The MACC Championship game against the Maryland Christian Saints will be at 2:30pm on November 15. The location is 8730 Sudley Rd, Manassas, Va 20110-4405.
Please join us if you can!!!
GO DISCIPLES!!!!
Nov 6, 2008
Disciples Beat Ambassadors on Final Play
November 1, 2008.
A 10-yard field goal by Casey Stephens with no time left on the clock capped off a wildly improbable finish for a 23-22 Disciples victory over the Norfolk Christian Ambassadors at Powhatan Field in Norfolk on Saturday night. The Disciples had lost their two previous games against the Ambassadors and appeared to be headed for their first loss of this season. They turned the ball over 7 times in Ambassador territory, including twice inside the Ambassadors’ 10-yard line in the last 5:30 of the game, and the Ambassador offense heated up in the second half with 2 long scoring runs by Josh Booker. But the Disciples got one final chance when the Ambassadors’ attempt to run out the clock with a 22-20 lead came up1 second short, and they made the most of it. Out of timeouts, the Disciples hustled their kicking team into the game. Daniel Ryan snapped the ball, Josh Clements held and Stephens, who was playing with an injured hip, punched it through the uprights. After a momentary silence, the two officials beneath the goalposts nodded at each other and in unison thrust their arms heavenward to signal that kick was good – and the Disciples sideline and fans erupted in a roar and rushed onto the field for a jubilant and sustained post-game celebration.
The beginning of the game did not suggest that it would end so dramatically. After the Disciples defense stopped the Ambassadors on the first series, Manny McClure returned a punt 35 yards to the Norfolk 10-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown on the next play. For the game, McClure had 155 yards on 17 carries. With the Disciples regular kicker unavailable and Casey Stephens injured, the Disciples went for two but the run came up short. The Disciples defense held again, but on the ensuing offensive series the Disciples fumbled on the Norfolk 16-yard line, the first of five fumbles on the night. The defense stopped the Ambassador offense in its tracks again, and on third down Manny McClure intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards for a score. The extra point run was stopped, but the Disciples led 12-0 at the end of the First Quarter.
The Ambassadors offense finally got untracked, however, and on the first play of the Second Quarter PJ Clark caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Nick Caprio. Josh Booker, one of the Ambassador seniors honored at the game and the Ambassadors’ all-time leading rusher, ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 12-8. The Disciples quickly retaliated with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Manny McClure to Josh Clements. A successful run by Kyle Robeson added 2 points and the Disciples led 20-8. For the game Robeson had 69 yards on 11 carries. At that point it appeared the Disciples had the game well in hand, but that was to be their last score until the final play of the game. The remainder of the quarter was scoreless, with Norfolk going 3 and out twice and the Disciples turning the ball over twice more on interceptions.
The Disciples began the Third Quarter with a drive that ended with a fumble on the Norfolk 47-yard line. After being held in check except for the one long touchdown pass in the opening half, the Ambassadors offense began to focus on running plays with Josh Booker. Their first drive culminated with a 24-yard run by Booker for a touchdown to cut the Disciples lead to 20-14. After another drive into Norfolk territory ended with a fumble, the Disciples defense held and forced the Ambassadors to punt.
A Disciples drive at the end of the Third Quarter ended on the first play of the Fourth Quarter when the Disciples failed to convert a 4th and 7. On the third play of the Ambassadors drive Booker broke a 54-yard touchdown run to tie the game, and when he ran in the 2-point conversion the Ambassadors had seized a 22-20 lead.
The Disciples offense responded with its first sustained drive of the game, taking the ball from their own 38 to the Norfolk 5. The highlight of the drive was a perfectly executed screen pass from Manny McClure to Thomas Gresham for an 18-yard gain on 4th and 12 from the Norfolk 42. The offense appeared poised to regain the lead, but the drive ended on the Norfolk 5-yard line when the Ambassadors recovered an errant snap with just over 5 minutes to play.
The Ambassadors offense recorded one first down, but then the Disciples defense stiffened and forced a punt with 3:34 left on the clock. The Disciples were forced to use their last two timeouts during the drive to preserve time for the offense. Manny McClure made another long return of the Ambassadors punt, reaching the Norfolk 40. A downfield official flagged the Disciples for a block in the back on the play, but after conferring with another official with a better view of the play the referee waived off the penalty and picked up the flag.
