WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. September 6, 2003 UPDATED 2:00 P.M. E.D.T.,September 8, 2003: Mike Devere and Ryan Smalls combined for two electrifying pass plays in the final minute with no time outs left, covering 75 yards, leading to Mike Devere’s 8 yard around the end and far sideline dash to the tying touchdown to beat New Rochelle in today’s Opening Football Game in the Queen City, 7-6. The drive covered 83 yards in 7 plays with Lefty Devere hitting Smalls twice to the far sideline for about 55 yards to Huguenot 28, and then to Smalls again on the near sideline. Smalls cutback to the 8 fighting for the equalizer instead of stepping out of bounds, with the clock running. Then on first and goal from the 8, Devere rolled on in for the essential 6.
BACK ON THE GRIDIRON AGAIN: Mike Devere at the helm in the second quarter Saturday in New Rochelle. The Tigers and Huguenots battled to a scoreless tie at the half. The poised Tiger defense kept NR’s “jackrabbit backfield” in check, which hurt themselves with five false starts in key situations and delay of game penalties that killed series. Jason Indelicato’s 35 and 40 yard punts kept NR in poor field position. Mike Lane saved a touchdown with 2 minutes to go in the half, when he made tip of a pass to Courtney Green at the Tiger 20 who was long gone for six, if the “Night Train” hadn’t gotten a paw on the pass. Mike’s tip-away without drawing a pass interference was the biggest, most elegant defensive play of the opening half. The Orange and the Black suffered an anxious moment when Spencer Ridenhour appeared to injure his leg on a line dive play in the early second quarter, but returned to the game. The Tigers lost Jason Indelicato with a leg injury on the next play. He punted like Don Chandler and stood up the Huguenot line when they went up the middle the entire first half. Photo by WPCNR Sports
With a White Plains first down on the 8 with “mystery time remaining,” (no one could read the scoreboard clock on the East side of the field), incredibly, New Rochelle called time out to get their best defense in, was my guess. Big Mistake.
On the first play from the 8, Devere took the pass option roll-out to the left. He made the decision to go for it, seeing his receivers covered. Mike turned the corner, rounded the end. The Huguenots, in horror flat-footed in their coverage, could not get over in time! Devere deked in standing on the left corner flag. TouchDOWN! TouchDOWN! The White Plains fans went berserk! Parents became kids again! High fiving, shaking hands.
The New Rochelle stands were very, very quiet. They had seen an incredible turn of events.
It Pays to Have a Kicker Who Plays Soccer.
With the score tied 6-6, Pablo Siaba came in to kick the Point After Touchdown. Rattled, New Rochelle jumped offside before Pablo could kick it. They lined up on the 1-1/2 yard line. It was the pressure kick.
Pablo Siaba, a former soccer player, kicking his first extra point of the season, coolly kicked the winning point slightly left of dead in the middle, to put the Tigers ahead, 7-6. The refs threw up their arms! It was good. A Tiger football moment to remember. It will be a kick Pablo will always remember: His first extra point of the season and the game rode on it, otherwise it was overtime and who knows?
Three passes for the game.
New Rochelle, stopped at the White Plains 17 by a rallying Tiger defense on fourth down a scant minute before, took the ensuing kickoff to their 38 and took three shots at the go-ahead score.
A pass to the White Plains 20 was overthrown down the right sideline. The receiver ahead of the defenders but the ball way over.
A short pass on second down to the 50 was thrown out of bounds. Pursuit and coverage right there.
Geof McDermott lofted a long, long pass down the middle after being flushed from the pocket. It appeared the White Plains Defense that had shut down the New Rochelle jackrabbit back field all afternoon, thought McDermott had been sacked but he got away got the pass off, and Chris Lee had split the Tiger deep defenders at the 5
The ball was on target. Lee had it over the shoulder at his belly, back to the ball, and it dropped through his desperate fingers. Incomplete. He lay in the goaline grass in misery as the game ended.
TIME RUNS OUT! The Tigers rush the field, in mad joy, after a win on “two wings and a prayer.” Apparently time had run out on the dropped pass play at the goal line ( official time is kept on the field), because the game horn on the “invisible” New Rochelle scoreboard did not sound. Tigers win. Pandemonium! The Tigers had a miracle win and lingered on the field a full 30 minutes afterwards savoring one to remember.
Photo by WPCNR Sports
White Plains won this game because they did not lose their poise and kept their concentration when New Rochelle was driving for for the clinching touchdown with 3 minutes left. With a first down on the Tiger 17, the Huguenots had finally appeared to have solved the tenacious Tiger defense and appeared to be going for the nail in the coffin.
After White Plains had pulled a terrific “Flea Flicker” at the NR 45, with Devere handing off to a halfback then getting it pitched back to him and hitting Mike Lane on the Rochelle 23 who could not pull in the pass, the Tigers had appeared to have had their last chance to tie. Especially when the next two plays gained only 5 yards. On 4th down, Spencer Ridenhour’s punt popped in the air and only went 5 yards giving New Rochelle great field position at their 38.
The Huguenots rocked the Tigers with a 13 yard run by Green, a 12-yard pass to the Tiger 38, and a third down pass for a first down on the Tiger 25. They could just feel the clincher.
