The Adrian Blackhawks football team trekked north to Archie Friday night to take on the Whirlwinds in WEMO conference action. A day that started with the threat of rain early on gave way to a beautiful sunset and a great night for high school football.
The game was a struggle all night for the Blackhawks. Offensively the team could not generate a sustained drive. Already missing senior Logan Harris in the backfield the team was forced to start freshman, Kyler Six on the offensive line due to an injury to their starter, James Keating. Playing next to Kyler Six on the line was sophomore Cameron Tallman. Tallman, who normally sports #20, suited up as #64 and played on the offensive line. This was Tallman's first experience playing on the line. He and Six performed well for the Blackhawks.
Defensively, the Blackhawks would give up a big play but would knuckle down and keep Archie out of the end zone. As the first period came to a close Archie was 1st and goal on the one yard line. The second period started with Adrian stopping stuffing the Whirlwinds for a big loss and a turnover on downs. Another drive by Archie was thwarted when Tanner Pitts stepped in front of a Caleb Schacher pass at the goal line. Pitts returned the interception to the 25 yard line. Adrian avoided disaster a third time thanks to a penalty on the Whirlwinds. Archie scored on a 30+ yard touchdown run that was negated by a holding call.
Archie had a playmaker in Kale Wheeler but did not have personnel to compliment his big plays. If not for big plays on the defensive side of the ball and a ill-timed penalty Adrian could have come out on the short end of a 21-0 score in regulation. Instead the teams headed to overtime tied 0-0.
In overtime each team gets a turn to try to score. The ball is placed on the 25 yard line. If the first team scores the second team will get possession of the ball on the 25 and have a chance to score. Neither team could find paydirt in the first overtime. Adrian turned the ball over on downs in their first attempt. With a score of any kind Archie could have won the game but coughed the ball up which was recovered by the Blackhawks.
In the second overtime the teams switched order of possession. Archie put several good plays together and found the end zone. Their extra point attempt split the uprights for a 7-0 lead. Given the struggles Adrian had in moving the ball 25 yards to paydirt seemed like an insurmountable task.
From the time the sun set on the western horizon a bed of fog rose from the field. By the time regulation ended on an interception by Peyton Reynolds the fog was so thick seeing the far side of the field was no easy task. But on first down and 25 yards needed to keep the game going Hunter Steen dropped back and heaved the football high and deep into the fog. The pass was perfectly placed beyond the reach of the Archie defender and into the hands of Peyton Reynolds. If Adrian elected to line up for the two point conversion a successful attempt would mean victory. If they could not advance the ball three yards then Archie would come out on top. Adrian lined up for the extra point but had to call timeout due to not having enough personnel on the field.
Adrian needed to convert the extra point to keep the game alive. A fumbled snap, bad placement or bad kick would have meant victory for the Whirlwinds. With the fog continuing to build visibility dwindled even more. When the refs blew the whistle for play to resume Noah Koehler marched off his steps and took his stance for the extra point attempt. The cheerleaders could be heard in the background as an enthusiastic fan base anticipated the final play. What appeared to be a bad snap quickly evolved into a called play as Tanner Pitts taxied toward the goal line and took flight flipping on contact with the defender into the end zone for the game winning points.
Players and coaches converged on the field in wild celebration. Adrian had come out on top 8-7 in an instant classic of a ball game that will be remembered and shared for years to come.
Head coach Matt Cochran was delighted with the win. "What an exciting game! We were not perfect by any means, but the kids found a way to win--just like last week. Offensively we need to find a way to move the ball. This is our Achilles heel right now. Defensively I think we played pretty well. Two goal line stands is pretty good. Now we have to focus our attention on Appleton City. This is Homecoming week and we don't need any distractions. Appleton City is a good team and we need to be ready."
Homecoming is scheduled for this coming Friday with kickoff to the Appleton City Bulldogs set for 7pm at the George Bruto Athletic complex.
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