Jeremy Roy (#36) and Mike Costello (#30) hoist the hardware following their 8-1 victory over the West Ferris Trojans on Saturday afternoon.
On one side of the field there was pandemonium and euphoria, while on the other side there was disbelief and heartbreak.
After a wild final minute of football on Saturday afternoon the Widdifield Wildcats came away with the 2008 NDA Senior Football championship, defeating the West Ferris Trojans by a score of 8-1.
The major story came on the final play of the game when Brad Piper fumbled the ball at the 2-yard line when receiving the handoff from Trojans quarterback Spencer Brear. Following the play, the referees then took over a minute to review if time had run out on the clock. The refs concluded that time had expired during the play, giving the Wildcats the title.
As Widdifield celebrated, Trojans head coach Larry Tougas rushed out to the field to plead his case with the refs. When the refs failed to overturn the call, Tougas fell to his knees and was almost inconsolable.
"All we got from the refs was that the clock had run out and the game was over," Trojans offensive coordinator Jason Ferreira said.
"The tough part now is the kids are back on the bus and are headed back to the school to hand in their equipment. It's very unfortunate to end the year on that note, it's not fair to them but I think we got the short end of the stick on that deal."
While the Trojans were still in shock over what had happened on the final play, the Wildcats were celebrating their undefeated season, one which the team didn't allow a single offensive touchdown.
"You never know what's going to happen when you get into the finals, but I was shocked at how low-scoring it turned out to be," Wildcats head coach Sean Mullan said.
"I knew it was going to be close, they're a heck of a team and have a great defence. When our starting running back (Blaine Leblond) went out early and our offensive playbook shrinks, you have to win ugly and we were able to do that."
Following a scoreless first quarter, the Trojans put a single on the board following a missed Trent Robinson field goal. The Wildcats with two nice rushing plays, but their 25-yard attempt was blocked to keep it a one-point game at half time.
On the first drive of the second half, the Trojans switched quarterbacks from Brear to Cam Boake for the first couple of plays, which saw a 30 yard run by Boake. However the drive soon stalled and Robinson's field goal attempt was short.
After another drive led by their ground game, Jordan Prudhomme kicked a 35 yard field goal to give the Wildcats the lead 3-1 going into the fourth.
In the fourth, quarterback Tieler Graveille hooked up with Mike Hamilton for a 45 yard pass, which set up a 15 yard Prudhomme field goal which extended the lead to 6-1. The Wildcats would then score a safety with a minute and a half to go when Alain Pouliot sacked Brear in the endzone.
The Trojans would get the ball back with a minute to go, and would storm with a passing attack led by Brear, and was highlighted by a diving 20-yard catch from Joey Puddister. Ferris would get the ball to the two-yard line following a 13-yard reception by Boake to set up the controversial final play of the game.
With the win, the Wildcats now are off to the NOSSA semi-final game that will take place next Saturday in Sudbury. Their opponent from Sudbury will be decided on Monday evening, when the St. Benedict Bears face off with the Lo-Ellen Park Knights for the Sudbury title.
