The temperature was low, but the energy was high, as a mix of excitement and anxiety ran through the crowd. The ball was snapped, and as it hung in the air, so did the championship aspirations of both St. Paul’s School and JC in the final seconds of overtime. St. Paul’s grabbed the ball down and also grabbed a championship win.
The game started off with a scoring drive by JC’s senior quarterback Brandon Lewis who ran the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. This was then followed by a successful extra point. JC managed to hold St. Paul’s scoreless going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, JC started off scoring again with a field goal, brining the score to 10-0. Soon after, senior Austin Markley caught a ball lofted into the end zone and scored yet another touchdown for JC. After the extra point, it looked as if JC was the dominant team. St. Paul’s, however, put doubt into the fan’s minds by scoring soon after. They attempted a two point conversion, but failed.
In the third quarter, St. Paul’s held JC scoreless and started off strong with a touchdown run by senior running back Dale Harris. St. Paul’s completed the two point conversion and brought the game to 17-14 JC. That was the only scoring drive of the third quarter for either team, and the game went into a tight fourth quarter, where it seemed as if either team could take home the championship.
The fourth quarter started out with JC at the goal line. However, St. Paul’s shut down the drive and the ball was turned over on downs, giving St. Paul’s a chance at the lead. Senior defensive back Montell Martin intercepted the ball on the next drive and set JC up for a field goal, putting JC on top by seven.
St. Paul’s stepped up to the challenge and scored one more time with 1:45 left in the game. This brought the game to a 20-20 tie and St. Paul’s went for a two point conversion. JC shut them down and the game went into overtime.
The final defining moment of the game had come. A closely contested game was decided by one score. JC got the ball first, and junior running back Paul Lorick scored for JC. St. Paul’s came right back and scored, however.
St. Paul’s went for a two point conversion. As the ball fell into the hands of a St. Paul’s receiver, a shock hit the JC fans. It was all over. The championship had gone to St. Paul’s, 27-28.
Junior lineman Chris Truitt felt that the game could have gone the other way too. “I feel that we were honestly the better team even though the score came out that way,” Truitt said. “We played a complete game and became more of a family.”
Cole Alban is a Managing Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.