Final Play Spells Victory for Western over Flint Northern, 19-16
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"It ain't over until it is over." So says the great Yogi Berra. For Western and Flint Northern, no words have run any truer Friday night as Western turned a bonus play into a game winner as they walked away with a 19-16 victory.
Western started the game playing strong and looked to be ready to put the game away early. Taking the opening kickoff, the Warriors quickly marched down the field with sophomore quarterback Austin Pichiotino throwing a strike to senior wide receiver Caleb Boileau for a 29 yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed leaving Western with a 6-0 lead.
Soon, Western was on the march again. This time, Pichiotino hooked up with junior Tyler Ellis for a 21 yard touchdown pass. With Kyle Lee's PAT, the Warriors were ahead 13-0.
Momentum continued on their side leading into the second quarter. Driving again, Western looked to go up by three touchdowns. But Northern"s Keontae Wooten had other ideas. The senior D-back intercepted the pass in the end zone giving the Vikings new life.
Leaning on their running game, the Vikings drove down the field. Behind the solid running of Thomas Rawls, they soon found themselves on the Warrior 1 yard line. From there, QB Arreal Riggs ran it in from the one. With Riggs hitting Marcus Forward for the two point conversion, the Vikings were back in the game, 13-8.
Moments later, Northern had the ball and went back on the attack. Dominating the second quarter, the Vikings were soon on the Western doorstep. Rawls powered in from the 4 yard line and after running in the two point conversion, the Viking had a 16-13 halftime lead.
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
The second half was a physical contest. Neither team could mount a successful drive as they battled back and forth. A sobering moment occurred late in the third quarter when Western's standout linebacker, Matt Gurnee, went down after a hard hit. Play was stopped for several minutes as medical personnel attended to him and he was eventually removed from the field by stretcher and taken to the hospital. His current condition is not known.
Late in the fourth quarter, Northern had the ball and was marching down field, chewing up clock with what looked like a game ending drive. Then Josh Alba put a hard hit on the Northern runner, jarring the ball loose and with the fumble recovery, new life for the Warriors.
With only a couple minutes on the stadium clock, Western drove to the Northern 26 yard line. With 5 seconds left to play, Pichiotino threw to the end zone for what appeared to be an incomplete pass. But the hard charging Vikings where flagged from roughing the passer giving Western one more play although time had expired. With the ball on the 11, Pichiotino found tight end Jesse Metz in the end zone clearly snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
On the night, Austin Pichiotino was 16 for 28 for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns. Caleb Boileau hauled in seven of those balls for 71 yards and a touchdown with Tyler Ellis catching four passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. While Jesse Metz only had one catch, he made the most of it for the game winning touchdown.
Flint Northern was led by the tough rushing of Thomas Rawls. He had 184 yards on 26 carries while Arreal Riggs added 75 yards passing on 10 for 21 throwing.
With the win, Western stays in the title hunt with a 3-1 conference record while the Vikings fall to 2-2 in conference play.
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
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John Keuvelaar |
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