MEAD — When two equally talented football teams meet up in the state playoffs, one play can make or break a team’s season.
In this year’s Class 3A state quarterfinal Saturday, Holy Family’s Adam Moore was that wrecking ball at No. 4 Mead in the No. 5 Tigers’ 34-26 victory. With just over one minute remaining and the Mavericks well on the hunt for needed touchdown, Moore soared into the air to grab an interception.
He ended Mead’s season then and there, and had a little inspiration from above in the form of a bible verse written on his nose tape.
“Coach (Frank Ybarra) on the sideline, he knows everything,” Moore said. “He tells me to get over my guy, see the quarterback’s eyes. I look over at my guy, the ball’s coming right towards me. I’ve got to make a break on the ball, I’ve got to catch the ball first off.
“Isaiah 41:10 is, ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not dismay, for I am your God.’ It was electric. I was so proud of my team and so proud of myself in that moment as well. We worked hard for it.”
Seventeen seconds earlier, Oliver Hansen gave the Tigers three extra points on a 42-yard field goal, his second such lengthy kick of the contest. Earlier, he nailed a 44-yarder. The game proved quite the contrast to the last time Holy Family made the trip up to Mead.
During that 27-21 victory at the beginning of October, the Tigers came out flat and had to fight their way back to win, scoring twice in the game’s final three minutes. This time around, they came out swinging from the opening whistle, scoring just 36 seconds in and holding a 14-0 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.
Sophomore quarterback Kaden Hopkin was the chief catalyst of it all, throwing for 379 yards and three touchdowns, including TDs of 64 and 52 yards. Sophomore Gage Gunderson added another 156 yards of offense with a score of his own.
“We knew that if we get the offense going early and get them down a few scores, they like to quit a little bit,” Hopkin said. “As long as we get on early and keep scoring and scoring, our defense has our back, and we’ll win the game.
“(Mead’s) a really good team. I mean, they got some dawgs on their team. They play hard, play with respect, and they’re just hard to beat on their own field. They care a lot for the game, and I think it’s just always a dogfight every time we play them.”
Key plays on both sides helped determine the outcome. Holy Family recovered a Mead fumble around midfield early on, and then brought the way all the way down to the Mavericks’ 16-yard line. The Mavericks stopped them there on downs, but Andrew Berens paid them back with an interception not long after.
That pick gave the Tigers another shot at the end zone, and this time they didn’t waste it. Hopkin connected with Cole Jany for an 11-yard score to push their lead to 21-7 midway through the second quarter. The Mavericks pulled as close as 21-17 with 10:30 left in the game thanks to a 27-yard field goal from Eli Davis, but they couldn’t muster up enough offense to take the lead or the win.
Mead had a chance to tie the game with 6:28 remaining on a short Noah Chapala run into the end zone that was ultimately called back due to holding. The Mavericks had to settle instead for a 29-yard Davis field goal to make it 31-26.
They ended their season with a 9-3 record, while the Tigers, now 11-1, move into the semifinals to face off with top-seeded Windsor next Saturday.
“I’m so proud of the team,” Chapala said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever really seen a group of guys like this. So many people, they just kind of wrote us off. Our guys had such a chip on their shoulder. We had so many guys step up as leaders. I don’t know if I’ve really ever felt closer with anyone than these guys.”