Kick the extra point and go to a second overtime, or go for the two-point conversion and the win. The call was simple for Emporia High coach Bill Lowe.
All week the Spartans had practiced for a goal line situation just like this, and even if everyone knew the ball was going to Mark Kolmer, the Spartans believed Kolmer could get the three yards they needed to knock off undefeated Manhattan.
Sometimes, the gamble just doesn’t pay off.
Kolmer ran into a bevy of Manhattan defenders on the final win-or-lose play, fell inches short of the goal line, and Manhattan held on for the 35-34 overtime win.
“It shouldn’t have been that close,” Kolmer said. “That’s all I know.”
If the Spartans came away with a lesson on Friday night, it would be Kolmer’s proclamation about the final play.
Emporia sleepwalked through the first quarter, and Manhattan (5-0) led 21-0 before Emporia picked up a first down.
“Our kids were scared of them at first and just weren’t ready to play, and that’s my fault,” Lowe said. “We’ve got to be better prepared.
“I could see it in the locker room before the game. Everybody was quiet, and it’s like, we’ve beat them two years in a row, and now we come out tonight and we’re scared to death of them.”
Lowe said the Spartans had two options — get blown out or fight back — and as has been the case several times this season, the Spartans quickly battled back.
Kolmer struggled to find any room to run early, but he finally found a hole on the Spartans’ second drive of the second quarter and ran 33 yards up the middle. The big run set up a Brandon Gentz 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Collin Thomsen.
Jacob Loucks pooch-kicked the kickoff and Manhattan’s Lane Trudo mishandled the kick, and Emporia’s Chris Santos recovered.
The Spartans capitalized on the Manhattan mishap, and Loucks scored on an 18-yard TD run with 48.1 seconds left in the half to put the Spartans within a touchdown.
“We thought we were the better team,” Gentz said. “We knew if we came out and played like that, we just needed to come back and smack them in the mouth.”
Kolmer scored on Emporia’s first possession of the second half to tie the game at 21.
Manhattan took the lead again near the end of the third quarter on a 66-yard pass from Ryan Wilkinson to Cale Miller.
Once again, the Spartans responded, and Kolmer scored on a 36-yard TD run that tied the game with 10:33 left in regulation.
The Spartans had a chance to win late in regulation, but they had a drive stall at the 20 when they turned the ball over on downs with 1:25 left.
Emporia won the coin flip in overtime and decided to play defense first. The Indians scored in two plays and went ahead by seven with the extra point.
Emporia needed only one play to score, with Kolmer easily running 10 yards into the end zone.
Lowe decided to gamble and sent his offense back out for the two-point conversion, instead of kicking the extra point and going to a second overtime.
“We couldn’t stop them on defense,” he said. “We hadn’t stopped them on defense all night and we’ve got to go for two to win. We’ve got to be able to get three yards.”
Both teams traded time outs trying to get a look at what the other was doing, but Lowe knew all along he was going with the play they had worked on all week.
“That’s the play we believe in,” he said.
Lowe said it might have been a bad play call, but he would go for two every time.
Now that the Centennial League race has been settled — only the first six games counted as league games — Emporia (4-2) can now look forward to district play.
As was the case in losing to undefeated Junction City, Lowe and Gentz said the team can learn from the loss to Manhattan.
“We obviously have a very tough schedule, but we’re going to use that to our benefit when it comes around district time,” Gentz said. “We’re not going to use excuses for our losses. We’re going to use our tough schedule when district comes around.”
UsayULoveGod (anonymous) says...
Is Mark going to Emporia State ?
October 11, 2009 at 12:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )