When a touchdown run by Elijah Oakman put Pflugerville up 47-35 with just four minutes to go, it looked like Leander was about to suffer its 23rd straight defeat. Instead, the Lions showed why teams need to play until the final whistle. After starting with the ball in Pflugerville territory thanks to an impressive return on a squib kick, Ray Egelsee punched in from one yard out to cut the deficit to 47-42 with just over two minutes to go.
With time running out, Leander booted an onside kick attempt behind the initial line of defense of the Pflugerville hands team. With the ball skidding along near the sideline at the Pflugerville 30, a Pflugerville player missed an opportunity to recover the ball and Leander’s Aidan Perrott fell on the loose ball to give Leander a shot. That’s all it needed.
The Lion offense marched down the field and Garrett Landry found the end zone on a quarterback sneak to put Leander up 48-47 with just under 30 seconds to go. After a Pflugerville kick return to its own 43 yard line, Leander still had a bullet to dodge. Pflugerville moved the ball to the Leander 34-yard line and set up a 51-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game. The kick ended up going wide left, allowing Leander fans and players alike to breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate their first victory in over two years.
“I was very impressed with the composure our guys played with. Even with time running out they never panicked; they continued to play and fight very hard,”
Leander Head Coach Kris Price said.
“We are learning to fight through adversity and play together for a full game. I’m very proud of our guys.”
With an impressive, late comeback to snap a long losing streak, Leander produced one of the stories of the weekend and gave itself plenty of momentum to work with moving forward in District 11-5A Division I play.
CLICK HERE to see all 10 of the best moments from week 8
