Manhattan beats Blue Valley on game’s last play

Friday September 4, 2009 7:00 PM
Team (Record)	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Manhattan	14	3	0	6	23
Blue Valley (4 - 6)	0	14	7	0	21

Manhattan beat Blue Valley convincingly last season. This time the Tigers made it interesting.

Manhattan scored the first 17 points Friday night, Blue Valley the next 21. But Manhattan won the game 23-21 on the last play of the game on an 18-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryan Wilkerson to senior running back Derek Campbell.

Campbell caught the ball in the right side of the end zone as the scoreboard clock hit 0:00. There were Tigers’ defenders in the area, but Campbell came down with the ball.

It was a tough loss for Blue Valley. The Tigers led 21-17 when Manhattan took the ball on its own 27 with 2 minutes and 33 seconds left in the game.

The Indians were aided late in the game with a pass-interference call on third at 10 at the Tigers’ 33.

Wilkerson tossed an incomplete pass from the 18 with 7 seconds left.

After a Blue Valley timeout, Campbell lined up far out on the right side of the formation and made the catch in the end zone that gave the Indians the victory.

“We made way too many mistakes in the football games,” Blue Valley coach Steve Rampy said. “There was no phase of the game where we played well.”

Manhattan beat Blue Valley 29-7 in last year’s opener in Manhattan, the Tigers’ only regular-season loss in 2008.

Manhattan scored two first-quarter touchdowns. Campbell raced 85 yards on a sweep around left end with 6:36 left in the first quarter.

Blue Valley quarterback Anthony Abenoja was 13 of 27 passing for 190 yards with no interceptions.

submitted by CHARLES REDFIELD - 2009-09-04 23:20:01

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