Calvert was on the brink of an upset, despite continually putting the ball on the carpet.
Late into the fourth quarter, the Senecas had fumbled 10 times, and lost four of them against 7-1, state-ranked Fremont St. Joe.
And yet, Calvert had the ball and a slim 14-13 lead with about three minutes left. The Senecas had possessed the ball much of the second half, behind the dominant running of Dan Kwiat. The senior had rushed for 156 yards, and Calvert had the ball at the St. Joe 43, facing a third and six.
Calvert quarterback Tyler Long took the snap and threw the ball to his right.
St. Joe's Alex Veleba was there to grab it. He then took off towards the Calvert goal. He was eventually brought down at the Calvert 19.
St Joe ran a pair of running plays to get down to the Calvert 3, but failed to gain any yardage on the next two plays.
Fact Box
St. Joe 16, Calvert 14
St. Joe7603 - 0
Calvert0770 - 14
First Quarter
FSJ - Marcus Kerr 5 run (Corey Durbin kick), 10:22
Second Quarter
C - Tyler Long 1 run (Michael Smith kick), 2:31
FSJ - Jake Yeckley 8 pass from Zack Yeckley (Durbin kick fails), :35
Third Quarter
C - Tyler Long 10 run (Smith kick), 1:42
Fourth Quarter
FSJ - Durbin 33 field goal, :52
FSJC
First Downs715
Rushes-yards20-355-176
Passing yards13572
Comp-att-int10-27-07-14-2
Punts-ave.6-34.02-41.0
Fumbles-lost0-010-4
Penalties-yards7-311-5
Individual Statistics
RUSHING: St. Joe - Z. Yeckley 9-(minus 21); Kerr 9-18; Alex Veleba 2-6. Calvert - Dan Kwiat 31-156; Long 21-41; Brandon Deats 1-2; Austin Ball 1-3; TEAM 1-(minus 26) .
PASSING: St. Joe - Z. Yeckley 10-27-0-135. Calvert - Long 7-14-2-72.
RECEIVING: St. Joe - Jake Yeckley 4-27; Luke Stierwalt 2-29; Alex Veleba 2-22; Kerr 2-47. Calvert - Derek Herzog 1-6; Nick Warnement 4-32; Brad Iannantuono 1-34.
On third and goal, St. Joe quarterback Zack Yeckley - who had gone 0-for-7 passing in the second half, attempted a pass, but was corralled for a sack by Calvert linebacker Mitch Depinet at the 16.
The clock wound down to under a minute. St. Joe coach Scott Knisely sent out the field goal team, leaving the fate of the contest on the leg of Corey Durbin.
Durbin, also a lineman, had been on the field for every play. He also had missed an extra point in the second quarter.
"There's a kid that played his heart and soul out on the offensive and defensive line," Knisely said.
He also provided the game-winner, drilling the kick through the uprights with 52 seconds left to give St. Joe a 16-14 edge.
"Never came off the field once tonight," Knisely said of Durbin, "and he's got enough juice to hit a winning field goal."
Calvert still had a chance, but Long was picked off again, this time by Luke Stierwalt. St. Joe was able to run out the clock.
Calvert coach Todd Fox appeared to second-guess himself a bit about having Long pass late when his team had the lead.
"I feel like I should have kept it in [Kwiat's] hands a couple more times," Fox said. "But hindsight's 20-20."
St. Joe (8-1, 5-0 Midland Athletic League) scored early in the first quarter after Calvert's snap on a punt was wild and the Streaks ended up with the ball at the Senecas' 5. On St. Joe's first play from scrimmage, Marcus Kerr powered in for a 7-0 lead.
Calvert tied the game early with 2:31 left in the half on a 10-yard jaunt by Long, but the Streaks answered with a two-minute drill that culminated when Zack Yeckley found Jake Yeckley for an eight-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left.
Down 13-7, the Senecas battled back. After Long fumbled inside the St. Joe 5 in the third, the Calvert defense forced a punt that gave its offense great field position. Seven plays later, Long dove into the end zone from a yard out. Michael Smith's extra point gave the Senecas a one-point lead.
With St. Joe's offense unable to get much going - Zack Yeckley was sacked five times; the Streaks finished the game with just three yards rushing - all appeared set for a Calvert victory.
But Calvert couldn't avoid the turnovers. It finished with six.
"We gave them the ball all the time," Fox said. "We just turned the ball over too much.
"We played well enough to win, and we gave it to them."