Starting with this good field position, the Disciples moved the ball quickly to the Norfolk 9, but on 2nd and 6 a hard Ambassador tackle jarred the ball loose from the Disciples runner and the Ambassador defense recovered with just over 2 minutes to play. A penalty after the play gave the Ambassadors a 1st and 10 at their own 20. At that point it appeared the Ambassador’s would be able to run out the clock and the Disciples hopes for an undefeated season would be dashed.
What followed was a nerve-wracking series that included three running plays that lost yards but kept the clock running and two delay of game penalties when the Ambassadors let the play clock run out to make sure they used up every possible second. At the end the Ambassadors found themselves facing a 4th down with 4 seconds to go at their own 2-yard line.
Coach Dave Hollis, not deterred by the dire circumstances in which the team found itself, set up a punt block in anticipation of the 4th down play and continued to rally the team to win the game by blocking the punt. Much to the surprise of everyone, however, the Ambassadors did not punt but instead tried to run out the clock with one final play and it misfired badly for them. As the Disciples defensive line pushed forward, the Ambassador’s quarterback, not wanting to back up into the end zone and be tackled for a safety to tie the game, instead quickly threw the ball down just past the line of scrimmage. When the referee blew the play dead, 1 second remained on the clock. In addition, the back judge flagged the Ambassadors for intentional grounding because there was no receiver in the area of where the pass landed, so the ball was moved halfway to the goal, to the 1-yard line.
This surprising but welcome reprieve gave the Disciples the ball and one final chance from the Norfolk 1-yard line with 1 second to play. Out of timeouts and with little time to consider options, Coach Hollis coolly made the call to go for a field goal. It was a gutsy call, because the Disciples regular kicker was unavailable for the game and their backup kicker Casey Stephens had not kicked at all in the game because he had injured his hip in practice the day before. But when Stephens said he could make the kick, Coach Hollis did not hesitate and the team scrambled to get everyone on the kicking team on the field and in position. Someone on the bench had to dig through the equipment bag to find a kicking tee that the team had not expected to use, and the tee came sailing onto the field with just seconds to go on the play clock. Daniel Ryan made a perfect snap, the line blocked out the Ambassador rush, Josh Clements quickly pulled the ball into place just over the 10-yard line and Stephens sailed it through the uprights for the game winner. On the game’s final play with the team’s undefeated season hanging in the balance, on a cold night in Norfolk on which so much went wrong for the Disciples, for one glorious play everything was perfect.
Soli Del Gloria!
A 10-yard field goal by Casey Stephens with no time left on the clock capped off a wildly improbable finish for a 23-22 Disciples victory over the Norfolk Christian Ambassadors at Powhatan Field in Norfolk on Saturday night. The Disciples had lost their two previous games against the Ambassadors and appeared to be headed for their first loss of this season. They turned the ball over 7 times in Ambassador territory, including twice inside the Ambassadors’ 10-yard line in the last 5:30 of the game, and the Ambassador offense heated up in the second half with 2 long scoring runs by Josh Booker. But the Disciples got one final chance when the Ambassadors’ attempt to run out the clock with a 22-20 lead came up1 second short, and they made the most of it. Out of timeouts, the Disciples hustled their kicking team into the game. Daniel Ryan snapped the ball, Josh Clements held and Stephens, who was playing with an injured hip, punched it through the uprights. After a momentary silence, the two officials beneath the goalposts nodded at each other and in unison thrust their arms heavenward to signal that kick was good – and the Disciples sideline and fans erupted in a roar and rushed onto the field for a jubilant and sustained post-game celebration.
The beginning of the game did not suggest that it would end so dramatically. After the Disciples defense stopped the Ambassadors on the first series, Manny McClure returned a punt 35 yards to the Norfolk 10-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown on the next play. For the game, McClure had 155 yards on 17 carries. With the Disciples regular kicker unavailable and Casey Stephens injured, the Disciples went for two but the run came up short. The Disciples defense held again, but on the ensuing offensive series the Disciples fumbled on the Norfolk 16-yard line, the first of five fumbles on the night. The defense stopped the Ambassador offense in its tracks again, and on third down Manny McClure intercepted a pass and returned it 26 yards for a score. The extra point run was stopped, but the Disciples led 12-0 at the end of the First Quarter.
