Zizzers Surge To Defeat Camdenton 25 to 24
It’s never fun to travel to Camdenton to take on the Lakers on their turf. Most teams that do so leave with their heads low and their tails dragging. And for the last 2 years, every time the Zizzer varsity football team has played in Lakers’ territory, we’ve managed to pull off a one point victory riding the clock down to zero, biting our nails the whole time.
And this day would be no different! What are the odds of the Zizzers winning by one point every time they travel to Camdenton – for three years in a row?!
This year’s game was, once again, a nail-biter down to the last few moments – but only because of a gigantic fourth quarter surge that propelled the Zizzers from hopeless underdogs to proud victors. And after 2 consecutive games of 2nd half surges, perhaps this is the legacy the Zizzers will own this season.
Early in the first quarter both Zizzers and Lakers couldn’t make their drives convert. But the Zizzers drew first blood from a combination of Rackley to Hackworth, and then to Lidgard for the game’s first score. It would be the last time the Zizzers scored any points until the 4th quarter.
The next two quarters felt like it dragged on forever because we kept making drives, but kept getting stopped. Camdenton kept pushing and drove in touch downs and a field goal to go up 24 to 6 in the 3rd quarter.
But, as Yogi Berra so famously said it, “It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.” And the Zizzers never gave up! And the fat lady wasn’t singing yet!
Rackley drove the Zizzers down field and a completion to Daniel Cobb put the Zizzers in the red zone! Then Lidgard punched through for a score! Cressman’s kick was good and now we have a 24-13 game! And guess what happened next?
If you guessed a Zizzer defense forced turnover on downs – you’re correct! Zizzer defense is feeling pretty good at this point, and now it’s offense time. Rackley connects with Brendan Robbins for a loooong 68-yard touchdown! BOOM! Score – 24-19, Zizzers are hot on the trail of the Lakers.
The Zizzer crowd is excited now! The Zizzers are revved up too! Could it be possible for us to score again and take the lead, as the clock was winding down? Garel McGinley said, “Yes!” and grabbed an interception with just over 2 minutes remaining. And now we are reminded that we’ve done this before in this very same stadium. But is 2 minutes enough time to build a successful drive?
Yes it is, with time left over. It took three plays for Rackley to hit Lidgard for the score that put the Zizzers on top! 25-24 Zizzers lead it now! But the Lakers have the ball back with just a little under 2 minutes remaining. And all they need to do is drive into field goal range to clinch the victory.
But the Zizzer defense would have NONE of that – forcing a turn over on downs, with 36 seconds remaining. All we need to do now is take a knee and watch the clock run down. Zizzers win 25-24, taking their season to 2-0.
Keep it up Zizzers! You’re going to be known as the Comeback Kids if you keep making big surges in the 2nd half. And we’ll be there to cheer you on!
