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LAKEWOOD, OHIO- On one side of the football field was a team running around dancing with jubilation. On the other side is a bench full of players spread out across the field with a look of utter shock. This was the scene in Lakewood Friday night following a hail mary as time expired to give Cass Tech a 21-20 win over St. Edward.
With nine seconds left and trailing 20-15, Cass Tech had one last chance to try to win the game. It was fourth and long and quarterback Jalen Graham scrambled out to his right side, took a couple steps forward and launched a 40-yard bomb to the end zone where senior wide receiver Noah Stamps went up and caught the ball over an Eagle defender to give the Technicians the win Friday night.
“The kids just kept stepping up and playing,” head coach Thomas Wilcher said. “I think we just got to use this game and make us better. There was a lot of mistakes out there and it all comes from team discipline and team organization.”
St. Ed’s controlled the whole game up until the final five minutes of the game. Cass Tech first got on the board following a one-yard touchdown run from Lewis Nichols. The Technicians would trail 14-7 with just over four minutes left in the game.
A defensive stop from the Technicians would quickly give them the ball back. Cass Tech would drive downfield and score another touchdown on a drive that took three minutes off the clock. Coach Wilcher decided to go for two and try to take the lead. They ended up converting and the Technicians would take their first lead of the game with just over one minute left in the game.
The ensuing kickoff was returned for a touchdown from star wide receiver Quintel Kent to give the Eagles the lead again. St. Ed’s would lead 20-15 with one minute left to play. A couple of big plays from Graham at quarterback along with penalties on St. Eds would lead the Technicians in Eagle territory where one hail mary would seal the deal.
Coach Wilcher knows he has a special player under center for the team. A 6’2″ senior who extends plays for the team came up big when the team needed him the most.
“He’s a great player and has great range,” coach Wilcher said about Graham. “He starts on offense, he starts on defense and he does a lot of great things.”
It was surely a tale of two halves Friday night in Lakewood as nothing was going right for the Technicians during the first half of play. It was a half in which the team got in the red zone just once and turned the ball over twice. St. Ed’s dominated possessions and seemed to be in full control with their 14-point lead after two quarters.
The offense from Cass Tech opened up in the second half along with their defense. They allowed just one St. Ed’s score in the second half and limited the big plays from Jordan Castleberry and Joseph Formani on the ground.
In the end, it was the Technicians that would pull off the inconceivable late-game comeback Friday night to improve their record to 2-0. As for St. Ed’s, the loss brings them down to a 0-2 record for the first time since 2007.
The Eagles will look to capture their first win on the yeat next week when they host Cathedral Prep Friday, Sept. 7.
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