With a swing of the leg, it was all gone for Jonathan Alder – a win, a conference title and a spot in the state football playoffs.
With a final second swing of Andi Meeks’ leg, it was all gone for the Pioneers as he gave his team a 17-14 victory in front of the home crowd.
“Sometimes it’s like that in football,” said JA coach Brett Glass. “Sometimes it’s like that in life.”
The Pioneer leader said just a minute earlier it felt like his team’s night.
Tied at 14 with 1:01 to play, the Braves were moving into scoring position.
Shawnee quarterback Robie Glass floated a pass to the flat and Alder’s Jackson Izzard grabbed it to give his squad the ball and the momentum.
On the next play, Alder signal-caller J.T. Keith tossed a middle screen pass to Garret Proxmire, who bounced to midfield before being taken to the turf.
Keith then hit a diving Dawson Detweiler on a pass to the visitor’s sideline.
As Dawson worked to pull the ball in, Shawnee’s Jaden Hall took it off Detweiler’s chest and stepped out of bounds.
“That was just a heck of a play,” Glass said. “We got that interception. We had two timeouts and minute to play. We were putting together a drive. We had something going. Things just happen.”
With 42 seconds left and the ball, the Braves went to work quickly.
They used a series of compete passes to move into field goal range for Meeks.
As the clock moved to zeros, Meeks drilled the 24-yard field goal for the win.
“That’s not how it is supposed to end,” Glass said. “It wasn’t enough tonight. This is not how these guys wanted to go out.”
Even early, it looked like it would be Alder’s game. The Plain City squad took its first possession and used 11 plays to march 59 yards down the field.
On third-and-goal from the one-yard-line, Keith lined up in the shotgun and then sprinted under center.
He took the snap and wiggled into the end zone behind the center of his offensive line.
Jackson Welsch booted the extra point and with 4:51 to play in the opening quarter, the visitors had a 7-0 lead.
The next drive was less successful for JA as Proxmire put the ball on the ground on the drive’s first play. The Braves hopped on the soaked pigskin.
Glass showed off his strength and speed on the ground during the ensuing drive. He had a trio of runs, including a 21-yard jet through the left side of the line and into the end zone.
The touchdown, paired with Meeks’ extra point, tied the game at 7-7 with 2:03 to play in the first quarter.
Mud, wind and rain stifled the offenses for long stretches, forcing the teams to trade punts in the center of a sloppy field for much of the game.
They played the second and third quarters with the score knotted at 7-all, but not one play more.
On the first snap of the final period, Drew Mitch decided to show that he was as good on the ground as his teammate.
He took a shotgun snap, found a seam up the gut and ran 48 yards for the TD. Meeks’ kick gave his team a 14-7 advantage.
Proxmire had 31 rushes for 194 yards on the night. With 6:35 to play in the game, he got his longest run of the evening.
Proxmire took a direct snap, hit a hole in the line, bounced to the right and headed 48 yards down his team’s sideline for a score. Welsch’s extra point tied the game and set the stage for the last minute drama.
“It hurts and I hurt for these guys,” Glass said of his team’s 14 seniors. “I am just disappointed for our kids tonight.”
He said he was proud of his team that finished with a 6-4 record, but “it just wasn’t enough.”
“Shawnee is a heck of a team and they made plays when they needed to,” said Glass. “We just didn’t make enough plays.”
He said the interception, the fumble and a couple untimely penalties hurt his team.
“You can’t do that on a night like tonight,” the coach said.
Glass said he isn’t thinking about next season.
“It is too early to say anything, to know anything,” Glass said. “It is just a terrible feeling right now.”