Lady Luck wore Blue & Gold…Goal line stand in OT preserves 32-26 Hornet victory

Payton Feiden registers a sack of Hornet quarterback Tucker Ross.

The Gallatin Bulldogs found out just how far away one yard could be late in Friday night’s football tussle against rival Hamilton.
Hoping to successfully close out the contest in overtime, Gallatin took the ball from the 25 yard line to the 4 in five plays, needing just a yard to pick up a first down and keep the potential go-ahead drive alive. Hamilton had other ideas. A 6-yard loss on a broken play, followed by a carry for no gain, killed the drive and pumped up the Hornets, who had led for most of the contest.
Moments later, PHS quarterback Tucker Ross rolled right with a decision to either keep the ball as he had done so many times during the contest, or hunt for a receiver in a crowded end zone. Ross pulled up at the sideline and whistled a pass in the corner that sailed through the hands of a Bulldog defender and into the grasp of Nathan Wyckoff for the game-winning score.
Gallatin’s shot at a win seemed improbable, if not impossible with less than a minute in regulation remaining to play, especially when the yellow penalty flag continued to fly. Kevin Meeks fielded a Hornet punt and returned to the 39 yard line. With 13 seconds left, quarterback Brinley Vandiver was whistled for intentional grounding as he went to the turf in the grasp of a pair of Hornet pass rushers.
The subsequent penalty meant loss of down. With one final play from Hamilton’s 41, Vandiver dropped back to pass and lofted a perfect spiral to the Bulldog corner of the end zone. A streaking Isaac Bird leaped for the ball and came down in bounds and in the end zone for the tying score with less than a second on the game clock.
Going for the win, the Bulldogs lined up for an extra point kick but the ball sailed just wide of the right upright.
Hamilton’s goal line defense made an earlier stand, as well. With good protection, Vandiver completed a long pass to Payton Feiden to the Hornet 30 with 5 minutes left in regulation. Another Vandiver to Feiden connection moved the ball to Hamilton’s 2 yard line. Vandiver carried to the 1 but back-to-back losses set up fourth down with 2 minutes remaining.
Vandiver scrambled for no gain but an illegal participation penalty on the Hornets gave Gallatin one more shot at the goal line despite a false start penalty. A pass through the uprights to a GHS receiver fell incomplete and the Hornets appeared ready to start their victory celebration, unknowing that OT was waiting in the wings.
Hamilton seemed to have an offensive player in the right spot all night long. The first Hornet score came early in the first quarter when Ross fumbled the ball into the end zone where it was recovered by a teammate.
The Bulldogs answered on the scoreboard at 3:16 of the first with a 67-yard bomb from Vandiver to Feiden. The Hornets regained the lead with a Ross 60-yard keeper and Sawyer Morrow PAT.
Gallatin continued to struggle against the penalty flag into the second quarter. Meeks returned a Hornet punt 50-plus yards to the Hamilton 10 but a penalty nullified the run. A carry by Meeks, again to the Hornet 10 was also cancelled by the yellow flag.
Hamilton spread the gap on the scoreboard with 1:50 left in the first half when Ross intercepted a Bulldog pass and returned it down the sideline for a 60-yard TD. Morrow’s kick made it 20-6, but less than a minute later Gallatin tacked on 6 points with a 46-yard TD completion from Vandiver to Meeks.
The Hornets made the most of the time remaining. With less than 2 seconds on the clock, Ross found Wyckoff in the end zone from 5 yards out, pushing the score to 26-14 as the half ended.
A 7-yard TD reception by Feiden cut the gap to 26-20, a score that stood up until Gallatin’s last-second miracle.
Gallatin’s schedule gets no easier this week as they travel to South Harrison, which rebounded from a narrow loss to East Buchanan in week one by trouncing West Platte, 49-16, last week.