Blitz has seen a lot of games over the years.
Never has he seen an ending quite like Friday night.
It was equal parts exciting, exhilarating and heartbreaking. Both Leo and Columbia City had their moments of celebration and devastation.
And it all happened in the span of two plays.
With the Eagles trailing by three with just over three seconds left, Coach Brett Fox’s team lined up for a game-tying field goal. It had had trouble with its placekicking in the contest already, having muffed its extra point try on the game’s first touchdown.
As the kick went up, it was blocked by Leo. But as the Lions players celebrated, the heady senior Ethan McIntosh went and picked up the ball and ran it in for a touchdown.
As Leo personnel held their hands aloft in triumph, the home crowd and sideline went wild as the Eagles believed THEY had won.
And over both sides’ celebrations was the referee’s whistle, still blowing after initially calling the play dead after the block.
You see, the officials screwed up. Blitz isn’t throwing the crew to the wolves, because mistakes happen. However, the rule is that a blocked field goal is still a live ball as long as it is behind the line of scrimmage. So while McIntosh was going to pick up the ball, Leo players, hearing the whistle and remembering the old adage “play to the whistle,” headed off the field, seemingly with a victory in hand.
Leo thought it had won. So did Columbia City.
The crew conferred, with both head coaches a few steps away pleading their team’s respective case.
In the end, the crew rules an inadvertent whistle. Basically, a do-over.
By rule, even with the play being fourth down, an inadvertent whistle call essentially erases that entire play. It never happened.
With another chance, there was no second guessing in regards to what to do.
“We came back out and said we were going for it,” Fuller said. “There was no discussion.”
With the game in the balance, the Eagles went for the dub. A perfectly-executed rollout by quarterback Grayson Bradberry followed by a strike to Stratton Fuller at the edge of the front pylon handed Columbia City a 21-18 win, something it had seemingly (and rightfully should have) earned on the recovery return by McIntosh.
“We were not going to let (the East Noble loss) ruin our season,” Fuller said. “In years past, we may have let that happen, but this year we said, ‘No, this is going to be different.”
It was a much-needed win for the Eagles (7-1), who were humbled one week ago in a 21-point loss to East Noble. Fuller, who had been largely neutralized by the Leo defense all game, found some room to work at the perfect time, his latest hero moment in a series of them over the course of his high school career on both the gridiron and the basketball court.
As for Leo, it was a tough loss. With the whistle having blown on the block, it was right for Lions players to celebrate. The game was over. And if the whistle had not blown, Blitz thinks the Lions would have likely either fell on the ball or made a tackle to prevent the touchdown. But the whistle did come, several in fact, leading to the call for a repeat.
After pulling off the improbable win, Blitz caught up with Fuller.
“Leo is a good team, they have D1 talent and solid guys everywhere,” Fuller said. “They were kind of shutting us down in the middle quarters. What I love about this team is they don’t quit. Two years ago, we quit. Last year, honestly, we quit. I am just so proud of ’em.”
As for the inadvertent whistle? It was a shame the way it all went down. But it could have been worse.
This could have been a playoff game.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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