2B Prep Football: Toledo falls at the horn in State tilt with Tri-Cities

Road Woes — Riverhawks give up a TD as time expires in 13-10 season-ending loss

Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com

What’s harder than stopping a team four times inside the 10-yard line with the game on the line? Doing it five times.

That’s what Toledo learned, Saturday, in a 13-10 loss to Tri-Cities at Grandview High School in the second round of the 2B State Football Tournament. The extra down allowed the hosts to punch in a one-yard rushing touchdown as time expired and ended the Riverhawks’ season on the spot.

According to eyewitnesses, internet scuttlebutt, and a long-distance radio broadcast the final questionable call of the evening, but hardly the first, came on the penultimate play. Facing fourth and goal from the two-yard line Tri-Cities hurried up to the line and spiked the ball.

One would presume that this would resulted in a turnover on downs. However, the referees ruled that a Riverhawks linemen was offside prior to the snap. More accurately, he’d failed to retreat and reset beyond the line of scrimmage fast enough.

However, first-hand accounts also note that the Tri-Cities offensive line was not entirely set prior to the snap, which should have resulted in a false start or illegal formation penalty. And moreover, the end of the game.

Alas, the the officiating crew did not see things that way and the penalty against Toledo not only stopped the clock, but gave Tri-Cities a fresh set of downs and cut the distance to the goal in half. If it had been the Seahawks a decade ago they would have thrown a slant, but Tri-Cities opted for the run to cap the game-winning 50-yard drive, and the rest is history.

It’s the first time in Mike Christensen’s tenure as head coach that the Riverhawks have been stopped short of the quarterfinals, and for most of the contest it felt like this season would be just like all the others. Especially with memories of Toledo’s 63-20 win over Forks in Week 10 still fresh in the minds of the Cheese Town traveling contingent.