Our rural community is celebrating an incredible last-second win in regional football post-season play.
My sister’s twin grandsons play on this varsity team, one the starting quarterback, as high school sophomores at Hillsdale.
Their mother is my niece, and I’ve watched, as she and her husband have cheered these boys on from their pee-wee football teams not so many years ago.
It was a chilly, rainy night when Hillsdale and Malvern took the field at Wakefield Stadium near Canton, both teams ready to give it their all in hopes of furthering their season to the Elite Eight.
There was plenty of back-and-forth scoring as the game neared halftime. Hillsdale’s quarterback Kael Lewis threw a pass into the end zone for a touchdown as the clock ended the first half, putting the Jeromesville, Ohio, team ahead as they headed into the locker rooms to prepare for the second half.
When the game clock started again, Hillsdale managed to press forward for a significant lead. Thinking Hillsdale had the victory secured, many Malvern fans started to leave.
If they had stayed, they would have surely felt they got their money’s worth. Two incredible touchdowns as the end grew near put Malvern ahead by 4. Even a field goal would not bring Hillsdale a victory.
With only 25 seconds remaining in the game, Hillsdale took the ball. The clock and the score had us reaching the conclusion that this was the end of the road for this young team. Two quick plays advanced us down the field, but the clock was ticking. And Lewis was limping, fighting extreme leg cramps, willing himself to remain focused.
Taking the football with only 1.2 seconds remaining on the clock, Lewis rolled to his right near the 40-yard-line, clearly searching for a play in the end zone. He let loose a beautiful Hail Mary pass into heavy traffic. We all held our collective breath as we watched the football arc and sail with precision.
Malvern players were heavily blocking our receivers. As the football reached the end zone, one of the Malvern players tipped the ball into the air. The football flipped upward and then, in improbable style, Hillsdale wide receiver Hayden McFadden managed an incredible leap, arm fully outstretched behind his body, for an absolutely amazing grab, scoring the winning touchdown.
The clock had run out, Hillsdale taking the win with a final score of 50-48.
Hillsdale had intercepted a couple of Malvern’s 2-point conversion plays in the end zone earlier in the game, or the score would have still been out of reach. Hillsdale advanced to the regional finals in the OHSAA Division VII tournament.
We celebrate this team and its young head coach, Hillsdale alum Trevor Cline. He has orchestrated, along with a seasoned staff, this group of boys who have played with amazing grit, never giving up the hope of making something big happen.
This group runs on teamwork, a number of the boys also participating in FFA and showing a great sense of community. My 7-year-old grandson has told me the varsity players come to his classroom sometimes to read books together, and if they see one another in the hallways and in pep rallies, it’s fist bumps all around. They behave like gentlemen both on and off the field.
In today’s highly fraught world of divisiveness, it is so heartwarming to see this type of magic both on and off the football field.
A shared victory is made all the sweeter, memories being built that will last a lifetime.
