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Varsity 365 2009 Football
Play Hard Moment of the Year:
*Awarded to a moment that is a true example
of leaving it all on the field*
Drew Harris Scores 2 point conversion on second effort vs. Penncrest on 11/20
(See Video - play at 3:12 mark)
You want tense? This, was tense.
The picture you see above is moments after Downingtown East coach Mike Matta was convinced by running back Drew Harris that if he got the ball, the team could convert the 2 point conversion. This was after Downingtown East scored in overtime to trim Penncrest's lead to 1, a 48-47 score. Go for one and the game is tied, you live to fight another overtime. Go for 2 and score, you win all of the glory. But go for 2 and fail...
Let's put this into context a little bit. This was a playoff game that saw both teams go all over the field like pinballs handled by a skilled player. It was mentally and physically draining - and that was just for those of us who were covering the game! Imagine how the players and coaches felt! So for it all to come down to a 2 point conversion was, well, pretty big. Hence the reason why all the people in the picture above, moments before Drew Harris would try to run the ball into the endzone, look as tense as they do.
So when Drew got the ball for the 2 point conversion try, we all watched the drama unfold. He didn't get in when he was first hit. It looked as though he would come up short. But he persevered, bouncing off the initial hit, surviving a defender hanginig on to his leg, and lunging forward. It was close, and as we look at the video over and over, we truly understand why they call football a game of inches. It looks like he got in just barely, and that was the call. The rest was history, as we saw the tension shatter to pieces, and Downingtown East celebrate along with all of the fans who stayed around to watch one of the best endings we've ever seen to a high school football game. Drew wanted the ball. He got it, and he delivered. And that is a Play Hard Moment of the Year if we've ever seen one.
Runner ups:
Brian Butler's emotion vs. North Catholic (11/13)
- See video, 2:34 mark
- We loved his emotion in the games we covered, and feel like that energy was a nice piece of the Archbishop Wood puzzle, at least on defense
Eugene Byrd gets up despite being very, very tired vs. Frankford (11/26)
- There were several times in the fourth quarter of the Frankford/North Catholic game where Byrd took a little more time to get up than normal. There was one time in particular where we on the sidelines thought he might have been hurt, but then a player helped him to his feet and he was ready to go. And who could blame him for being fatigued; he put in extra work (31 carries, 37 touches) to try to help propel North Catholic to victory. In the end, all of the work paid off.
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