On a night that was so bitterly cold that even Bo Collins had recourse to the portable heater on the sidelines, the Tigers dropped yet another heartbreaker to North Andrew 40-38, in another game that came down to the last seconds.
Worth County marched right down the field behind the legs of Tyler New and he got into the end zone with 7:16 left to put the Tigers on the board first. He got a block from Elias Alarcon to add the extra points. But the problem was that while Worth County knew what the North Andrew plays were going to be, stopping them was another matter, and sure enough, on the second play from scrimmage, Hayden Ecker was off to the races, scoring from 67 yards out. Tyler New picked off the extra point pass to preserve Worth County’s lead at 8-6.
It looked like it was going to be a long night after Worth County failed to capitalize on a good return by Levi Cassavaugh to the 40 and had to punt. Once again, Worth County knew what the play was going to be, and once again, it didn’t matter as Hayden Ecker ripped off a 50 yard run to the Tiger 19. The North Andrew juggernaut rolled inexorably forward to the 1, but all of a sudden, North Andrew fumbled it and Worth County recovered on the 3.
Worth County got a 20 yard run from Tyler New to the 26, but they were stopped at the 31 and were forced to punt. North Andrew twice had Dawson Eychaner all alone for a potential touchdown pass on its next series, but quarterback Braxon Linville twice misfired on the pass and they were forced to punt. But Worth County shot themselves with a chop block penalty on the ensuing punt and were buried on their own 8. A holding penalty killed the drive, and a shanked punt put North Andrew in good field position at the Tiger 39. North Andrew then broke out the quarterback keeper and Linville ripped off 12 yards to the 27, and a play action pass to Gunner Lawrence got to the 11. North Andrew fumbled it on the next play, but it rolled into the end zone where Aiden Miller recovered it for a score to put North Andrew up 12-8 with 2:57 left in the first half.
A 28 yard pass to Grant McIntyre got the Tigers into North Andrew territory on its next series, but a pass interference call moved it back to the Worth County 38. But it didn’t matter as Tyler New got off a pass despite being under a heavy rush by Collin Patterson and Braxton Hightshoe came up with it at the 17. Grant McIntyre caught a pass in the end zone to put the Tigers back in the lead and Braxton Hightshoe caught the extra point pass to make it 16-12.
But like last time, North Andrew was able to get a score right before the half. Hayden Ecker ripped off a 16 yard gain to the 31, and then Linville ripped off a 13 yard keeper to the Tiger 36. They marched down to the 16 with 33 seconds left and then Worth County left Eychaner all alone one too many times and he caught a pass in the end zone with 17 seconds left. North Andrew threw a halfback pass from Gunner Lawrence to Linville for the extra points to put North Andrew ahead 20-16.
The Tigers didn’t have an answer; Levi Cassavaugh ripped off 16 yards to the North Andrew 34 and then a Hail Mary pass into the end zone was batted away and Levi Cassavaugh couldn’t come up with it as time expired.
But unlike the last game, in which North Andrew made use of its free possession to start the second half to score twice without Worth County getting to touch the ball, the Cardinals could not capitalize on their opportunity as they went three and out. But a questionable call occurred as Dylan McIntyre and Dawson Eychaner simultaneously had possession of a Tyler New pass. The rulebook states that a tie should go to the receiver, but the referees gave the ball to North Andrew at their own 27. North Andrew nearly fumbled it back, but one of their players fell on it. They were forced to punt it back after a sack by Dylan McIntyre.
Braxton Hightshoe returned the North Andrew punt back to the Cardinal 31, and Tyler New converted a third and five to the 17. Tyler muscled his way down to the 4, and Levi Cassavaugh took it the rest of the way to put Worth County back in front 22-20 with 5:08 left in the third.
Worth County forced another three and out, and they were marching right down the field again, but then North Andrew adjusted and jumped a short route as Andrew Goff came away with an interception. North Andrew took advantage of the miscue as they marched down to the Tiger 25 and Linville dropped back to pass. Tyler New had Gunner Lawrence covered perfectly, but Linville, who had misfired on some earlier passes, threaded the needle perfectly on this one to put North Andrew back in front 26-22. But the lead didn’t last long as the ensuing kickoff bounced high in the air, only for Levi Cassavaugh to grab it and take it to the house to put Worth County back in front with 11:41 left in the fourth quarter. Grant McIntyre caught the extra point pass to make it 30-26.
Worth County buried North Andrew at its own 14, but Hayden Ecker ripped off 22 yards to the 36 and then a costly facemask penalty put it on the Tiger 30. North Andrew rode the back of Hayden Ecker the rest of the way and he scored from the 21 with 10:02 left and ran in the extra points to make it 34-30 with 10:02 left.
The Tigers couldn’t do anything on the ensuing drive thanks to a fumble, but they finally snuffed out the quarterback keeper play and forced North Andrew to punt it back. Tyler New got a first down to the Tiger 37 on the next drive, and then with 1:05 left, he aired it out to Braxton Hightshoe in the end zone. Hightshoe had dropped a potential score that would have tied it up in the last game, but this time, he came up with it to put the Tigers back in front. Dylan McIntyre caught the extra point pass to make it 38-34.
Last year at the state championship game, Worth County ran down the clock to leave Jacob Coffey and Drexel with as little time as possible to score. Both approaches, trying to score right away, and milking the clock on a last minute drive, have their advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage of milking the clock is that the more plays you run, the more likely you might call one that goes wrong. The disadvantage of trying to score right away is that it can leave a good team with too much time to march down the field and score.
Sure enough, that’s what happened after a fluke play gave North Andrew good field position. Worth County tried to squib it so that North Andrew couldn’t run it back or have good field position, but one of the North Andrew upmen made a great heads-up play by snagging it at the Cardinal 35 to give North Andrew good field position. North Andrew broke out the screen pass to Ecker, and he got loose all the way to the Tiger 20. A false start backed them up to the 25, and an incomplete pass set up second and 15 with 56 seconds, but Gunner Lawrence took a reverse down to the 9 and a first down with 43 seconds left. On the next play, North Andrew threw an apparent strike to Lawrence in the end zone, but he caught it out of bounds. An offsides penalty put the ball on the 4, and then a screen pass to Ecker carried North Andrew the rest of the way with 27 seconds left.
Worth County got the ball back on their own 33 and tried some trickery as Dylan McIntyre threw a reverse pass, but it fooled nobody as everyone stayed on their receiver and Braxton Hightshoe had to knock it down to prevent an interception. Another pass was also broken up, setting up third and 10. They finally set up a perfectly executed hook and ladder to Levi Cassavaugh, who took it to the North Andrew 30 and stepped out of bounds right before time expired to give Worth County one last chance. Tyler New aired it out to Dylan McIntyre in the end zone; he had it, but as he hit the ground, the ball squirted out and the game was over.
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