Playoff games are a different environment. The thrill of victory and agony of defeat get magnified; the winners feel the ultimate glory of victory, a feeling only matched by the despair of the losers, who see their seasons (and the careers of the seniors) disappear in a blink of an eye; gone too soon.
We got our first taste of this tonight as the Westgate Tigers going on the road and knocking off the St. Amant Gators 28-20 in the first round of the Division I Non-Select playoffs. It’s a big win for Westgate as road playoff wins are never easy to come by, and it was a real team effort. The Tigers had 4 different players take snaps at quarterback in this game, something I’ve never seen before. This was an offense that managed to work in a unique way; finding chunk plays through the ground by coming at the St. Amant defense from a bunch of different angles with a bunch of different ball carriers. They kicked off the scoring (and explosive plays) with a pass from Bryant Leon to Jackilon Robertson to put Westgate on the board for an early lead, a lead they would never give up.
Despite Westgate’s unique attack, St. Amant put up a big fight on their end. They broke off a few big plays of their own in order to get their points, but they were mostly able to capitalize on Westgate mistakes. DB Easton Humphrey had a fantastic game, picking up two crucial interceptions on different Westgate passers, one to negate a Tiger scoring opportunity, and the other to create one for his offense. After Westgate took a 21-6 lead in the 3rd quarter, it was his very impressive 2nd interception that led to St. Amant’s next TD to bring it to a 21-13 score after 3 quarters.
Early in the 4th quarter, we got the defining drive of the game. With 9 minutes left and up by 8, the wills of both teams were tested after St. Amant punted and pinned Westgate deep in their own territory. With a quick stop and another potentially shaky punt (a problem for both teams in this game), St. Amant could get great field position to tie up the game. Instead, Westgate led a back-breaking 6 minute, 96 yard drive without a pass thrown, exerting their will on the St. Amant defense. It all but put the game away, capped off with a Trandin Benjamin rushing TD, his 2nd of the game.
That touchdown should have put the game away. However, St. Amant showed unbelievable will in this game’s final minutes, making things as difficult as possible for Westgate to escape. QB Cooper Babin led the team down the field in the final minutes, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Timothy Johnson Jr, who made a beautiful play on the ball to reduce the lead to 8 with less than a minute to go.
That should have been the end of things, as with less than a minute left, St. Amant would need an absolute miracle, a successful onside kick, in order to stay alive. It was unthinkable; and yet, somehow, it happened. The ball bounced off the leg of a Westgate Tiger and rolled towards none other than Easton Humphrey, who found a way to add onto his already stellar day. In one play, all of the hope was alive again in the Gator Pit, and the St. Amant fanbase was chomping at the bit to see a spectacular finish.
Unfortunately for the Gators, that spectacular finish wasn’t meant to be. Babin couldn’t get anything going on the final drive, and on 4th down, he launched a desperation deep ball to Timothy Johnson Jr, who couldn’t come down with it this time. Westgate escaped with a win that felt comfortably in hand for a while, but St. Amant just never gave up.
It’s a bitter defeat for St. Amant, who ends their season 7-4 with a first round exit that won’t sit well with anyone in that locker room. For Westgate, they move to 8-2 on the season and now have the chance to go up to Airline and knock off the #2 overall seed in the playoffs. It’s a great shot for an upset for a team that has already proven to be able to go on the road and take the game from the home team. It’ll be quite a big first test for an undefeated Airline team.
Check out our interview with Westgate Head Coach Ryan Antoine here!
67
0
17
20
