32-years in the making
Pirates stun Weiser 20-19 in
come-from-behind fashion
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Sunday, September 28, 2008 12:15 AM PDT
Weiser—Damian Reynolds scored with 1:54 left on the clock, and Tobby White grabbed the game-clinching interception to lead Payette to a dramatic 20-19 come-from-behind win over Weiser in Snake River Valley Conference action Friday in Weiser.
The comeback was just at the right time for Travis Blackwell, who uttered some words of encouragement to his teammates while taking the huddle.
“After every play, I would make them take one deep breath, and I told them we can do this,” Blackwell said. “This was a team effort. We came together at the end at the right moment.”
The win, as improbable as it would seem, looked grim to say the least, as at the 11:17 mark of the fourth quarter, Weiser’s Scott Stephenson rumbled in from eight yards out to give Weiser the 19-7 lead.
Many thought the young Pirate crew would close up shop and self-destruct.
Not this bunch. They made their last two possessions count.
“We played a good first half, and they jumped on us early in the second half,” Payette head coach Troy Gleave said. “We put a huge drive together and got a little closer. I looked up at the scoreboard and told my team, they only had 19 on the board, so all we had to do was score, stop them and score again. It (the speech) got it done.”
Moments after Weiser’s score, Payette had possession and Blackwell led his team on a 14-play, 81-yard drive, taking 4:22 off the clock.
On that drive, Payette converted on a third-and-eight, a fourth-and-13 and a fourth-and-one play.
On fourth-and-13 from Weiser’s 45-yard line, Blackwell rolled to his right and lofted a pass into the waiting arms of Tobby White. White leapt high in the air, corralled the ball and landed on his back.
The catch garnered 21 yards and, new set of downs.
On the play, Weiser was called for a roughing the passer penalty which moved the ball to the 12-yard line.
Three plays later, Payette faced a fourth and inches from the 3-yard line and Blackwell snuck through for the first down.
On the next snap, Blackwell plunged in for the score, and after an extra point, the Pirates were down 19-14 with 6:50 remaining.
On Weiser’s next possession, they looked up at a third-and-four from the 37-yard line, when running back Trent Winegar swept down the left sideline for a 15-yard gain and a first down.
A flag was thrown and Weiser was called for offensive holding.
Grotheer played hero on the next snap, as Weiser quarterback Gavin Eisenbarth floated a pass intended for Carl Cox, but Grotheer batted the ball away, forcing a punt.
Payette received the ball with 5:01 remaining in the game, from their own 44-yard line, where they went on a 8-play, 56-yard drive.
Faced with a second-and-12 from Weiser’s 48-yard line, Blackwell fired a pass into the secondary, Weiser’s Winegar made a b-line for the ball with a leaping grab, but the ball squirted off his hands into the arms of White for a 26-yard gain, giving Payette a first down from the 22-yard line with just over 2:31 left in the game.
Damian Reynolds then broke loose on the next play for a 20-yard jaunt all the way to the Weiser 2-yard line.
Three plays later, on third-and-goal from the one, Reynolds leapfrogged the pile into paydirt for the game-winning score with 1:54 remaining.
On Weiser’s next possession, they marched the ball all the way to Payette’s 44-yard line, when Eisenbarth backtracked in the pocket and fired a Hail Mary to Cox.
But Payette’s White was right on the spot and snared his second interception of the game on the 2-yard line with only 39 seconds on the clock.
One last deep breath.
Weiser could still win the game with a safety.
Blackwell ended those thoughts with a quarterback sneak out to the 3-yard line.
The referees spotted the ball, wound the clock down and the sideline erupted.
Pirate Fan wrote on Oct 12, 2008 8:20 AM: