Auburn 27, Monroe-Woodbury 26, OT
The fate of the Auburn football team rested on Matt Hoey's foot.
After the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders missed the extra point in overtime, the Maroons had a chance to win it all.
It took one play for Darnell Murphy to find Jeff Richardson to tie the score at 26. Then Hoey stepped up for the winning kick and pulled it wide left.
But a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Maroons a second chance. There was no doubt about it this time. Hoey's kick split the uprights, and the Carrier Dome field was flooded with maroon as players, coaches and fans celebrated the first state championship in the school's history.
It didn't take very long for the Crusaders to open the scoring.
Just 12 seconds into the Auburn Maroons' first state championship game and they were trailing , 7-0.
Monroe-Woodbury's starting tailback David Landesberg took the opening kickoff 83 yards to the house to put the defending state champions on top 7-0.
It didn't scare the Maroons, though.
They marched their opening drive 82 yards down the field, converting two third downs and a fourth down before quarterback Darnell Murphy found Brandon Tape for a 49-yard strike to get Auburn on the board.
M-W looked destined for the end zone on their next drive carrying the ball into Auburn territory before Tape came up with his second big catch of the game -- an interception in the end zone to thwart the Crusaders' scoring chance.
The Maroons couldn't capitalize on offense, though and were forced to punt and pinned the Crusaders deep in their own end.
The defense then forced a Crusader punt, and Auburn didn't waste its chance.
After Murphy was sacked for a big loss, it brought up 3rd and 15 at midfield. Under heavy pressure, Murphy scrambled in the pocket and threw an off-balance pass across the field to John Ravenell. The fullback raced to the sideline, picked up some blocks and dashed to the end zone to give Auburn a lead, 14-7.
Not to be outdone, the Crusaders took their next drive all the way down to the 5-yard line before Greg Sullivan found John Flannery open on the sideline for a touchdown. The extra point failed, and Auburn kept a 14-13 lead at halftime.
Auburn received the ball to start the second half, but punted after a three and out. The Crusaders drove down the field to the Auburn 21, but needed to get to the 20 for a first down. Matt Hoey stepped into Sullivan for a tackle just short of the first down and the Maroons took over on downs.
The teams then traded punts as both offenses stalled.
But that didn't last long for the Maroons.
Quendel Ellison, who was limited to just 23 yards in the first half, finally found a groove and carried Auburn down the field. But the passing game continued to click. Murphy found Jeff Richardson for a key fourth-down pickup, and then he found Hoey over the middle to get to the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Ellison punched it in from the 2. Auburn led 20-13 after Hoey's kick missed.
Then fatigue started to set in for the Maroons. Starting on their own 35, the Crusaders cruised down to Auburn's 19, but an incomplete pass on 4th and 2 gave Auburn the ball back with three minutes to play. An Auburn fumble gave the ball right back to the Crusaders with 1:48 to play.
Two plays later, the Crusaders were in the end zone. The extra point tied the game at 20 with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter.
Auburn couldn't gain anything with their possession, and was forced to punt after three downs -- two for negative yardage.
But on M-W's first play, Hoey snagged a deep pass from Sullivan for an interception, ending nay chance the Crusaders had of scoring. Murphy took a knee to send the game to overtime.
Class AA Football State Championship
First quarter
M-W - David Landesberg 83 kickoff return (Jaimie Boyle kick)
Aub - Brandon Tape 49 pass from Darnell Murphy (Matt Hoey kick)
Second quarter
Aub - John Ravenell 50 pass from Darnell Murphy (Matt Hoey kick)
M-W - John Flannery 5 pass from Greg Sullivan (kick failed)
Third quarter
Aub - Quendel Ellison 2 run (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
M-W - Greg Sullivan 22 run (Jaimie Boyle kick)
Overtime
M-W - David Landesberg 2 run (kick failed)
Aub - Jeff Richardson 20 pass from Darnell Murphy (Matt Hoey kick)
After the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders missed the extra point in overtime, the Maroons had a chance to win it all.
