By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On Friday night, Salina Central and Goddard played what might just go down as the most insane finish in the state of Kansas this year, as the Lions escaped with a 42-35 win over the Mustangs.
With less than 7:00 remaining, the Lions held a convincing but not insurmountable 34-20 lead.
Central drove the ball to the Goddard goal line, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty turned fourth and goal from the six into fourth and goal from the 21, and a hold not only wiped a touchdown off the board, it drove the Mustangs behind the 30.
After turning the ball over on downs, it looked like the Lions would run out the clock and hold onto their two-score lead, but Goddard regifted the penalty yardage and was forced to punt from their own end zone.
Smelling blood in the water, the Mustangs pounced as a low snap resulted in a blocked punt, which Central recovered in the end zone to cut the lead to 7.
34-27 Goddard, game on.
Needing the onside kick, the Mustangs turned to Elijah Duxler to recover the ball he himself kicked, and while the ball failed to travel the required ten yards, it did make contact with a Lion before being recovered by Central, giving the Salina sideline new life.
Anyone who’s followed the Mustangs this year knows what comes next.
Jack Gordon dropped back from the Lion 47 and delivered a dime to Ryker Grossner who took it the rest of the way to paydirt to put Central within one.
Not content to send the game to a likely overtime the Mustangs ran a fake PAT that saw Gordon pitch the ball to Mowery on a rollout, and the receiver delivered a dime of his own to Grossner, sealing the two-point conversion and delivering Central a 35-34 lead.
With under 2:00 to go against an offense that didn’t attempt a pass until week three, the one thing the Mustangs couldn’t afford was a busted kick return coverage, but Micah Johnson had plans of his own, fielding the ball at his own 15 before exploding down the sideline for an 85-yard touchdown return and his fourth touchdown of the day.
Central would get the ball back for one final gasp, but an acrobatic toe-tapping interception in the back of the end zone put the game on ice as the Lions held on for dear life for a 42-35 win.
With this result, both teams will enter the final week of the regular season at 5-3.
The Mustangs will be back in action next Friday when they play host to 1-6 Ark City.