San Angelo Central beats Abilene Wylie 63-61 on last-second TD pass
San Angelo Central High School quarterback Tyler Hill connected with Ben Imler for a hail mary touchdown pass as time expired, as the Bobcats edged Abilene Wylie 63-61 on homecoming in the nondistrict finale Friday night at San Angelo Stadium.
Hill ran for three touchdowns and threw for three, all to Imler.
Wylie quarterback Kadin Long also had an outstanding game with four touchdown passes.
Central improved to 3-2, while Wylie dropped to 2-3.
This was the first-ever meeting between the Bobcats and Bulldogs on the gridiron.
The Bobcats were up 49-48 early in the fourth quarter before Wylie answered with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Long to wide receiver Harrison Heighten that made it 54-49 Bulldogs with 4:57 left.
Central regained the lead after a 13-yard TD run by Hill, followed by a two-point conversion pass from Hill to Tyler Walker that made it 57-54 Bobcats with 1:25 left.
The back-and-forth battle continued, as the Bulldogs went up 61-57 on a 14-yard TD run by Long with 19 seconds remaining.
A long kickoff return by Central's Keevon Rice gave the Bobcats good field position at the Wylie 48, and two plays later Hill connected with Imler for the game winner.
Hill first had to somehow shake off a tackle by a Wylie defensive lineman before he rolled to his right and delivered a strike to Imler, who caught it at the 10 and cut back across the field, getting a block by Rice as he ran into the end zone and was mobbed by his teammates.
"I'm certainly proud of them for the way they hung in there and continued to fight," Central head coach Kevin Crane said. "It would've been real easy to give up there at the end. Keevon getting a big kickoff return, that was a huge part of the deal, too, because if we don't have that good field position right there, we're not going to get that score.
"We had a little desperation play and we threw it to Ben Imler and Imler pitched it back to Tyler Walker and we were able to call a timeout. And then we called a hail mary and Tyler was able to break away and have enough on the ball to get it down as far as he did. We had some good blocks down there as well to make sure we got in."
Central led 35-28 at the half. The Bobcats stretched their advantage to 42-28 on a 37-yard TD pass from Hill to Imler at the 9:58 mark of the third.
Wylie pulled within 42-35 on the ensuing possession, as Long hooked up with Braden Regala for a 32-yard TD strike with 7:38 left in the third.
Central went up by two TDs again later in the third, as Tyree Brawley scored on a 1-yard run at the 3:47 mark.
The Bulldogs had a lot of fight still in them though.
Long threw a 63-yard TD pass to Regala to get Wylie within 49-42 with 2:38 left in the third.
The Bulldogs got within 49-48 on a 35-yard TD run by Landry Carlton with 10:02 remaining in the fourth. The conversion kick failed.
On Central's next series, Hill was picked off by Hayden Wright and the Bulldogs took over at the Bobcats 30-yard line with 7:21 left.
A 53-yard run by the Wylie QB on third-and-4 from the Central 36 gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Central 11.
Long then threw a 5-yard TD toss to Heighten to give Wylie a 54-49 lead with 4:57 left after the PAT pass failed.
Central regained the lead on a 13-yard TD run by Hill and a PAT pass from Hill to Walker, making it 57-54 Bobcats with 1:25 left.
The Bobcats know how fortunate they were to pull this thing and give themselves a two-game winning streak heading into district.
"Wylie's a really good football team and we knew that," the Central coach said. "They scared the dog out of me. They're a traditional powerhouse and they've played in state-championship games.
"They were huge on their offensive line, almost (6-foot-5) across the board. And the quarterback, I can't say enough good things about him. That guy was hard to get ahold of. He was able to scramble and make some plays with his legs. And when he had time, he was putting the ball on the money, too, in the passing game."
The Bobcats will have next week off before opening District 2-6A play on the road against Midland High on Friday, Oct. 7.
Wylie will also have next week off before opening 2-5A play at home against Plainview on Friday, Oct. 7.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: San Angelo Central beats Abilene Wylie 63-61 on last-second TD pass
