Day 349: A Most Incredible Buzzer Beater

For those of you who have been loyal readers of Balls of All Sizes, you know I'm not a big basketball fan, so it must have been pretty damn cool for me to want to write about it. So here's something you just have to see to believe. Two high schools in Michigan squared off for their Class D regional final and what transpired could be the best buzzer beater I've ever seen. I dare you to watch it just once!!

With just 0.8 seconds left on the clock, the Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart team was down by one with almost no chance to pull out the win. And I'm sure the opposing team, Middleton Fulton High was thinking they just needed to get a finger on that ball to ensure their victory—surely nothing crazy could happen with less than a second on the clock. But oh how wrong that assumption would be.

Just the in-bound throw was impressive enough, so for the whole play to work without a hitch was pretty freaking amazing.

If you're not quite sure what you just witnessed, here's a recap. The player inbounding the ball fired it towards the backboard where it ricocheted off the glass, bounced once off the floor falling right into the hands of one of his teammates who waited just beyond the 3-point line. He grabbed the ball and immediately fired up a hail Mary that just barely went in. Mt. Pleasant wins 49-47.

And the crowd goes bananas!

Day 223: High School Girls Soccer is Rough Business

I never played soccer at a competitive level. As a kid, sure, I kicked that black and white ball around... tried to see how many consecutive bounces on my knee I could do. (The answer: not many.) But my high school never got a girls soccer team until I was a junior. And by that time, I had decided that sports that included balls flying at my face and girls trying to slide tackle me was not my cup of tea. Plus, there's just way too much running. I was more into those non-contact sports like track (sprinter) and softball (really bad second baseman).

But Saturday morning was the Class A girls soccer state championship game between the undeafeted Windham Eagles and the Bangor Rams. A friend of mine has a kid on the Windham team...so naturally, I wanted to show my support (despite my worries about being a jinx.) I'm glad I went. This game was a real nail biter throughout the first 40 minute half. Windham peppered the Bangor goalie with shots—some directly at her, and some that found the crossbar or the football goalpost just behind the goal. Parents in the stands murmured frustrations.

It was obvious from the get-go, Windham was the dominant force in this match-up. I'm not sure Bangor knew what to expect—or if they did, they didn't take the threat seriously. I'm surprised the Windham goal keeper didn't fall asleep with virtually all the action taking place in front of the Bangor net. And I'm positive that the Rams felt lucky to get out of that first half with the score tied at zero. Windham, most likely, felt frustrated. I know the fans sure did.

The second half opened with a quick goal by Windham's Ciera Berthiaume  just 51 seconds into the second half to get the scoring started. The Eagles never looked back and the Rams just couldn't pull their shit together to make a run. Windham, who outshot a sluggish looking Bangor team by what felt like a million to one, ended up winning 3-0 to win their first state soccer title since 1994.

Watching this game made me realize something about soccer: this is a rough game. I admire these girls for their tenacity and resilience—they never seem to give up on the ball no matter where it is and they all take a ball to the face like it's no big deal. There were about two dozen plays in this game that would've forced me into the fetal position. But these girls just get up and chase down the play like they just got hit with a Nerf ball. I saw one girl get hit in the face with a ball—a play that most certainly would've sent me to the emergency room.

Congratulations to the Windham Eagles on their Gold Ball... it was a really fun way to spend a sunny but crisp Saturday morning! (For a complete recap of the game, click on over to the Bangor Daily News.)

Day 156: Everything's Bigger in Texas... Including High School Football Finishes!

Remember the television show Friday Night Lights? This show was a great mix of football heroics with a dash of steamy romance and a heaping spoonful of high school angst. So naturally it's one of my all-time favorites and I often miss watching the Dillon Panthers of West Texas with their fiery leader, Coach Eric Taylor and the rugged yet boozy fullback, Tim Riggins. Thank heavens for Netflix, that's all I can say. (FYI: All five seasons are streaming on Netflix...)

High school football is just getting started around the country and already in this young season is a play worthy of one you could only see on a television show. It could've been Brian "Smash" Williams ducking and weaving through a sea of opposing players, all of whom just wanting to crush him. But it wasn't made for television... it was, however, made in Texas.

"Everything's bigger in Texas." Isn't that the saying? Evidently that saying pertains to high school football plays—and this play is going to be a hard one to beat! Yahoo! Sports Prep Rally did a pretty damn good job of setting up the scenario.

The video you see below, which was brought to Prep Rally's attention by the good folks at Bob's Blitz, comes from a game between Copperas Cove (Tx.) High and A&M Consolidated (Tx.) High, a highly-ranked grudge match between well respected Class 5A Texas squads. With Copperas Cove holding a 41-38 lead with just one second left on the clock, the Bulldogs decided that the best way to seal a huge early season home victory was to use a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff.  

That was an enormous mistake. 

Instead of a clean, quiet conclusion, what ensued was the freak kickoff return to end all kickoff returns. Tigers running back Brandon Jackson fielded the squib cleanly and cut up field ... then cut back again and eventually appeared cornered. That's when he shoveled the ball off to fellow running back Derrick Dick, who had no problem taking the ball the rest of the way to the end zone.  

No time left, six points A&M Consolidated, 44-41 victory, Tigers.

Watch and just try not to be in awe of this play... and try not to think of what the coach of the losing team had to say in that locker room after the game. Special teams might be doing a few more suicide drills in the next practice.