drama

Two-point semifinal makes for great drama
By Andy Dygert

    Sometimes it's great to be involved in sports.
    Saturday night at Humphrey was one of those times.
    Clarkson was in town for a rematch against Humphrey St. Francis in a Class D-1 state semifinal with a trip to Memorial Stadium for the state championship game on the line.
    As I was driving to the game with photographer Blaine McCartney, we were discussing how we thought the game would be.  We agreed that although the defenses were solid for both team, the offenses were just as dynamic to stop.  Surely, therefore, it would be a high-scoring game from the get-go.
    So much for our pre-game prediction abilities.  
    Both defenses stepped up in the first half and blanked the opposing offenses.  Neither team got close to scoring, with a long pass to the goal line as the half expired being the lone exception.
    That didn't mean the game was boring in the first half, however.  This was good defense...not sloppy offense.  The big boys in the trenches of the defensive line were simply refusing to let a run develop into a big play, which allowed the secondaries to cheat and blanket the receivers with little difficulty.  Basically, it was a defensive coordinator's dream for the first half.
    So there I was, up in the press box at halftime, talking to columnist and local sports radio personality Jim Dolezal about what the second half would look like.
    Now, I was sure, all it would take was one score...one single score by one team and that would be enough to wrap up the game.  I was pretty confident in the prediction considering the defensive prowess exhibited thus far.
    You'd think I would have learned by now.
    Sure enough, on the first possession of the half, and on only the third play, Clarkson back Michael Konicek busted around the right side and scored.
    OK, I thought, that's the game.
    Wrong again.
    After the defenses picked up again for the rest of the third quarter, the fourth quarter opened with another TD and a two-point conversion by the Red Devils.
    Then, with 4:22 left, the Flyers answered with a bruising Jacob McPhillips 4-yard run, set up by superb passing from Derek Classen, St. Francis' backup quarterback.
    On the following possession, after an inexplicable attempt by Clarkson to go for it on fourth and four with two minutes left, St. Francis got a chance to tie the game.  (I give props to Red Devils coach Jim Clarkson, however.  When I talked to him following the game, he admitted his mistake even before I asked him about it and gave a valid reason - not an excuse - for his decision.  I love it when a coach acknowledges he's human.)
    St. Francis capitalized on the good field position by tying it with a TD and two-point conversion, sending the contest to overtime.
    In OT, Clarkson was able to come up with a big stop on a two-point conversion, after scoring eight points of its own, to seal the win.
    What a game!  Congrats to both teams, and I can't wait for the championship Thursday.


(from Columbus Telegram, 11/12/07)