27 yards down to the 13 yard line. Running Back Kendall Palmore punched the ball in from 9 yards out with less than a minute left in the half. Brandon Hannon blocked the extra point attempt, leaving Fayette County up 13-10 at the break.
Coach Webb credited Floyd's ability to step in and lead the team in the first half.
"Anything can happen and you've got to be ready to play," said Webb. "Jensen ran our offense and gave us unique wrinkles that we can't do with Justin (Murray)."
After the offense stalled on the first drive of the second half, the McIntosh defense came up big again. On first down, linebacker Andrew Graham pressured Floyd into a quick throw. Morrow stepped in front of the pass for his second pick of the game. Miliam went right to work taking a draw and bursting off the left side for a 28 yard touchdown run. The extra point placed McIntosh back in front 17-13.
Fayette County's offense found no traction on their next series, pulling a quick three and out. The punt attempt on fourth down was even more disastrous. The snap sailed high and by the time the punter recovered, Graham crushed him to send the ball rolling. Alex Ishmael picked up the loose ball and ran it in from the 14 yard line for a touchdown. Mateos's extra point pushed the lead to 24-13.
The Chiefs's second touchdown in two minutes had the home crowd feeling confident. However, Fayette's offense was far from beaten down. Palmore broke off runs of 25 and 19 yards to key the next drive. Running Back Armani Cato then got in on the action. Cato slashed through the middle of the line, juking the Chiefs defense and burst through to the secondary. No one had a chance to catch the speedy Cato on the 40 yard touchdown run. Fayette missed the extra point, cutting the lead to 24-19.
Miliam answered right back with runs of 15 yards and 26 yards on the next McIntosh series. Miliam finished the night with 23 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown. Porter took a quarterback draw up the middle for a 3 yard touchdown run and a fourth quarter lead of 31-19.
The Tigers and Chiefs exchanged failed drives for the first time in the second half before Fayette made a move to get back in the game. On third and two, Floyd found Lauderdale on a wide receiver screen for 14 yards down to the 25. McIntosh got a chance to end the game on the next play, but could not capitalize. Cornerback Brian Harper dropped what would have been an interception on the goal line to keep Fayette's hopes alive. Armani Cato took a screen pass 20 yards down to the five on the very next play before finishing off the drive with another touchdown run. Cato racked up 104 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Floyd fumbled the snap on the two point conversion attempt before recovering to find Lauderdale again. The two pointer narrowed the margin to 31-27 McIntosh with 3:44 left in the game.
The Chiefs took the next drive from their own 10 yard line with only clock to burn before finishing up a huge victory. Miliam moved the chains for a quick first down and Porter would follow suit on the the next third and 2. Fayette's defense finally stiffened and held the line forcing a punt. Two costly delay of game penalties put the Chiefs at fourth and 15. Matt Mateos boomed a 52 yard punt down inside the 20 yard line. Tago Smith returned the ball to his own 31.
The McIntosh crowd was buzzing for the pending victory. The P.A. reminded the fans not to climb down onto the field when the win was final. Unfortunately for the Chiefs faithful there was fifteen seconds left on the clock and the Tigers were not ready to concede. Floyd found Lauderdale for a quick 11 yard pass before he was tackled in bounds at the Fayette 42 yard line.
Floyd spiked the ball on the next play, leaving the Tigers six seconds for one last gasp. Floyd took the snap, waited and stepped up in the pocket to heave the ball downfield. Deep in the secondary, a mass of Chiefs and Tigers went up for the ball. Lauderdale somehow wrenched the ball away from a handful of Chiefs and sprinted the rest of the way into the end zone. The miraculous 58 yard hail mary touchdown pass as time expired gave the Tigers a 33-31 victory.
The Chiefs fans sat in stunned silence and their players crumbled to the field in horror. Their chance to topple their rival and race to a 4-1 start was somehow snatched away. Instead, Fayette County's traveling fans were the ones that got to climb the fences and storm the field with their victorious team.
In the 26-game rivalry, there has perhaps never been a more heartbreaking loss and miraculous ending.
While the wounds are still settling in for one side, fans of both schools walked away knowing they had just witnessed one of the most epic finishes they could ever hope to see. |
