Ware wins in final second



By John Nogowski



WAYCROSS — The play didn’t have a name.

“We didn’t have one,” Ware County quarterback Steve Daniels said, shrugging, then smiling. “They just wanted me to find somebody.”

He did.

With just 1.8 seconds remaining in Region 1-AAAA championship game, the ball at the Central 5-yard-line, Daniels rolled right, milliseconds flicking off the clock, when he spotted Ryan Benson slicing to the corner of the end zone. A stadium filled with shocked, scared Gator fans held their collective breath. He whipped the ball to him and Ware County had itself a Region 1-AAAA title.

“What can you say?” Thomas County Central coach Ed Pilcher said. “We were a second away from victory, after trailing 24-7 in the fourth quarter. I can’t say enough about our kids.”

Daniels’ last-second (literally!) touchdown strike to Ryan Benson gave the Gators a stunning 36-34 victory over the top-ranked Yellow Jackets, who hadn’t lost a regular season game since falling to Warren Field’s Cairo Syrupmakers two seasons ago.

“I’m proud as I can be of our kids,” Pilcher said. “And I’m proud of our defense, too. That shows a lot of character, coming back like that. But that Daniels, he’s just hard to contain.”

Heading into the final quarter, it appeared that Central’s early mistakes – four consecutive turnovers on its first four possessions – were going to do them in. Though quarterback Erik Walden checked in at the end of the first half and magically delivered a touchdown pass to Moses Cochran to make it 17-7 at the half, when Central surrendered a TD in the third quarter, they looked done.

Amazingly, they came right back. After a nice drive capped by a David Dawson plunge made it 24-14, Central tried two straight onside kicks and improbably came up with both of them, thanks to Adrian Samuels.

Central was able to cash in on two straight drives with short Cochran plunges and startlingly, grabbed the lead at 27-24 with 3:31 to go.

But the resourceful Ware County Gators had more ammunition left, particularly against a Central defense that spent so much time on the field in the first half. A 46-yard Daniels scramble set up the Gators at the 11 and he easily found Michael Duncan in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown to make it 30-27.

Back came Central. With Erik Walden checking back in, he led the team down the field effortlessly, brilliantly working the clock and the sideline. Finally, with 1:08 to go, he rolled right and spotted a wide-open David Dawson in the corner of the end zone.

With the touchdown and PAT, Central now led 34-30. All the Jackets had to do was hold them.

But they couldn’t. After a short pass brought it to midfield, he went for the downs on first down at the 44 and had Cedric Jones open just past Tremayne Flounoy inside the Central 20. But Jones dropped it.

So Daniels turned to shorter stuff as the seconds dwindled down under a minute and he methodically moved his team closer to the end zone.

With 11 seconds second and the ball at the 24, Ware County went to their “Polecat” formation, where the quarterback and center at in the middle of the field, with the rest of the offense spread out on either sideline. Sure enough, Daniels drew a rush from Central defender Denzel Marable and sprinted around him, carrying the ball down to the Central 6.

Two pass plays failed. But on third down, with just 1.8 seconds to go, he connected on the biggest pass of his career and Ware County had itself a Region 1-AAAA title.