On the first down, New Rochelle took another bad penalty, a clip, which marched them back to the 40, first and 25. New Rochelle unofficially racked up at least 75 yards in penalties of simple execution: false starts and delays of game.
The clip was key. They got ten yards back on a run. A run into the line lost three. On third and 13 from the 28, a pitch back got them to the 25. On fourth down, a run got them back to the 17 where White Plains took over.
Two “Wings”
The Tigers had about a minute and a half to tie it. Devere dropped back on first down from the shot gun formation, was chased, appeared sacked. Unofficially he was sacked at least half a dozen times this afternoon, but this time he elegantly eluded the Purple Sea and got it up to the Tiger 33. Two plays lost yardage back to the 20, then Devere winged an arching pass down the far sideline, the Tigers’ last hope. Ryan Smalls was out there down the left deep route in back of his defender at the New Rochelle 40.
The pass was coming in dying high and Ryan had to come back for it, catching it at his belt at the New Rochelle 40 and swiveling, twisting away from the shocked safety, who watched Ryan catch it. Smalls eluded the tackler for 12 more yards for a first down lifeline at the New Rochelle 28. The play covered 55 yards, and unbelievably, the Tigers were back on touchdown street.
The race against time.
But the Tigers had no timeouts. The offense back at the Tiger 20 was racing down the field to line up for a play from the New Rochelle 28. The clock was ticking. No one had any idea how much seconds they had.
On first and 28 to tie, Devere got the snap, appeared to roll left, southpawed back to the near sideline to Ryan at the 15, and Ryan was headed for out of bounds to stop the clock. But he saw daylight, cutback and tried to score, getting stopped at the 8. Was there time for a play? Nobody knew! The clock was running.
The New Rochelle scoreboard is unreadable in the western sun and the Tiger fans thought there was not enough time for a play.
Then the New Rochelle coach gave White Plains a huge break. He called time out. White Plains had none. The time out did White Plains a favor. The grandstand offensive coordinators theorized that Lou DiRienzo’s defense was rattled, and did not have the specialty defense players in there he wanted.
And The Prayer.
First and goal. Devere takes it. Drops back, rolls left. Looks faking to the far right. The Huguenot secondary buys it. There is a light pass rush. Devere rolls easy to the left side, still looking right. And he goes for goal. He goes for the goal!
Too late the pursuit shifts, tries to head him off at the corner flag. Not in time. They are too late! And Devere eases on in at the corner flag. The Tiger followers are ON their feet. The line judge throws up his arms. The score is tied, setting the stage for “Pele” Pablo Siaba’s kick to glory.
It was sweet revenge for Devere and the Tigers because the Huguenots, after recovering a Tiger fumble on the White Plains 35, scored on a quarterback 10-yard bootleg play to get their 6 points in the third quarter at the 6-minute mark. The defense was kicking themselves after that one. Courtney Green faked a handoff to his back, kept the ball on his hip and sauntered untouched around left end as the Tigers tackled a halfback in the backfield. It was an immaculate deception. But Ray Rice missed the extra point just wide of the left upright.
The Tigers Were Prepared Mentally.
The Tigers made just two fumbles, and by my count had only two penalties. This was a tribute to the way Coach Santa-Donato and his staff prepared the club. But, perhaps the real reason the Tigers won is because Coach Santa-Donato creates mentally poised and focused players who never lose heart. They’ll make mistakes, but they have the inner heart to bounce back. Coach Santa-Donato creates that. It is a special gift.
There are few high school teams with the mental toughness who could have stopped New Rochelle on that second touchdown drive late the game after they had just apparently missed an opportunity to tie the score.
There are few teams, even professional, who have the presence of mind after a long miracle play to race down the field to get another play off and be able to execute that play on the fly perfectly. Certainly not the Jets or the Giants.
The Tigers keep trying and for a first game, they were prepared and New Rochelle was not. Penalties killed NR in this one.
So did the Tigers concept of team defense. Every player is a hero on this club. Gabriel Robles was singled out by a celebrating parent as playing a great game on the line. Mike Lane and the secondary turnaside sweep and deke when they had to, holding the Huguenots basically ineffectual once they reached the 30, the Tigers cut down the sweeps. Huguenot passing worried them some in the Third Quarter, but New Rochelle could not come up with the big plays.
Coach Santa-Donato: “These kids just don’t quit!”
Coach Mark Santa-Donato wrote us on Monday about “2 Wings and a Prayer:”
“The play calling was from my offensive coordinator, Michael “Skip” Stevens who is in his third year with us. We were in our 2-minute offense. The defense is run by Mark Armogida, my defensive coordinator who has been with me for all my 12 years as Head Coach. These kids just don’t quit! They have won 4 close games in a row and just keep on coming! The kids and my coaches deserve all the credit.”
The fans who saw this finish will never forget it. It’s “The Two Wings and a Prayer Game: 83 yards in 7 plays, three of which covered 80 yards.
PERFECT DAY FOR FOOTBALL. PERFECT ENDING! Easily 100 White Plains Faithful headed south on the Hutch to enjoy Opening Kickoff of the season. Photo by WPCNR Sports
