Miraculous Final Moments Cap Off Another Game-Winning Drive For Washington Court House
By: Will Price, Zack Mothersbaugh
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GREENFIELD, Ohio (WOUB) — The Washington Courthouse Blue Lions had one shot to end the game.
In a back-and-forth marathon with the McClain Tigers, there was no shortage of crazy catches, physical play and late-game heroics.
It was Tanner Lemaster and the Blue Lions who got the last laugh.
Lemaster hauled in Troy Thompson’s hail mary as the clock hit zero, and Washington Court House won what’s sure to be one of the best games in the Frontier Athletic Conference 27-21.
The Tigers, who were 4-0 for the first time since the 1990’s, fought tooth-and-nail all night in front of a packed home crowd. Quarterback Braden Wright got it done on the ground and through the air. He led an early touchdown drive in the first quarter, and converted a third and long in the second, when Seth Wise made a leaping grab over a defender to help McClain take the lead into halftime.
Washington Courthouse never went away. The Blue Lions scored on a long third down of their own when Trevaughn Jackson hauled in Raleigh Haithcock’s pass in traffic to give Washington Courthouse their only touchdown of the first half.
The Blue Lions took control early in the third quarter, as they marched right down the field in just over three minutes to take a 14-13 lead on a touchdown run by Thompson. The defense blocked a Tigers’ field goal attempt in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead, and on the ensuing drive, Nydrell Wright broke off a long run that set up a Drew Hardy one-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to eight with less than five minutes left.
Wright led a fantastic drive at the end of the game, converting a big fourth down with less than a minute to go before Andrew Potts punched it in with 35 seconds left. On the two-point conversion, Max Eikenberry made a fingertip grab in the back of the endzone to tie the game and presumably set up overtime.
The Blue Lions, however, stunned the home crowd on the final drive. Thompson hit a number of short passes to cross midfield and, with seven seconds to go, Lemaster snagged Thompson’s heave to the end zone with two Tiger defenders on him to seal the game.
Washington Court House (3-2, 1-0) will look to keep the momentum against the defending FAC champion Chillicothe Cavaliers (2-3, 0-1), while McClain will look to bounce against the Jackson Ironmen (4-2, 1-0).