MCPHERSON —The difference was one yard for Emporia High Friday night.
The Spartans stopped McPherson at the one-yard line, then watched as the clock ticked down to zero to preserve a 66-63 EHS win over McPherson at McPherson Stadium.
With 13 seconds remaining in the game, McPherson quarterback Tyler Matthews completed a pass to Marcus Houghton near the goal line. As Houghton turned to go into the end zone, he was stopped short by Emporia’s Derek Hartig and Jerry Parks. Although he was near the east sideline, Hartig and Parks also prevented Houghton from getting out of bounds to stop the clock. The Bullpups, out of timeouts, scrambled in an attempt to get one more snap, but were unable to do so before the buzzer. The ball sat at the hash mark at the one-yard line as the Spartans began their celebration when the clock expired.
“I don’t really recall it, it was kind of a blur,” senior linebacker Austin Knight said. “I was just happy after the game. I watched the clock as it ticked down and then once I saw it hit those double zeroes, that’s when it was game over.”
McPherson was in the midst of attempting a 10-point comeback in the final 6:14 of the game. A Logan Highley interception had set up a Derek Gifford touchdown run, which put the Spartans ahead 66-56 with just more than six minutes to play.
The Bullpups answered with a touchdown drive, but they still trailed by three points with 2:22 to go in the shootout. They attempted an onside kick, which was successful, placing them at the Emporia 49-yard line. They drove 48 of the 49 yards.
EHS (5-3) had trailed 42-34 at halftime. The Spartans came up with 26 unanswered points to take a 60-42 lead late in the third quarter, thanks in part to two touchdown passes from quarterback Braxton Marstall to brother Brady Marstall. McPherson scored the next 14 points to get back within four.
“You can’t just make up stuff at halftime, the kids just executed better,” EHS coach Dustin Delaney said. “All the credit goes to the kids for pulling it together and executing it better, and what an unbelievable stop to win the game.”
Both teams started quickly offensively, with six touchdowns being scored between the two teams in the first seven minutes of play. The two teams combined for more than 1,300 yards of total offense, with McPherson narrowly outgaining EHS at 684-683. There were a total of five punts, with Emporia punting twice and McPherson three times. Each team turned the ball over once, McPherson on an interception and Emporia on a lost fumble.
“I don’t think they could stop us, and we couldn’t stop them,” Delaney said. “And it just came down to absolutely one yard. We each had a turnover, I think, and we made the plays when we needed to. I don’t care how we win, as long as we win.”
Braxton Marstall was nearly perfect passing the ball, going 8-9 for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Gifford ran the ball 20 times for the Spartans, going for 204 yards and four touchdowns. Dylan Jackson ran for 104 yards and one touchdown.
Knight was the Spartans’ leading receiver with 106 yards on two catches. Brady Marstall had 89 yards on two catches, both of which went for touchdowns.
Austin O’Bannon ran the ball 27 times for McPherson, going for 161 yards and six touchdowns. Matthews passed for 445 yards on 39 attempts. Houghton had 10 catches for 210 yards while Jordan Hart had 10 catches for 193 yards for the Bullpups.
The win moves EHS to 2-0 in district play, and the Spartans will conclude their regular season on Oct. 28 at Valley Center (1-7.) The Hornets lost to Newton 34-14 Friday in the district’s other game, meaning both McPherson and Newton are 1-1 in district play heading into their matchup on Oct. 28.
Friday at McPherson
Emporia 20 14 26 6
McPherson 21 21 7 14
First quarter
MCP — O’Bannon 2 run (Vedvik kick)
EMP — Gifford 50 run (kick failed)
MCP — O’Bannon 1 run (Vedvik kick)
EMP — Jackson 64 run (kick failed)
MCP — O’Bannon 6 run (Vedvik kick)
EMP — Jackson 29 run (Brax. Marstall run)
Second quarter
MCP — O’Bannon 9 run (Vedvik kick)
EMP — Campbell 55 pass from Brax. Marstall (conversion failed)
MCP — O’Bannon 9 run (Vedvik kick)
EMP — Gifford 67 run (Gifford run)
MCP — Matthews 3 run (Vedvik kick)
Third quarter
EMP — Brady Marstall 57 pass from Brax. Marstall (Brady Marstall pass from Brax. Marstall)
EMP — Brax. Marstall 27 run (kick blocked)
EMP — Gifford 2 run (conversion failed)
EMP — Brady Marstall 32 pass from Brax. Marstall (conversion failed)
MCP — Houghton 63 pass from Matthews (Vedvik kick)
Fourth quarter
MCP — Hart 39 pass from Matthews (Vedvik kick)
EMP — Gifford 1 run (kick failed)
MCP — O’Bannon 15 run (Vedvik kick)
GAME STATISTICS
EMP MCP
First downs 9 23
Rushes-yards 37-416 44-239
Comp.-Att.-Int. 8-9-0 24-39-1
Passing yards 267 445
Total yards 683 684
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 3-45 5-52
Punts-Avg. 2-35 3-31.7
Individual Statistics
Rushing — EMP: Gifford 20-204, Jackson 4-104, Brax. Marstall 12-81, Knight 1-27. MCP: O’Bannon 27-161, Hart 6-41, Matthews 8-34, Clark 2-5.
Passing — EMP: Brax. Marstall 8-9-0, 267 yards. MCP: Matthews 24-39-1, 445 yards.
Receiving — EMP: Campbell 1-55, Eichler 1-4, Brady Marstall 2-89, Jackson 2-13, Knight 2-106. MCP: Houghton 10-210, Hart 10-193, Cape 2-35, O’Bannon 1-1, Clark 1-6.