Stars' dream ends in OT

BERNE — It was a dream scenario.
The Starfires turned in a variety of long scoring plays. They made defensive stops in key moments. They rallied from what seemed like an insurmountable deficit.
And after scoring the potential game-tying touchdown in overtime, they decided to let their season ride on a single play.
It came up short.
Class 1A No. 4 South Adams answered almost everything one of the most storied programs in the state threw at it Friday night, but the visiting Sheridan Blackhawks stopped Marcus Rich on a two-point conversion try in overtime to hand the home team a 41-40 loss in the Sectional 36 championship game.
“There really wasn’t too much of a decision,” said SAHS coach Jason Arnold. “We scored, and we called a time out to talk about it. And every guy in that huddle said, ‘We’re going for it and we’ve got it.’
“We liked the play call that we had. It’s what we wanted. We thought we could get the edge. Their linebacker just did a nice job of scraping through there and getting to the play … They made a nice play when they needed it.”
It marks the second straight sectional-championship loss for the Starfires, who were hoping for their first title since 1996, and the second time in six seasons in which they dropped a sectional finale in overtime. They lost 43-21 last season to Churubusco, and fell 26-20 in overtime at Madison-Grant in 2006.
Sheridan (9-3) advances to Friday’s regional championship game against Adams Central. The Flying Jets defeated North Miami 30-6 to win the Sectional 35 title.
All three Adams County schools were in action Friday, with Bellmont also winning a sectional title 21-20 in overtime over Western in Class 3A.
It was the 370th career win for Blackhawks coach Bud Wright, who set the state record in the semifinal round a week earlier.
“It’s special, especially after we were up 34-14 and let them back in the ball game,” said Wright, who has won eight state championships. “It’s special that we had enough heart to come back after we gave them the momentum.”
Sheridan had the ball first in overtime and needed all four of its tries from the 10-yard line to score what would be the winning points. On a fourth-down play from the 1-yard line, junior fullback Tyler Callahan pounded the ball inside for the touchdown and Eric Price added the extra point.
The Starfires (10-2) needed just two plays to get in the end zone, deciding to go play-action after Zach Morgan ran for just a yard on first down. Dustin Wanner faked a hand-off, rolled left and passed to fellow senior Cole Farlow, who snatched the ball just before it reached the grass.
On the ensuing two-point try Wanner gave the ball to Rich going around the left end, but he never got to the corner as the Blackhawks’ defense was there to shut down the play before the ball could get anywhere near the goal line.
“We thought they’d go for two,” said Wright, who said his team’s focus on the play was stopping Wanner. “We thought they’d go for the win. Their kicker had missed the last two he tried … We told them it was going to be two. We had to get in there and play it and just see what happened.”
South Adams seemed as if it was buried early in the second half after the Blackhawks scored three touchdowns in less than three minutes on the game clock.
After the Starfires took a 14-13 lead on a 53-yard TD run by Farlow late in the opening half, Sheridan drove and answered on a 6-yard run by Eric Price with just 19 seconds remaining. A 50-yard run by Price on the first play of the second half led to a Callahan TD run.
The Blackhawks then got the ball back on a fumble, and Price scored on a 34-yard run to extend their lead to 34-14 at the 9:36 mark of the third quarter.
South Adams, however, fought back, needing just over two minutes for Wanner to score on a 3-yard run and close the gap to 34-20. After a defensive stop, Wanner scored again on a 63-yard run up the left sideline, and Zach Morgan added the game-tying TD on a 1-yard dive with just 3:06 left in the game.
“We’ve done that all season long,” said Arnold of his team’s never-say-die attitude. “There have been a lot of games … where we’ve had to fight to win games. That really prepared us for tonight. Those guys never quit and they never gave up. I’m proud as can be. I don’t know what else to say.”
Price carried Sheridan for the first two-and-a-half quarters, racking up 251 yards on 39 carries and scoring four touchdowns. He also kicked five extra points, including the one that ended up being the game-winner in overtime.
Callahan added 99 yards and a pair of TDs on 22 rushes.
“We were a lot bigger than they were up front,” said Wright. “That’s what we felt like. We were going to run right at them and see what we could do with that. That was the game plan coming in.”
Wanner picked up 122 yards on 17 carries to lead the Starfires. Following him were Zach Morgan (74), Farlow (69) and Rich (52). All four of them are part of the group of 20 seniors on the SAHS roster.
“We’ve got a core group of seniors who have led us all season,” said Arnold. “The leadership, the examples, the effort that they put into this season, they have meant more than I can  express right now. This is the group that started me here and they hold a special place for me. I’m going to miss these guys.”[[In-content Ad]]