Hyperbole Might Be OK in This Case

 

Falcon Field, Meriden, CT

Point five seconds.

That's what remained on the clock at Falcon Field in Meriden.

0.5.

Now, we can discuss the performance of the officials who were a little sloppy with the clock but, in hindsight, that's a distant footnote.

The scoreboard -- located to our left -- read "MALONEY 28, GREENWICH 27."

If the game had ended like that then I think we would all agree that we had seen a tremendous game. The Cardinals -- number one in the state poll -- had battled a tough number three Spartan team through four quarters.

Except it wasn't four complete quarters. Yet.

The Spartans got the ball back as the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs. However, Maloney couldn't put the game on ice so Big Red got the ball with 1:10 to play.

Up until then, the teams had mostly exchanged scores. It had been a physical night that was on the fringe of being chippy. Maloney's passing game dazzled at times. The Cardinals moved a ball a bit also.

The defenses were fantastic.

It had been a penalty-filled first half with 20(!) called and accepted. The second half wasn't as bad.

But a missed extra point looked like it might be the difference.

The crowd was electric. The place was mostly jammed.

In the booth -- oh, right, we were in the booth! -- we took in the entire spectacle.

Game faces. Determined. Or annoyed at things. Your call.

Yes, the booth, I said. We had initially set up outside as coaches and the "Game of the Week" broadcast were given the space in the booth. Oh, and I was seething, to the point that I knew I couldn't walk in the booth and say anything.

However, as I set up outside, Chris Erway went to the field and talked to the Greenwich coaches. They told Chris that they wouldn't use the booth. They were content to go to the roof.

My phone rang. Chris relayed the news and told me to break down. 

"Go in the booth," he said. "The Greenwich coaches are giving us their spot."

Done. In we went. There was a divider to keep sound away from other broadcasters, the PA announcer, crew members, and the Maloney coaches.

Nobody said a word to us.

This broadcast mattered to me. A lot. I knew cellphone service was bad so we made any necessary adjustments to maximize our signal (#prepared).

I knew it was the big stage in the state and I also knew we'd get people listening. And we did.

Incidentally, take no offense if you're texting me during the game and I don't respond. Especially last night.

So in a game of penalties, a missed extra point, high intensity, questionable timekeeping, coaching maneuvers, and players executing some pretty remarkable efforts, it came down to that final one minute and ten seconds.

Greenwich has weapons. They have a quarterback in Rocco Grillo who is still finding himself.

And it was time to go to work. They started at their own 26. They trailed by one. They had no time outs.

Behind the scenes, Chris and I never say a word about how to handle this. We might pass a look between each other but we know the drill. Call the action. Stay poised. Report. Any side thoughts have to be quick. Stay focused. The game is everything now.

Greenwich got to their own 45 on a pass to Brandon Auguste. 1:03 remained. On the second play, Grillo was sacked for a five-yard loss. 

Tick...tick...tick...

A banged-up Spartan stopped the clock with 48 remaining. No time was put back on the clock.

Play three: Grillo threw a soft rainbow to the right side to Auguste. Complete. Down to 34 to play.

With 25 to go, Grillo fired to Gavyn Gennarelli for a first down at the Maloney 42. Eighteen seconds to go.

Tick...tick...tick...

Now you could start thinking about a field goal but, wait. Erick Perino, the Cardinals kicker, missed the extra point earlier. He's never tried a field goal in a game. Did the miss rattle him? Was he up to kick a game-winner?

Fifth play of the drive from the Maloney 42. Grillo threw to a sliding Jake Stefanowicz. The ball got bobbled as the Cardinals tried to return the ball to the officials.

Grillo rushed the offense to the line and spiked the ball. We thought the sixth play would be the last play.

Nope.

At the Maloney 32, Grillo went to the right sideline where he stepped out with, wait for it, 0.5 to play.

The ball was at the Maloney 25. Seven plays, 50 yards in 1:02.

Haul it up to the end zone? Try for some other kind of miracle play?

No. Coach Anthony Morello called for Perino and the field goal unit.

I've called game-winning field goals. All the way back in 1999, I called a 37-yarder by George Nicholson on WVIP as John Jay (Cross River) beat Fox Lane. I called a state championship winner on WGCH as Peter Kohlasch drilled a 30-yarder in Syracuse to beat Chenango Forks on WGCH. Santiago Cuartas of Staples hit a field goal late in a Thanksgiving matchup in 2009 with Greenwich but the Cardinals got in position to win it with a field goal of their own. That kick was blocked. Final score? Staples 30. Greenwich 28.

So, with the memory bank emptied, I knew I had not broadcast a game-winning, walk-off field goal by Greenwich. I'm still not sure they've ever had one in their history.

Maloney burned their time-outs to try to ice Perino. He stood resolute in his kicking position. Coach Morello motioned encouragement as he walked a few yards away from him as the final time-out ended.

In the booth, we readied ourselves. This wasn't really happening, right?

A field goal, like much in sports, is dancing. It's poetry. It has to be crisp.

The snap was good to holder Ryan McBreairty, who then spun the laces to the proper kicking position. In the process, Perino approached and kicked it, as he told me later, "as hard I can."

The ball sailed into the Meriden night. The crowd fell silent. The wind made the American flag dance just a little so it had minimal impact on the flight of the ball.

We all watched. I called it. 

"It's twisting. It's right near the goal line" (not sure why I said that)...

I waited. The officials had to make it, well, official.

Hands went up. Bodies flew off the far sideline.

"It's GOOD. IT'S GOOD. Greenwich wins on a walk-off field goal at the buzzer! Forty-two yards. Erick Perino and good night. Greenwich wins."

He drilled it. 

As Chris said, Perino had "ice in his veins."

The scoreboard changed.

Greenwich players celebrated before heading to help up some of the crestfallen Spartans who were on the turf in stunned silence.

Stunned. That was the feeling everywhere.

Jack Buck -- the famed play-by-play announcer who called a few big moments in his life -- once told the world "I don't believe what I just saw."

Same here, Mr. Buck. Same here.

Every word we said needed to be proper (OK, save for the goal line comment). I wanted us to own this broadcast, as I told Chris several times.

I think we did. That was really important.

But, honestly, even I couldn't avoid the hyperbole of the moment. I don't like using the term "instant classic" because it's overused. Still, how can I ignore that this was exactly that?

It's one of the great games I've seen and called ever.

Greenwich Football has told me they will get video of the kick to me so that I can sync up the call. For those who didn't pay money to watch the broadcast that Chris and I weren't on, you can see and hear how it sounded with us.

Erick Perino. Etching his name in Greenwich lore.

Chris and I drove home about as stunned as we could possibly be.

While I was sorry to miss calling Brunswick and have a shorter drive home, this was the game.

We'll talk about it for a long time.