The Mendenhall Tigers played a hard-fought game against the Louisville Wildcats last Saturday at USM for the 4A State Championship. Unfortunately, the Tigers fell short after a winning field goal from Louisville with four seconds left in the game. The Tigers lost 14-17.
The game became defensive display early on, and that trend continued well into the fourth quarter.
Louisville scored in the first quarter after taking advantage of a short field and capitalizing with a 4 yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. The Tiger offense, still trying to settle in, was forced to punt from deep in their own territory. The Wildcats started their drive near mid field and were able to move the ball within the 10 yard line. This set up the most controversial play of the game.
The Wildcats’ running back ran into a wall of Tigers and continued to fight for extra yardage, pushing his way towards the goal line. Before the play was blown dead the running back was stripped of the football by Jay Ulmer. Ulmer started his return before whistles were blown and the side judge signaled for a touchdown.
Replay on the broadcast screen showed the running back was clearly short of the goal line and the play should have been ruled a fumble recovered by the Tigers. Although it was clear on the replay, the official was not allowed to alter his original ruling. Commentators on the television broadcast even noted that the call was incorrect. Although the play happened early, it turned out to be the game defining call.
The Tigers trailed 14-0 and needed to respond. Tayton James led the Tiger offense back onto the field to start the drive from their 29 yard line. James hit Nick Williams for a 20 yard completion. The big gain was followed up by a great run from Darius Dampier. The Tigers picked up back to back first downs and marched down the field quickly. Playmakers stepped up for the Tigers and it was Walter Nono Owens with a one handed touchdown grab to get them on the board. The extra point was no good and the Tigers trailed 14-6.
From that point until midway through the fourth quarter both defenses shined. They had an answer for whatever wrinkle they decided to throw at each other. Fred Dampeer had an outstanding game from the defensive tackle position. Dampeer found himself in the backfield regularly making plays. Sarge Bridges made big plays down the stretch as well. Bridges was often the last defender on the edge, and he limited Louisville throughout the game. The defense was disciplined and played well the final three quarters of the game.
The defense forced the Wildcats to punt from deep in their own territory with under 6 minutes left in the game, which led to good field position for the Tigers. James and the offense started on their 38 yard line. The Tigers decided to put the game in the hands of running back Darius Dampier. Dampier began shredding the Wildcats for over 6 yards a carry. The Tigers picked up three consecutive first downs running the ball with Dampier.
With 3:01 left in the game and the ball on the Louisville 24 yard line, James dropped back to pass. He scrambled around in the pocket before throwing a high pass intended for Marcus Allen, who out battled his defender and made a leaping catch for a touchdown to bring the Tigers within two points. The Tigers went for two. James threw a similar pass to Allen and he came down with it to tie the game at 14-14.
The Tigers had the momentum and the stadium was on tilt. Defensively the Tigers held the Wildcats. A sack from Jefferey Hobbs and Markquise King brought the stadium to a roar. Louisville punted the ball with 1:30 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Mendenhall started their drive and were able to move the ball to their 34 yard line. With 46 seconds left in the game Marcus Allen appeared to catch a short pass that was defended well. The ball was knocked out of his hands and recovered by Louisville. It was ruled a fumble, but an argument could have been made that it was an incomplete pass. Louisville took over with no time outs. Their clock management was impeccable, and they were able to move the ball to the 10-yard line and get out of bounds with four seconds left on the clock. After some gamesmanship and attempts to ice the kicker, the Wildcats were able to convert the 25-yard field goal and win the game.
It was a great season for the Tigers. A tough way to lose a state championship game especially knowing your defense only allowed seven points, but that was beyond their control. This was a special team filled with special talents at every position on the field. Congratulations to the Mendenhall coaching staff for taking the team within seconds of winning it all.
Darius Dampier played a great game, leading all rushers with 107 yards on 16 carries and adding three receptions for 25 yards. Walter Owens finished with five catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. Nick Williams was the yardage leader with three catches for 39 yards. Marcus Allen caught the game tying touchdown and two-point conversion. Allen finished with two catches for 24 yards.
The Tigers will graduate over 16 seniors but will return several players with meaningful experience. The groundwork has been set and the returning players know what it takes to get back to the state championship game. The Tigers are poised for a repeat run at the title next season.
