The Tarblooders rebounded after falling behind 22-6 in the third quarter
Glenville QB Cardale Jones led a game-winning 96-yard drive Monday
Update at 5:20 with quotes and to reflect that many who saw replay believed Dwyer scored on final play
COLUMBUS - With a goalline stand from the one-inch line on the last play of the game, Glenville stopped Florida high school William T. Dwyer and saved a 26-22 win this afternoon at Ohio Stadium in the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic.
The game was televised by ESPN, and many at Ohio Stadium believed that replays showed that Dwyer quarterback Jacoby Brissett did push his way into the endzone, and the Panthers clearly believed that Brissett was able to squeeze in on second-and-goal with 21 seconds left. As the teams sorted themselves out after the final push and the clock ticked down, the Tarblooders stormed the field in celebration while the Dwyer players were shocked at the outcome.
"I don't know. I would never answer that question," Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. said when asked whether he thought Dwyer scored about the final play. "It's not my job. I don't know."
Dwyer athletic director Tom Pagley told the Palm Beach Post, "Everybody in the country saw what happened. We'll leave it at that."
Glenville, 2-0 and ranked No. 4 in the nation by Rivals.com, trailed 22-6 in the third quarter after giving up touchdowns on consecutive plays. The first was a 49-yard pass from Brissett to tight end Nick O'Leary, the grandson of legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus. Glenville followed that with a low shotgun snap that was scooped up by Curt Maggitt and run in from 12 yards out for a defensive score.
But Shane Wynn immediately brought Glenville back against Florida's defending state champions, who were ranked No. 11 in the nation by Rivals, with an 83-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. On Dwyer's next possession, a wild snap on a punt was recovered in the endzone by Glenville's Devante Morgan.
In a span of 94 seconds, the score went from 9-6 to 15-6 to 22-6 to 22-14 to 22-20.
And then quarterback Cardale Jones engineered what turned out to be the game-winning drive, leading the Tarblooders on a nine-play, 96-yard drive that finished with a 29-yard run by V'Angelo Bentley, who bounced off a tackler at the 20-yardline and was propelled into the endzone with 5:32 to play.
Dwyer fought back with its own final drive, O'Leary twice grabbing fourth-down catches. The first was a diving 24-yard catch on fourth-and-10 from the 20-yardline that he barely scooped off the turf. The second was a 15-yard catch and run on fourth-and-5 from the 40-yardline.
The Panthers then nearly found the endzone twice. First was a diving grab by Tommylee Lewis at the side of the endzone, as he appeared to land with a knee inbounds for a 25-yard touchdown with 1:36 to play. But officials ruled he that he did not come down in the field of play. Then came the final sneak, with 6-foot, 330-pound Glenville sophomore Darrell Benjamin helping to stuff the play inside.
He replaced Glenville star Andrey Walker, who left after the previous play with cramp. On Benjamin's only defensive snap of the game, he lined up directly over the ball and pushed. Officially, that was enough.
Jones was 10 of 19 for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception and also gained 22 yards on 12 carries. Bentley ran eight times for 53 yards. Nicholas Davis caught three passes for 77 yards for the Tarblooders.
O'Leary had nine catches for 152 yards and a touchdown for Dwyer.