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By Stephen Buus
Greenfield, MO – During the regular season, the toughest test for the Greenfield Wildcats came in Week Two, a 48-32 victory on the road over the Sacred Heart Gremlins in Sedalia. On Friday night, the Gremlins returned the favor in dramatic fashion, beating the Wildcats in Greenfield 40-38 to claim the District 4 championship in 8-Man football.
Greenfield (9-1) hadn’t taken the field in three weeks thanks to a bye in the first round of the playoffs and a forfeit win in the semifinals. Though coach Brian Lowry claimed there was no ring rust, the Wildcats did dig themselves into an early hole, committing three turnovers and seeing Sacred Heart convert two of them into touchdowns—both on passes from Trent Lyles to Nick Cashman—as the Gremlins (7-3) led 12-0 after one quarter.
The Wilcats finally got on the board with 8:32 left in the first half on a 3-yard TD run by Charles Servoss. That would be the first of five consecutive Greenfield scores, highlighted by a 64-yard TD pass from Draven Stapp to Jalen Roby and a 40-yard scamper by Servoss. Midway through the third quarter, Greenfield led 32-12, a significant yet not insurmountable advantage in 8-Man.
“We talked about playing four quarters of football,” said Gremlin coach Ben Lyles. “The last time we played them in Week Two, it pretty much came down to the last couple of minutes and they beat us a couple of touchdowns. So we said, ‘Keep grinding, keep playing one play at a time,’ And we got a little spark to finish the game out.”
Momentum shifted late in the third quarter and into the fourth as Sacred Heart scored three times on rushes by Lyles in less than three minutes, aided by a stolen onside kick and a defensive stop to go back in front 34-32.
Greenfield retook the lead on the next drive as Stapp ran it in from 13 yards out but missed on the extra point, which would prove costly.
The teams traded possessions as both missed on fourth down. Sacred Heart quickly moved down the field on their final drive, aided by a pass interference penalty. With 22 seconds left, Lyles heaved a desperate pass that bounced off a Greenfield defender and landed in the hands of Micah Tanguay for a 9-yard touchdown and a 40-38 lead.
“Some of our playmakers said just put the ball in our hands,” Coach Lyles recalled. “Our line got that second wind and said we’ll open the holes up, get a couple of mismatches down the field and on the last play [Trent] Lyles just scrambled and made a play. Micah was just standing in the right spot.”
Even then, Greenfield still had a chance. On the final play, needing to go 45 yards for the win, Stapp found Roby in double coverage. Roby broke the tackle and tried his best to reach the goal line, but he was pushed out of bounds at the 5-yardline.
For Sacred Heart, Lyles was 19 of 41 passing for 230 yards and 3 TDs. He also rushed 33 times for 141 yards and 2 scores. Cashman was the leading receiver with 8 catches for 121 yards and 2 TDs.
For Greenfield, Servoss had 24 carries for 149 yards and 3 TDs while Jerrett Esposito added 77 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Stapp completed 5 of 15 for 141 yards, a TD, and 2 interceptions.
As close as the game was, it could have been better. Nine conversion tries came up empty, and the teams combined for over 200 yards of penalties (Greenfield 10 for 110; Sacred Heart 12 for 100).
“It’s rough,” Lowry said regarding the end of Greenfield’s undefeated season. “These kids have worked their tail off and it’s rough to see them in the locker room the way they’re taking it. I should have done a better job [coaching] and we should have made a few more plays. We’re not going to make excuses.”
Sacred Heart 12 0 14 14 — 40
Greenfield 0 20 12 6 — 38
First quarter
SH—Nick Cashman 26 pass from Trent Lyles (pass failed), 5:07
SH—Cashman 36 pass from Lyles (pass failed), 2:31
Second quarter
G—Charles Servoss 3 run (run failed), 8:32
G—Jerrett Esposito 1 run (Dravon Stapp run), 2:27
G—Jalen Roby 64 pass from Stapp (run failed), 0:54
Third quarter
G—Servoss 6 run (run failed), 8:00
G—Servoss 40 run (pass failed), 6:44
SH—Lyles 6 run (pass failed), 0:45
SH—Lyles 4 run (Micah Tanguay pass from Lyles), 0:02
Fourth quarter
SH—Lyles 13 run (Cashman pass from Lyles), 10:41
G—Stapp 13 run (run failed), 7:55
SH—Tanguay 9 pass from Lyles (pass failed), 0:22
