As some of you know, I used to manage my former High School's Football team. I graduated in 05 after serving a year as manager... and then came back for the following 2 years.
This year was different. I know some of the guys, but not many... Scary thing is, some of the players are the little brothers of my buddies...
Anyways, here's the article that describes what happened at the State Championship game. If I can get my hands on it, I'll post the video I was shooting (I was up top filming the game). You'll hear my desprite cries of "No...no no no noooo... yes? YES YES YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHHHH!!!!!!".
Hail Mary, TD Grace
Bounces go Totino's way in final seconds with stunning 50-yard scoring pass
BY TIM LEIGHTON
Pioneer Press
Move over, Blake Hoffarber. Your rump shot needs to make room in Minnesota prep sports lore for football's version of the "Immaculate Reception.''
Totino-Grace needed some heavenly help Saturday afternoon, and the Eagles got it by turning an apparent runner-up finish into one of the most stunning endings in the 26-year history of the Prep Bowl.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in regulation, senior Micah Koehn snatched the football out of midair after a series of deflections and raced to the end zone as time expired to give Totino-Grace a 13-8 victory over Mahtomedi in the Class AAAA championship game at the Metrodome.
The victory, which gave the Fridley-based school its second consecutive title and fourth in the past five seasons, capped a stunning turnaround that came moments after Mahtomedi, the 2005 Class AAAA champion, had taken an 8-7 lead with a dramatic drive of its own.
"Finishing second never entered our minds,'' Totino-Grace senior quarterback Jordan Marshall said. "I kept reminding everyone in the huddle that we are going to win this game. With 10 seconds left, you are thinking that something miraculous is going to have to happen to help you out. It was my belief that something was in the works the whole time.''
Faith prevailed in a wacky play that rivals Hoffarber's shot that gained national fame and helped Hopkins force overtime in the 2005 Class AAAA basketball championship game. Hoffarber is a freshman playing for the University of Minnesota.
With 10 seconds left and a first and 10 at the 50, Totino-Grace, working with no timeouts, had plans for two passing plays to set up a field-goal attempt for Justin Rajtar, who has a range of 45 to 50 yards. But the play didn't unfold as planned.
"I threw a prayer over there, and then I watched in utter amazement,'' Marshall said.
One of Marshall's weirdest-looking passes of the season turned out to be the most memorable. His 25-yard pass to the right flat was deflected by Mahtomedi's Nick Cedergren. The ball then deflected off Jake King, Marshall's intended receiver. Before the ball had a chance to fall to the turf, Koehn snatched it, pivoted, emerged from the congestion and headed toward the end zone. He eluded Mahtomedi's Mike McDonald and did a flip into the end zone that triggered a bull rush of celebrating Totino-Grace players.
Koehn never had a doubt whether he should get out of bounds or go for the end zone. "We had to make a big play of some kind,'' said Koehn, who also scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter. "I didn't want to put our (own) kicker on ice. When I turned and saw green, I decided to go for it. I had to do something or we were going to lose. I didn't want to lose with some of my good buddies.''
Said Totino-Grace offensive coordinator Jay Anderson: "We practiced that play every practice of every week the entire season. ... Nah, it is just amazing. I couldn't have drawn up anything like that. Micah has great instincts. He makes huge plays in huge games. To have the wits about him to go down the sideline, avoid a tackle and get into the end zone is one of the most amazing plays I've ever seen in my life. This is so special. I am still stunned at how it all turned out.''
Koehn's dramatics put a dagger in Mahtomedi's close-to-a-dose of revenge after the Zephyrs lost to Totino-Grace 21-0 in Week 7 of the regular season. Many Mahtomedi players lay in disbelief on the Metrodome turf after Saturday's game.
"We celebrated a little bit too early,'' Mahtomedi quarterback Vaughn Schmid said. "You have to play a full 48 minutes.''
"You are never comfortable until there is no time left,'' Mahtomedi coach Dave Muetzel said. "Obviously, we were in a good spot. We had guys there. It was a matter of a bounce of a ball. Whenever you lose in a situation like that, it is (gut-wrenching). It hurts, but we battled to the end. They got one more bounce than we did.''
Mahtomedi took an 8-7 lead after Schmid directed a 14-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard touchdown pass to linebacker Matt Groff, who also lines up as a tight end, with 52 seconds remaining in regulation. The duo also combined on Mahtomedi's gutsy decision to go for a two-point conversion.
Totino-Grace called two timeouts before Mahtomedi's successful two-point conversion pass.
"I thought they would go to Groff all along,'' Eagles coach Jeff Ferguson said. "We had a play where we had a guy hold him up at the line of scrimmage and then man coverage over the top. (Groff) is good. He got separation. I don't know what else we could have called. Credit to them. He is that good.''
Muetzel said despite nearly eight minutes of actual time elapsing between scoring the tying touchdown and their go-ahead conversion, the Zephyrs never debated.
"We might have changed the play a couple of times, but we were still going to go for it,'' he said. "We felt pretty good with what we were going with. It is a tribute to our kids to go for that.''
Said Schmid: "We figured we'd go for it all.''
So did Koehn minutes later.
Source: Pioneer Press
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LOL @ reading the comments. Our school is always accused of recuriting kids... All of them are baseless lies. "HEY! COME PLAY AT TOTINO-GRACE! OUR TUITION IS ONLY $10,000 A YEAR!" lol, what the hell.
Here's the winning dive... The summersult was amazing
And here's probably one of the most enduring images... Us celebrating while the other team mourns a win that was literally torn from them.
