DARLINGTON - What better advantage to have than a one-touchdown lead in double overtime on your home field, with the opposing team facing 4th-and-12 from the 13-yard-line. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas would have given the Redbirds nearly a 99.9 percent chance to win.
But they would have been wrong.
Cambridge quarterback Nic Bowe connected with Erik Engelstad for a nearly 13-yard gain to keep the Bluejays alive. Engelstad had both feet tip-toed in the end zone at the pylon, but he reached back to the field of play to catch the ball before falling out of bounds. The very next play, running back Alex Resnick waltzed in for the score to bring his team to within a point at 43-42.
"That's one helluva catch by that kid," senior fullback Seth Rowe said after Saturday's WIAA Division 5 playoff opener.
"(Bowe) put it in the only place you could put that throw," Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said.
Needing only an extra point to send the game into a third overtime, with daybreak darkening the field of play, Cambridge went for it all. Resnick took a pitch to his right and muscled his way through a hit at the goal line and leapt over the pylon to lift the Bluejays to a stunning 44-43 win over No. 1-seeded Darlington.
"I saw it coming a little bit," senior quarterback Zach McArthur said. "It was a bold call by their coach and they took care of it."
Darlington's players remained stunned on both the sidelines and the field afterwards, wondering how they could have let the season slip away in the span of one minute.
"It sucks. It absolutely sucks. We played out (butts) off," Rowe said.
Cambridge took the early lead, 7-0, on a Resnick run in the first quarter. Darlington went right down the field moments later, handing the ball to Rowe and halfback Mitchell Whalen nearly the entire way. Rowe capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run, then caught the 2-point pass from Whalen, with a heavy bobble, after a botched extra point.
Resnick, who had 235 yards on 35 carries, added a 46-yard screen pass for a score a possession later. Not to be outdone, Darlington went 79 yards down the field on seven plays, with Rowe doing the bulk of the work. Rowe had four plays all to himself, including a 47-yard run that put the Redbirds into the redzone. Four plays later, Rowe was in the end zone and Darlington regained the lead at 15-14.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Cambridge countered with an 11-play, 71-yard drive capped by Bowe's 5-yard naked bootleg touchdown with 1:22 left in the first half.
"We didn't play a very sound first half, and came out well in the second half," Zywicki said.
With just 20 seconds left in the third quarter, Rowe gave his squad the lead again with an 8-yard run. Rowe finished with 154 yards on 29 carries.
Levi Wedig then picked off Bowe and McArthur extended the lead to 29-21 with a 21-yard option keeper up the left sidelines, the highlight of which was tight end Michael Ruf blowing up a defender with a decleating block.
"It was awesome," McArthur said.
But Cambridge took the following kickoff 70 yards downfield, and Bowe capped the drive with a QB sneak at the goal line. Bowe then connected with Jack Nett for the 2-point conversion to tie it at 29.
"I was not happy with the swing of momentum. It gave them life," Zywicki said.
Darlington won the coin toss to open the first overtime, and chose to be on defense. But Resnick burned them on the first play for a 25-yard score.
"I knew we'd get back at them," Rowe said. "They did it on one play, and we knew we had four."
The Redbirds returned the favor, and Levi Wedig scored on a 6-yard run moments later to tie it back up. In the second overtime, Tyler Black drug a slew of Bluejays into the end zone on a 13-yard pounding run. McArthur's kick made it 43-36, and gave the Redbird Faithful every reason to believe they were moving on to the second round, where Waterloo would come to town for another game at Marten's Field.
"We couldn't have been in better position. They made better plays, and that's all there is to it," McArthur said. "They did what they have to do and we just came up a little bit short."
But with the pass play, and Resnick's final two runs, Darlington's season ended abruptly.
"This is such a great group of kids. It's all on them. I couldn't have asked for a better team to play with," McArthur said.
But they would have been wrong.
Cambridge quarterback Nic Bowe connected with Erik Engelstad for a nearly 13-yard gain to keep the Bluejays alive. Engelstad had both feet tip-toed in the end zone at the pylon, but he reached back to the field of play to catch the ball before falling out of bounds. The very next play, running back Alex Resnick waltzed in for the score to bring his team to within a point at 43-42.
"That's one helluva catch by that kid," senior fullback Seth Rowe said after Saturday's WIAA Division 5 playoff opener.
"(Bowe) put it in the only place you could put that throw," Darlington coach Scott Zywicki said.
Needing only an extra point to send the game into a third overtime, with daybreak darkening the field of play, Cambridge went for it all. Resnick took a pitch to his right and muscled his way through a hit at the goal line and leapt over the pylon to lift the Bluejays to a stunning 44-43 win over No. 1-seeded Darlington.
"I saw it coming a little bit," senior quarterback Zach McArthur said. "It was a bold call by their coach and they took care of it."
Darlington's players remained stunned on both the sidelines and the field afterwards, wondering how they could have let the season slip away in the span of one minute.
"It sucks. It absolutely sucks. We played out (butts) off," Rowe said.
Cambridge took the early lead, 7-0, on a Resnick run in the first quarter. Darlington went right down the field moments later, handing the ball to Rowe and halfback Mitchell Whalen nearly the entire way. Rowe capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run, then caught the 2-point pass from Whalen, with a heavy bobble, after a botched extra point.
Resnick, who had 235 yards on 35 carries, added a 46-yard screen pass for a score a possession later. Not to be outdone, Darlington went 79 yards down the field on seven plays, with Rowe doing the bulk of the work. Rowe had four plays all to himself, including a 47-yard run that put the Redbirds into the redzone. Four plays later, Rowe was in the end zone and Darlington regained the lead at 15-14.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Cambridge countered with an 11-play, 71-yard drive capped by Bowe's 5-yard naked bootleg touchdown with 1:22 left in the first half.
"We didn't play a very sound first half, and came out well in the second half," Zywicki said.
With just 20 seconds left in the third quarter, Rowe gave his squad the lead again with an 8-yard run. Rowe finished with 154 yards on 29 carries.
Levi Wedig then picked off Bowe and McArthur extended the lead to 29-21 with a 21-yard option keeper up the left sidelines, the highlight of which was tight end Michael Ruf blowing up a defender with a decleating block.
"It was awesome," McArthur said.
But Cambridge took the following kickoff 70 yards downfield, and Bowe capped the drive with a QB sneak at the goal line. Bowe then connected with Jack Nett for the 2-point conversion to tie it at 29.
"I was not happy with the swing of momentum. It gave them life," Zywicki said.
Darlington won the coin toss to open the first overtime, and chose to be on defense. But Resnick burned them on the first play for a 25-yard score.
"I knew we'd get back at them," Rowe said. "They did it on one play, and we knew we had four."
The Redbirds returned the favor, and Levi Wedig scored on a 6-yard run moments later to tie it back up. In the second overtime, Tyler Black drug a slew of Bluejays into the end zone on a 13-yard pounding run. McArthur's kick made it 43-36, and gave the Redbird Faithful every reason to believe they were moving on to the second round, where Waterloo would come to town for another game at Marten's Field.
"We couldn't have been in better position. They made better plays, and that's all there is to it," McArthur said. "They did what they have to do and we just came up a little bit short."
But with the pass play, and Resnick's final two runs, Darlington's season ended abruptly.
"This is such a great group of kids. It's all on them. I couldn't have asked for a better team to play with," McArthur said.
