Down by two with 30 seconds, the John Abbott Islanders' offence got the ball in the RSEQ Div 2 college football semi-final against the Sherbrooke Volontaires on a cold and wet Saturday night.
Score and advance; don't score and go home.
John Abbott had the ball on their 35-yard line and started marching.
On the 55-yard line with .1 seconds left on the clock, the Islanders had one play left.
"It was just magic," said coach Patrick Gregory of what happened next.
Quarterback Kaelan Trepanier caught the snap in the shotgun, slipped out of the pocket, ran to the scrimmage line and heaved a pass to receiver Daniel Sheehan who cradled the ball in on the five-yard line between three Sherbrooke defenders and ran in for the touchdown.
"No way!" yelled one fan from the sidelines.
*See video shot from the sideline above to relive the play.
Game over: 36-32. Islanders win. On to the championship against Montmorency in Thetford.
"Our quarterback Kaelan did a great job of buying time, he stepped up, and gave Dan a chance to make a play and Dan made a fantastic finish with the ball and scored," said Gregory. "It was just complete craziness."
Fans and players stormed the field after the play, and Gregory credits his entire offence for having the patience and concentration to keep the team in the game.
"There's no way you can recreate this type of urgency; you try but you just can't do it," said Gregory. "The kids showed great poise, they believed until the end. There's a little bit of magic that kicks in there."
Winning to book a date in a championship game makes the play even more special.
"It was quite a way to clinch our championship game," said Gregory. "We have a bit of a guardian angel somewhere that looked out for us last night. I'll take it."
