Best Football Game I’ve Seen in a Long Time

I had the joy of coaching one of the most exciting football games I've ever seen last night. We played a very good team from West Linn that was locked in a three-way tie with Beaverton and us and had yet to lose in our division. The first half was marked by a disappointing Sherwood long drive that ended on a stuffed 4th and goal on their 1 yard line. Our defense played strong but had a few missed coverages allowing them to score twice, leading to a score of 13-0 at half-time.

We kicked off to West Linn to open the second half and they proceeded to consume the entire 3rd quarter with a single drive, ending with a 4th and goal from about our 12 yard line. They tried to throw to their tight end opposite a trips set but our cornerback stayed true and got an interception, returning it for 95 yards and a TD. We missed the PAT putting the score at 13-6.

Our defense stepped up again, forcing a turnover on downs and giving us the ball on offense. It is now mid-way through the 4th quarter and we finally get to run our first offensive play of the half! We stuck to our game plan, running power off-tackle and ISO plays with just a bit of mis-direction thrown in, and marched down for a touchdown. We converted the PAT to go up 14-13.

Once again our defense steps up and forces a turnover on downs. We have the ball with less than 2 minutes remaining, and West Linn has all three time outs. We continue to drive with our power running game and break free for another touchdown. After a successful conversion, we are up 22-13.

Now things get interesting. I call for an onside kick hoping to avoid any sort of return, but the kick takes a wild hop allowing an up back to catch it on the run and get to the sideline. We stop him but not before he's down inside our 30 yard line. A few plays later and they have a touchdown strike down the middle, splitting my two-deep zone. Their QB is very talented.

We stuff the PAT, but now we have to control the sure-to-come onside kick or they have another shot at scoring. We successfully recover the kick and take a knee to end the game.

An incredible battle where we scored all 22 of our points in the fourth quarter. Our reward is that we will likely get to play the same team in the first round of the playoffs. You can watch highlights of the game online at Hudl.