It took one play for Darnell Murphy to find Jeff Richardson to tie the score at 26. Then Hoey stepped up for the winning kick and pulled it wide left.
But a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Maroons a second chance. There was no doubt about it this time. Hoey's kick split the uprights, and the Carrier Dome field was flooded with maroon as players, coaches and fans celebrated the first state championship in the school's history.
It didn't take very long for the Crusaders to open the scoring.
Just 12 seconds into the Auburn Maroons' first state championship game and they were trailing , 7-0.
Monroe-Woodbury's starting tailback David Landesberg took the opening kickoff 83 yards to the house to put the defending state champions on top 7-0.
It didn't scare the Maroons, though.
They marched their opening drive 82 yards down the field, converting two third downs and a fourth down before quarterback Darnell Murphy found Brandon Tape for a 49-yard strike to get Auburn on the board.
M-W looked destined for the end zone on their next drive carrying the ball into Auburn territory before Tape came up with his second big catch of the game -- an interception in the end zone to thwart the Crusaders' scoring chance.
The Maroons couldn't capitalize on offense, though and were forced to punt and pinned the Crusaders deep in their own end.
The defense then forced a Crusader punt, and Auburn didn't waste its chance.
After Murphy was sacked for a big loss, it brought up 3rd and 15 at midfield. Under heavy pressure, Murphy scrambled in the pocket and threw an off-balance pass across the field to John Ravenell. The fullback raced to the sideline, picked up some blocks and dashed to the end zone to give Auburn a lead, 14-7.
Not to be outdone, the Crusaders took their next drive all the way down to the 5-yard line before Greg Sullivan found John Flannery open on the sideline for a touchdown. The extra point failed, and Auburn kept a 14-13 lead at halftime.
Auburn received the ball to start the second half, but punted after a three and out. The Crusaders drove down the field to the Auburn 21, but needed to get to the 20 for a first down. Matt Hoey stepped into Sullivan for a tackle just short of the first down and the Maroons took over on downs.
The teams then traded punts as both offenses stalled.
But that didn't last long for the Maroons.
Quendel Ellison, who was limited to just 23 yards in the first half, finally found a groove and carried Auburn down the field. But the passing game continued to click. Murphy found Jeff Richardson for a key fourth-down pickup, and then he found Hoey over the middle to get to the 3-yard line. Two plays later, Ellison punched it in from the 2. Auburn led 20-13 after Hoey's kick missed.
Then fatigue started to set in for the Maroons. Starting on their own 35, the Crusaders cruised down to Auburn's 19, but an incomplete pass on 4th and 2 gave Auburn the ball back with three minutes to play. An Auburn fumble gave the ball right back to the Crusaders with 1:48 to play.
Two plays later, the Crusaders were in the end zone. The extra point tied the game at 20 with 1:22 left in the fourth quarter.
Auburn couldn't gain anything with their possession, and was forced to punt after three downs -- two for negative yardage.
But on M-W's first play, Hoey snagged a deep pass from Sullivan for an interception, ending nay chance the Crusaders had of scoring. Murphy took a knee to send the game to overtime.
Class AA Football State Championship
First quarter
M-W - David Landesberg 83 kickoff return (Jaimie Boyle kick)
Aub - Brandon Tape 49 pass from Darnell Murphy (Matt Hoey kick)
Second quarter
Aub - John Ravenell 50 pass from Darnell Murphy (Matt Hoey kick)
M-W - John Flannery 5 pass from Greg Sullivan (kick failed)
Third quarter
Aub - Quendel Ellison 2 run (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
M-W - Greg Sullivan 22 run (Jaimie Boyle kick)
Overtime
M-W - David Landesberg 2 run (kick failed)
Aub - Jeff Richardson 20 pass from Darnell Murphy (Matt Hoey kick)
