An Instant Classic
Cardinals blow late lead
MILLINGTON - Going into Friday's District Title championship game, Chesaning coach Jim Szappan had said about his quarterback Joe Bitterman that in Szappan's thirty years as a football coach, Bitterman was the best athlete that he had ever coached.
After the fourth-quarter performance the senior had on Friday, it is easy to agree with Szappan's statement.
Bitterman led the charge against Millington in the Division 5, District 4 Title game, leading his team back from a two-touchdown, fourth quarter deficit to the come-from behind 29-28 win over the Cardinals on Friday night.
While trailing at halftime, Bitterman told his team at the break that if they wanted to win, they had to give a little more.
"I told them I would lead them," Bitterman said. "I just asked for them to play a little harder, give a little more than they could.
"I just needed some more time."
He took a little more time than he his teammates may have liked, but Bitterman scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as the Indians outscored Millington 22-7 in the final frame to get the win.
With just 1:37 left to play, though, the game looked as though it was in the bag for the Cardinals.
With the game tied 21-21. Millington's Dustin Griesing took his team on a crucial scoring drive. On the fifth play of the drive, which had begun at the Cards 30 yard line; Griesing found a streaking Garrett Stier on the home team's sideline, and the 6-2 senior grabbed the ball, evaded two Chesaning defenders and balanced on the foul line before sprinting 43-yards to the endzone for the score. The extra point kick gave the Cardinals a 28-21 lead, and, in the minds of the Cardinal faithful, the District Title as well.
But Bitterman was not done leading his team.
The Millington kickoff found it's way right into the hands of Bitterman, who for a second, thought about going down to give his team a chance at one last offensive series.
"I bobbled the ball at first," Bitterman said. "But as soon as I took off, my whole team was lined up on the left.
"So I went for it."
Bitterman went the distance, following one lead blocker 85-yards down the visiting team's sidelines to the endzone, putting his team within one point. Then came the play that people will be talking about for years to come.
Instead of kicking the extra point and playing for overtime, Chesaning went for the win.
"We wanted to put an end to the game right there," Szappan said. "It had looked pretty bleak for us the whole game.
"The kids were tired, but we told them we wanted to go for the win."
The Indians came out and lined up in the 'swinging gate' formation, with the Chesaning linemen lining up near the left sideline, while Bitterman took his place in the shotgun behind the ball with just three players in front of him.
"When we first came out, (Millington) had the play shutdown," Bitterman said. "They had us outnumbered up front, so I could've called a timeout, but then they shifted.
"So I went for it again."
The gutsy call paid off, as Bitterman took the snap and plowed his way into the endzone for the two-point conversion, giving his team their first lead of the game with just a little more than a minute left to play.
After the ensuing kickoff, Millington started with the ball on their 15 yard line, and from there, Griesing took over again. The senior QB led his team on a 10-play drive, which included two completions over 20 yards to Stier, moving the ball to the Chesaning 29 yard line.
With six seconds left on the clock, Millington's Nelson Piper, an all-conference soccer star, lined up to kick a game-winning field goal, but the kick came up about three yards short as time expired, giving Chesaning an upset victory and the District Title in the process.
"I thought we had it," Griesing said. "When we scored with a minute left to play, I really thought we had the game won.
"But that's why you play four quarters."
Up until the fourth quarter, the game belonged to Griesing. The 6-3 senior, who completed 17-of-26 passes for 313 yards and two scores while rushing for 45 yards and two more touchdowns, gave his team an early 7-0 lead on a three-yard scoring dive in the second.
Griesing added another three-yard scoring run at the 7:00 mark in the third, before later connecting on a 31-yard scoring pass with Stier with :50 seconds left in the quarter, giving his team a two-touchdown lead as the game entered the final quarter.
Stier finished with nine catches for 185 yards and two scores while Tyler Reinert added seven catches for 114 yards.
Bitterman just proved to be too much, though. The senior accounted for 289 total yards, as he completed 12-of-27 passes for 135 yards and rushed for 69 more.
"Both teams showed a lot of character," Millinton coach Tim Furno said. "It was an evenly matched game and Chesaning did a great job."
GAME NOTES: Millington out gained Chesaning in total yards. The Cardinals ran 55 plays for 369 yards total offense while the Indians ran 58 plays for 244 yards...Once again, the winning team won the battle of turnovers. Millington turned the ball over twice (one fumble, one INT) while Chesaning turned the ball just once (INT)...Chesaning ran just eight plays where Bitterman was not involved, all runs, meaning Bitterman touched the ball on 50 Indian offensive plays.
