by Fourth quarter. Down five. 80-yards to go and less than two minutes remaining. It’s a scenario coaches practice for all season and players dream of. But when that exact moment actually presented itself for the Oregon Clay Eagles (1-5), head coach John Galyas made a move he never expected.
“We’ve never done this before,” Galyas explained. “We knew we were going two minutes, but rather than us signal in plays, we said ‘it’s on you Logan [Heintschel].’ I’ve never, ever done that, I never thought we would do that, but we had nothing to lose.”
The payoff for trusting his senior quarterback – a stunning 27-26 postseason win over Valley Forge (3-2), the first in program history. Fittingly, Heintschel called his own number to cap off the game-winning drive; diving into the end zone on a 10-yard QB draw for the go-ahead score, leaving only seven seconds to spare. It was a classic finish to an incredible game in the opening round of the OHSAA’s Region 6 playoffs.
HEINTSCHEL. IS. CLUTCH. 💪
The senior takes it in from 10 yards out to put Clay in front 27-26 with 12 seconds to go. What a finish. @sports_kee pic.twitter.com/kNwwjQD4DH
— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) October 10, 2020
“I was ecstatic,” Heintschel said of his game-winning touchdown. “I looked down at the play sheet, I knew we had one timeout left. I knew we could catch them off guard up the middle cause they were blitzing outside very heavily. It opened up perfectly for us and I knew I wasn’t gonna get denied going in.”
Aside from the epic finish, takeaways were the other big story in the Eagles win. Three total turnovers by Valley Forge to be exact, including two in the first half that Clay turned into 14 points.
Despite the lack of ball security, the Patriots showed composure, riding star running back Trell Marks on an impressive comeback effort. 222 yards and three touchdowns later, it nearly paid off. Marks’ third score – a 30-yard sweep down the left sideline – gave Valley Forge its first lead of the night with just under two minutes to go. It simply wasn’t meant to be.
“I’m just happy for our kids,” the Eagles head man said. “It’s been a crazy year. We went from fall sports are suspended until Oct. 1, to they reversed their decision. We started August, 10. Our practices were so much different this year. Just the resiliency of our kids, I’m just so happy for them.”
The game began with Clay getting across the 50 before being forced to punt on the opening drive. Two plays later a rare pass play by Valley Forge got the Eagles the ball back sooner than expected, as senior Zach Ansbro tossed his first of two interceptions on the night. Eventually, junior Jordan Pattaway punched in a six-yard TD run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
Ansbro shook off the error and the Patriots quickly got back to what they do best: running the ball. The shifty Marks led the way on a 70-yard, eight strait run play drive, capped off by a Julius Sebille touchdown to even things up at 7 late in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive the Eagles used the run to lull the Valley Forge defense to sleep. Then from the 32, took advantage of the blitz-happy Patriots, dialing up a perfect pass pass to TE Donovan Coughlin, who slipped down the right hash unmarked for a score.
A fumble by Marks on the very next drive set the Eagles up with great field position again and six plays later Pattaway was sweeping his way into the end zone again, this time from 19 yards out.
After yielding 14 unanswered points, Valley Forge turned back to their dominant ground game to get back on track. The Patriots march 69 yards in eight plays, again relying primarily on Marks, who capped off the drive with a 14-yard score to cut the Eagles lead to 21-14.
The third quarter was all about defense. A promising opening half drive saw the Patriots approach the red zone only to end in another Ansbro interception at the eight-yard line. Both of Ansbro’s two pass attempts resulted in interceptions.
Several plays later the Eagles gave the ball right back in the form of a fumble, resulting in a scoreless third stanza.
Several minutes into the fourth quarter, a botched snap on a field goal attempt loomed large for the Eagles as Valley Forge followed with a 12-play series and a four-yard TD run from Marks. A blocked PAT however, preserved a one point lead for Oregon Clay, 21-20.
With less than four minutes remaining the Eagles were in the drivers seat to close things out, but a penalty laden drive got the ball back to the Patriots with less than two-minutes to go.
What unfolded the rest of the way can best be described as an emotional roller coaster, as a 30-yard TD run by Marks and failed two-point conversion put Valley Forge up five, with 90 seconds remaining. That set the stage for the epic finish: a Heitschel green lit, 80-yard, game-winning TD drive and an instant classic out at Byers Field.
“Buisness,” Heintschel said on his mindset heading into the final drive. “We’ve been here so many times. We’ve come just short of getting where we wanted to be, and I knew as a leader we had to finish this one time. Something had to go our way. We had something things in our favor on that last drive and we executed tremendously.”
The Eagles storm the field!
An incredible game and the first postseason win in Clay's program history. @sports_kee pic.twitter.com/h5UVDgwRg1
— 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚛 𝙶𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@Spencito_) October 10, 2020
The Eagles will carry the emotional win into a round-two matchup with the 5-1 Brecksville-Broadview Heights Bees next Friday night.
Players of the game:
Oregon Clay – QB Logan Heintschel: 160 passing yards, 1 TD, 62 rushing yards, 1 TD
Valley Forge – RB Trell Marks: 27 rushes, 222 rushing yards, 3 TDs