The Ambassadors offense finally got untracked, however, and on the first play of the Second Quarter PJ Clark caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from Nick Caprio. Josh Booker, one of the Ambassador seniors honored at the game and the Ambassadors’ all-time leading rusher, ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the lead to 12-8. The Disciples quickly retaliated with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Manny McClure to Josh Clements. A successful run by Kyle Robeson added 2 points and the Disciples led 20-8. For the game Robeson had 69 yards on 11 carries. At that point it appeared the Disciples had the game well in hand, but that was to be their last score until the final play of the game. The remainder of the quarter was scoreless, with Norfolk going 3 and out twice and the Disciples turning the ball over twice more on interceptions.
The Disciples began the Third Quarter with a drive that ended with a fumble on the Norfolk 47-yard line. After being held in check except for the one long touchdown pass in the opening half, the Ambassadors offense began to focus on running plays with Josh Booker. Their first drive culminated with a 24-yard run by Booker for a touchdown to cut the Disciples lead to 20-14. After another drive into Norfolk territory ended with a fumble, the Disciples defense held and forced the Ambassadors to punt.
A Disciples drive at the end of the Third Quarter ended on the first play of the Fourth Quarter when the Disciples failed to convert a 4th and 7. On the third play of the Ambassadors drive Booker broke a 54-yard touchdown run to tie the game, and when he ran in the 2-point conversion the Ambassadors had seized a 22-20 lead.
The Disciples offense responded with its first sustained drive of the game, taking the ball from their own 38 to the Norfolk 5. The highlight of the drive was a perfectly executed screen pass from Manny McClure to Thomas Gresham for an 18-yard gain on 4th and 12 from the Norfolk 42. The offense appeared poised to regain the lead, but the drive ended on the Norfolk 5-yard line when the Ambassadors recovered an errant snap with just over 5 minutes to play.
The Ambassadors offense recorded one first down, but then the Disciples defense stiffened and forced a punt with 3:34 left on the clock. The Disciples were forced to use their last two timeouts during the drive to preserve time for the offense. Manny McClure made another long return of the Ambassadors punt, reaching the Norfolk 40. A downfield official flagged the Disciples for a block in the back on the play, but after conferring with another official with a better view of the play the referee waived off the penalty and picked up the flag.
Starting with this good field position, the Disciples moved the ball quickly to the Norfolk 9, but on 2nd and 6 a hard Ambassador tackle jarred the ball loose from the Disciples runner and the Ambassador defense recovered with just over 2 minutes to play. A penalty after the play gave the Ambassadors a 1st and 10 at their own 20. At that point it appeared the Ambassador’s would be able to run out the clock and the Disciples hopes for an undefeated season would be dashed.
What followed was a nerve-wracking series that included three running plays that lost yards but kept the clock running and two delay of game penalties when the Ambassadors let the play clock run out to make sure they used up every possible second. At the end the Ambassadors found themselves facing a 4th down with 4 seconds to go at their own 2-yard line.
Coach Dave Hollis, not deterred by the dire circumstances in which the team found itself, set up a punt block in anticipation of the 4th down play and continued to rally the team to win the game by blocking the punt. Much to the surprise of everyone, however, the Ambassadors did not punt but instead tried to run out the clock with one final play and it misfired badly for them. As the Disciples defensive line pushed forward, the Ambassador’s quarterback, not wanting to back up into the end zone and be tackled for a safety to tie the game, instead quickly threw the ball down just past the line of scrimmage. When the referee blew the play dead, 1 second remained on the clock. In addition, the back judge flagged the Ambassadors for intentional grounding because there was no receiver in the area of where the pass landed, so the ball was moved halfway to the goal, to the 1-yard line.
This surprising but welcome reprieve gave the Disciples the ball and one final chance from the Norfolk 1-yard line with 1 second to play. Out of timeouts and with little time to consider options, Coach Hollis coolly made the call to go for a field goal. It was a gutsy call, because the Disciples regular kicker was unavailable for the game and their backup kicker Casey Stephens had not kicked at all in the game because he had injured his hip in practice the day before. But when Stephens said he could make the kick, Coach Hollis did not hesitate and the team scrambled to get everyone on the kicking team on the field and in position. Someone on the bench had to dig through the equipment bag to find a kicking tee that the team had not expected to use, and the tee came sailing onto the field with just seconds to go on the play clock. Daniel Ryan made a perfect snap, the line blocked out the Ambassador rush, Josh Clements quickly pulled the ball into place just over the 10-yard line and Stephens sailed it through the uprights for the game winner. On the game’s final play with the team’s undefeated season hanging in the balance, on a cold night in Norfolk on which so much went wrong for the Disciples, for one glorious play everything was perfect.
Soli Del Gloria!
By Dave Watson
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