By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Fortunes turned in a hurry on Thursday night in Diamond.
One minute, visiting Miller found itself facing 2nd-and-35 from midfield, late in the fourth quarter and trailing 8-6, after the Cardinals had been flagged for a block in the back and unsportsmanlike conduct on the previous play. It seemed increasingly likely the visitors would have to wait at least one more week for their first win of the season.
But then quarterback Nate Hill heaved a pass to receiver Jalen Madsen, who made a leaping grab while sandwiched between two defenders for a 33-yard gain. Jarod Lung rushed for the first down on the next play, and then punched it in from the 1-yard line three plays later for what became the game-winning touchdown.
Final score: Miller 12, Diamond 8.
“It’s one of those deals where you’ve got to let athletes make a play, one way or another,” Miller coach Derek Hill said. “We’re trying to stress to the quarterback to get the ball up and see what happens. When you hold onto it you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s what we stressed at halftime, put it up in the air and ideally you want an athlete to go make a play.
“Whatever the circumstances, we get a penalty and then sometimes you hope light shines on you and something goes your way because we fought through a lot of things and shooting ourselves in the foot,” Hill said. “These guys dug in and found a way.”
Miller, 1-3, snapped a three-game skid against the Wildcats, who fell to 1-3 on the season.
The teams combined to punt on each of the first four possessions of the game, but Diamond took an 8-0 lead with 6:17 left in the first half when, on a 3rd-and-19, quarterback Rafael Rangel threw a deep pass to receiver Zach Roughton, who broke a tackle at the 21-yard line and then strode into the end zone. Rangel rushed it in for the conversion.
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After a nice kick return, Miller started at the Diamond 47 and advanced as far as the 31 before turning it over on downs. The Cardinals got the ball back at the Diamond 43 with 2:29 on the clock and drove to the 3 before Hill threw incomplete on third and fourth down. But Diamond was penalized for pass interference on the final play, giving the Cardinals a new set of downs with the ball at the 1-yard line and less than 10 seconds remaining.
An encroachment penalty moved them a few inches closer, and then Lung, behind a wall of linemen, pushed across the goal line to make it 8-6 with 3.1 seconds left.
The second half was much like the first. Miller punted, then Diamond turned it over on downs at the Cardinals’ 45. Diamond’s Nick Meza recovered a fumble, then the Wildcats coughed it up themselves.
Early in the fourth, Miller’s Brodie Rinker intercepted a screen pass after it ricocheted off the helmet of a lineman. That gave the Cardinals possession inside the 50 with 10:09 left in the game. Six minutes later came the 2nd-and-35 bomb and Lung’s go-ahead touchdown.
The Wildcats got the ball at the 35, and Giancarlo Martinez made a leaping catch on first down for a 23-yard gain into Miller territory. Two plays later, Diamond tried some trickery––a pass from a running back to Rangel. But Miller’s defensive lineman Mason Neel intercepted it with 2:49 left, and the visitors ran out the clock.
“Ugly, whatever it is, you have to get that first win,” Hill said. “Our kids just haven’t felt that success and we’ve found ways to lose in our first three games. We haven’t been blown out besides one. We found a way and once you get that taste, then you can start correcting those things and you can get going. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if we lose that because this feels really, really good. We just knew if we stuck with it we could get that ‘W’ and follow through.”
“There are times in a football game when there are momentum swings like that,” Diamond coach Masen Cook said. “At the end of the day we just made too many mistakes and that’s what it boils down to. But we have a really good group and a group of guys that I think will bounce back and continue to work hard and get better. I’m thankful for that.”
For Miller, Hill completed five passes for 56 yards and he added 30 yards on the ground. Caden Calvin led the team with 24 carries for 97 yards, and Lung rushed eight times for 34 yards and two scores.
Diamond’s Rangel completed four passes for 107 yards and a score, and he rushed for 40 yards. The Wildcats were limited to just 67 rushing yards on 28 carries.
