OLIVESBURG – After battling for 48 minutes, the Firelands Conference tussle between Crestview and Mapleton came down to a matter of inches, with the Mounties coming up just short, 14-13.
Trailing by a touchdown with 1:08 left, Mapleton (2-4, 1-2) started a drive at its own 42. Sophomore quarterback Logan Pharmer completed passes of 28, 7 and 16 yards, taking the Mounties to the 14-yard line with 15 seconds left. Pharmer then found sophomore Garrett Hartley across the middle for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 4 ticks remaining, cutting the Cougars’ lead to 14-13.
As they lined up for the point after attempt, the Mounties appeared uncertain whether they were going to kick the PAT or try for a two-point conversion. After a delay-of-game penalty, the Mounties decided to go for two. Pharmer dropped back and lofted a pass toward Gage Barone that sailed just out of the receiver’s reach.
“We were going to kick it, but our kids wanted to go for it. I thought we had the momentum. If we score there, we win the game,” said Mapleton coach Bob Mahaney.
For Crestview coach Dan Mager, it was a moment of deja’ vu. In 2015, the Cougars lost a game at the last second when South Central completed a two-point conversion for a win.
“When I saw it sail over the kid’s head, I was like, Walker is looking down on us. He did that for us. He covered that guy,” Mager said, referring to Walker Ramsay, who died this past May and would have been a senior for Crestview this year.
The Mounties recovered the onside kick on the 40-yard line and the referees put 1 second on the clock. Pharmer was unable to get off a Hail Mary attempt as he ended up on his back in the arms of a Cougar defender as time expired.
“I cannot tell you how proud I am of how hard those kids fought all the way to the end,” Mahaney said.
“Our defense won that game for us,” Mager said. “They’ve carried us all season long.”
The game was scoreless until Crestview (5-1, 3-0) capped a 12-play drive when quarterback Jay Oswalt scrambled in to the end zone from 1 yard out. The extra point made it 7-0 with 1:05 left in the first half.
On the first drive of the second half, junior Blake Sweet scampered into the end zone from four yards out after a 13-play drive. The PAT put the Cougars on top 14-0.
The Mounties wasted no time responding. After two runs by Pharmer and a 20-yard pass from Pharmer to Garrett Haines, Pharmer found Chase Davis for a 35-yard touchdown pass. An extra point cut the Cougar lead to 14-7 with 3:44 left in the third quarter.
For Mapleton, Pharmer was 19-of-34 for 236 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, all three by Garrett Dudley. Davis grabbed seven passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Oswalt completed 3 of 5 passes for 37 yards. Dylan LaFever carried 16 times for 69 yards and Sweet added 69 yards on 12 carries.
Crestview visits Norwalk St. Paul next Saturday night and Mapleton travels to South Central.