MILLINGTON - Going into Friday's District Title championship game, Chesaning coach Jim Szappan had said about his quarterback Joe Bitterman that in Szappan's thirty years as a football coach, Bitterman was the best athlete that he had ever coached.
After the fourth-quarter performance the senior had on Friday, it is easy to agree with Szappan's statement.
Bitterman led the charge against Millington in the Division 5, District 4 Title game, leading his team back from a two-touchdown, fourth quarter deficit to the come-from behind 29-28 win over the Cardinals on Friday night.
While trailing at halftime, Bitterman told his team at the break that if they wanted to win, they had to give a little more.
"I told them I would lead them," Bitterman said. "I just asked for them to play a little harder, give a little more than they could.
"I just needed some more time."
He took a little more time than he his teammates may have liked, but Bitterman scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as the Indians outscored Millington 22-7 in the final frame to get the win.
With just 1:37 left to play, though, the game looked as though it was in the bag for the Cardinals.
With the game tied 21-21. Millington's Dustin Griesing took his team on a crucial scoring drive. On the fifth play of the drive, which had begun at the Cards 30 yard line; Griesing found a streaking Garrett Stier on the home team's sideline, and the 6-2 senior grabbed the ball, evaded two Chesaning defenders and balanced on the foul line before sprinting 43-yards to the endzone for the score. The extra point kick gave the Cardinals a 28-21 lead, and, in the minds of the Cardinal faithful, the District Title as well.
But Bitterman was not done leading his team.
The Millington kickoff found it's way right into the hands of Bitterman, who for a second, thought about going down to give his team a chance at one last offensive series.
"I bobbled the ball at first," Bitterman said. "But as soon as I took off, my whole team was lined up on the left.
"So I went for it."
Bitterman went the distance, following one lead blocker 85-yards down the visiting team's sidelines to the endzone, putting his team within one point. Then came the play that people will be talking about for years to come.
Instead of kicking the extra point and playing for overtime, Chesaning went for the win.
"We wanted to put an end to the game right there," Szappan said. "It had looked pretty bleak for us the whole game.
"The kids were tired, but we told them we wanted to go for the win."
The Indians came out and lined up in the 'swinging gate' formation, with the Chesaning linemen lining up near the left sideline, while Bitterman took his place in the shotgun behind the ball with just three players in front of him.
"When we first came out, (Millington) had the play shutdown," Bitterman said. "They had us outnumbered up front, so I could've called a timeout, but then they shifted.
"So I went for it again."
The gutsy call paid off, as Bitterman took the snap and plowed his way into the endzone for the two-point conversion, giving his team their first lead of the game with just a little more than a minute left to play.
After the ensuing kickoff, Millington started with the ball on their 15 yard line, and from there, Griesing took over again. The senior QB led his team on a 10-play drive, which included two completions over 20 yards to Stier, moving the ball to the Chesaning 29 yard line.
With six seconds left on the clock, Millington's Nelson Piper, an all-conference soccer star, lined up to kick a game-winning field goal, but the kick came up about three yards short as time expired, giving Chesaning an upset victory and the District Title in the process.
"I thought we had it," Griesing said. "When we scored with a minute left to play, I really thought we had the game won.
"But that's why you play four quarters."
Up until the fourth quarter, the game belonged to Griesing. The 6-3 senior, who completed 17-of-26 passes for 313 yards and two scores while rushing for 45 yards and two more touchdowns, gave his team an early 7-0 lead on a three-yard scoring dive in the second.
Griesing added another three-yard scoring run at the 7:00 mark in the third, before later connecting on a 31-yard scoring pass with Stier with :50 seconds left in the quarter, giving his team a two-touchdown lead as the game entered the final quarter.
Stier finished with nine catches for 185 yards and two scores while Tyler Reinert added seven catches for 114 yards.
Bitterman just proved to be too much, though. The senior accounted for 289 total yards, as he completed 12-of-27 passes for 135 yards and rushed for 69 more.
"Both teams showed a lot of character," Millinton coach Tim Furno said. "It was an evenly matched game and Chesaning did a great job."
GAME NOTES: Millington out gained Chesaning in total yards. The Cardinals ran 55 plays for 369 yards total offense while the Indians ran 58 plays for 244 yards...Once again, the winning team won the battle of turnovers. Millington turned the ball over twice (one fumble, one INT) while Chesaning turned the ball just once (INT)...Chesaning ran just eight plays where Bitterman was not involved, all runs, meaning Bitterman touched the ball on 50 Indian offensive plays.
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