Raptors’ Prayers Come Up One Yard Short
written by Noah Beukelman
The Raptor football team played the Champlain Park Rebels in the Section Championship game on Friday, November 4th. The Raptors lost 35-33 despite having one of the most incredible comebacks in school history.
The game began with a laid back, yet arrogant vibe from the Raptor faithful. Wearing yellow and white to honor the passing of a mother of an East Ridge student, the student section felt confident. They expected another cake-walk game, hoping to leave the stadium with the sweet taste of victory and a trip to the State Tournament. The taste they ended up with, however, was much more bitter.
From the first two plays of the game, the night seemed destined to be in favor of the Rebels. Right out of the gate Champlain Park had two giant rushes for major yards. Gobsmacked, the Raptors quickly realized that they were facing a very worthy opponent. The Raptor defense recovered quickly from the two large gains and forced the Rebels to punt.
When the Raptors offense got the ball, they immediately found their rhythm, eating up chunks of yards on the ground with a deadly combination of running back Dominik London and quarterback Ty Okada. The rushing onslaught eventually faltered, but by that point the Raptors were well within kicking range of Grant Ryerse. It seemed inevitable that they would kick the field goal, stop the Rebels, then proceed to blow out the other team, as they always did; it seemed almost like destiny that the Raptors would simply do what they always do.
Until it wasn’t.
The kick hooked wide right, and the excitement on the Rebel sideline was that of both thrill and hope. Something about the missed kick let the Rebels know they had a shot against the mighty Raptors.
Champlain Park and East Ridge swapped a pair of scoreless drives and the 1st quarter ended with a score of 0-0.
In the second quarter the Rebels made a crucial mistake deep within their own territory and fumble the ball. The Raptors scooped up the fumble, then on 4th down at the one yard line, fullback Jaron Pittman punched it in for the score and the Raptors were up 7-0 with 6:01 left in the 2nd quarter. The Raptors were on top, the stadium was rocking, East Ridge was winning as expected, and proper order within the universe was restored.
Until it wasn’t.
Mentally unbreakable, the Rebels got the ball back and drove down the field in a series of seemingly unstoppable gains of yardage. With 2:37 left in the 2nd quarter, Champlain Park tied up the game at 7-7.
The Raptors took the punch well and marched down field in usual fashion and to everyone in the stadium a score seemed guaranteed. But then East Ridge fumbled the ball, the Rebels recovered, and on the very next play the Rebels threw a long touchdown pass to make the score 14-7 with just over a minute and a half left in the half.
That minute and a half left just enough time for East Ridge to drive downfield and set up for a field goal. This was not just 3 points at stake, this was a moment where we would end the half, get our kicker’s mojo back, and figure things out during halftime.
Until it wasn’t.
The kick was blocked and the Raptors went into halftime down 14-7.
East Ridge quickly refocused and threw a quick touchdown pass to tight end Zach Bennett to tie the game 14-14.
Champlain Park was not about to leave the touchdown party early and took to the air to score a touchdown with 6:03 left in the 3rd quarter to go up 21-14.
The Raptors drove to about midfield, then fumbled the ball and lost 15 yards before recovering it. With 3rd and 20, Ty Okada spun his way through the defense for an 18 yard gain. On 4th and 2, East Ridge’s Zach Bennett converted with a one handed catch.
The play electrified the Raptor sideline. Everyone in the stadium hoped the team would carry the momentum, score, then bust the game wide open. Zach Bennett’s catch was the catch that was going to save the game for us.
Until it wasn’t.
The next play, the Raptors fumbled and the Rebels capitalized by ripping off two straight scoring drives to go up 35-14 with 7:08 left in the game. As far as the student section was concerned, the game was all but over.
Until it wasn’t.
The Raptors refused to say down and scored a touchdown on the ground with Dominik London. Ryerse, however, missed the Pat and the score was 35-20 with 5:15 left in the game. Hope was still alive in the Nest. The Raptors knew that time was not their friend, however, and ran a trick onside kick and recovered it. Less than 5 plays later, Ty Okada ran for a score to put the game at 35-27 with 3:28 left.
Hoping for one more lucky bounce, the Raptors tried another onside but they did not recover. Gut check time. The Raptors needed a quick stop to have any chance of winning the game and the defense delivered. The Rebels punted the ball to the Raptors with about 1 minute left in the game.
East Ridge drove down the field and senior running back Dominik London scored with 1 second left in the game to make it 35-33. This was it, the miracle comeback we had all been praying for. The Raptors went for a two point conversion, in order to go into overtime and win the game. This two point conversion would be the defining moment on the greatest comeback in East Ridge football history.
Until it wasn’t.
The two point play was a rollout pass, the ball thrown to senior Marcus Haskins, who caught the ball but was tackled one yard short of the end zone.
The Raptors then had to kick off once more to run off the last second on the game clock. They tried to kick it onside and have a run back for a touchdown, but fate was on the side of the Rebels as they recovered, taking home the section championship and the trip to state.
Despite the heartbreaking finish, this season of Raptor football was one of the best yet, and the future looks bright for the young squad.
