Late field goal lifts Vandercook to 45-42 victory and 8-1 regular season
By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Jackson – First came the family group hug, a much-needed dose of calming therapy.
Then came the question about this Thursday night home game, and just what he was feeling in the moments after it ended.
And with that, Steve Wolvin smiled and shrugged.
What more could he do?
The Vandercook Lake football coach had just endured a nearly three-hour contest with Springport, watched his defense allow more than 500 total yards of offense, give up seven touchdowns, commit seven offside penalties and surrender multiple double-digit leads.
He witnessed his offense turn the ball over four times in one game after doing so twice in the previous eight.
He saw a drive start at the 5-yard line with a chance to put things out of reach, and end on a 98-yard fumble recovery for touchdown going the other way.
His special teams were suspect at best, allowing more than 200 return yards.
And with less than a minute to play, on fourth down, he watched as his guys allowed a 10-yard completion and subsequent hook-and-ladder trick play.
So, he smiled and shrugged, because somehow, someway, this all equated to a 45-42 victory.
“I’ve never been part of a game like that,” Wolvin said simply. “That was unreal.”
‘Unreal’ is putting it this offensive explosion mildly, especially considering after 13 combined touchdowns, it was a 32-yard field goal that decided it all.
Vandercook hosted Springport Thursday night with a chance to secure a home playoff game next weekend, while the Spartans were fighting for their playoff lives with a 5-3 record entering the contest.
And from the get go, things took on an eerie sort of feeling with tricks, treats and defensive horrors fit for a mid-October night.
Springport had trouble with the opening kickoff, started at its own 5-yard then, then marched with ease deep into Vandercook territory on a dozen or so runs.
Moments later, Rasheed Hicks picked off a pass in the end zone.
Two plays later Zaithon Allen took an innocent-looking handoff and dashed 88 yards for a 7-0 lead.
Springport responded, though, taking the ensuing drive 62 yards, capped by a 4-yard run from Robbie Lucas. Following a Zach Vanderpuyl interception, Derek Keating gave the Spartans a 12-6 with 20 seconds to play in the first quarter on a 5-yard run.
But on the ensuing kickoff, Chase Pierce picked up the ball before it went out of bounds and returned in 90 yards for a 14-12 lead.
The only difference was Springport failing to convert a pair of two-point conversions.
The Spartans needed just four minutes of the second quarter to retake the lead, getting a 1-yard run from Dallas Burger, and an 18-14 advantage after another failed conversion.
Vandercook answered back with two touchdowns before the half, a 6-yard run from Pierce and a 4-yard pass from Nolan Hancock to Noah Cooper for a 28-18 lead.
Vandercook got the ball to start the second half with a chance to take control.
After Springport failed to recover the onside kick, Hancock was picked off by Derek Keating, and just 1:09 into the half, Logan Browning scored on a 28-yard run and the Spartans cut the deficit to 28-24 after a failed conversion attempt.
This time Vandercook had the answer, as Allen hauled in a 58-yard touchdown pass for a 35-24 advantage, only to see Keating catch a 10-yard strike on the ensuing drive and again cut the deficit to 35-30.
Vandercook needed a knockout punch, and seemed to get it when Allen scored on a 5-yard run with 1:13 to play in the third and a 42-30 lead.
Forty seconds later, Browning was back in the end zone and Springport trailed 42-36, failing on a sixth two-point conversion.
The teams traded the ball back and fourth early in the fourth, with Vandercook punting twice.
Springport, buried deep in its own end midway through the frame, was forced to go for it on fourth down, and Burger hit Taylor Whitmore for a first down, but Cooper was there to strip the ball away and run it all the way to the 5-yard line.
Two plays later, Burger ripped the ball away and scampered 98 yards for a touchdown and 42-42 tie with 6:25 to play.
Having scored seven touchdowns to Vandercook Lake’s six, Springport went for two again, and failed.
“You could kind of feel the wind come out of our sails after they scored,” Wolvin said. “But not for long.”
Vandercook Lake drove on its final possession, again reaching the goal line before an unsportsmanlike penalty on third down pushed the ball back to the 15.
With 1:57 remaining, Devin Cheney drilled a 32-yard field goal for the three-point lead, but things were far from over.
Springport started driving again, and faced with fourth down, Burger fired a pass to Whitmore that was beyond the first-down marker, but Whitmore pitched the ball backwards on a hook-and-ladder attempt to lineman Just Bierwagen.
Bierwagon was behind the first-down marker when he took the pitch, tackled immediatelty, and with that, one of the wildest games either team had ever played was final.
“For coaches, this is miserable,” Wolvin said with a smile. “We had so many penalties, and you’re embarrassed by that. But for the fans, they love the up and down. And when it’s in the 40’s, I don’t know if they care who wins. They are tired from cheering so much.”
With the win, Vandercook closed the regular season 8-1, the best finish for the program since the 1971 team also went 8-1.
“To win a game like this says a lot about our guys,” Wolvin said. “They’ve had it their way the first parts of this year. But for them to pull it out was pretty solid.”
Hancock finished the game 7-of-15 passing for 151 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Allen hauled in three passes for 105 yards and a score.
He also led the rushing attack with 153 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. Pierce finished with 68 yards on 12 carries and one score.
Sam Ray led the defense with 12 tackles, while Koby Bushinski added 11.
Cheney made all six extra points and the lone field goal.
Vandercook is likely to host a pre-district game next week.
“We should be very confident,” Wolvin said of his guys. “This is a loose group. We’re not going to play tight or turn it over. We’re looking forward to it. It’s on us now to be better at practice leading up to the game. But these guys will be excited and ready to go.”
Keating led the Spartans’ rushing attack with 145 yards on 13 carries. Browning had 127 on 14 carries, while Burger rushed 25 times for 106 yards. Burger also completed 7-of-15 passes for 133 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.
Whitmore had five catches for 84 yards.
Springport, now 5-4, will have to wait until Sunday night to see if it can earn an at-large berth to the postseason.
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.