by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — It’s a cliche when a writer says a game lived up to the hype. But this one did. Perhaps, more than anyone could ever imagine. 

Winfield would beat Wellington 21-20 in overtime. Yes, these were two winless teams going into the contest. But for 32 minutes and then an overtime, this was a battle of wills. A stunningly even game that neither team wanted to lose.

And when the Winfield kicker put it through the uprights for his third extra points, the Vikings would come away with the victory.

Wellington head coach Zane Aguilar, the pupil, would greet, his mentor Winfield head coach Linn Hibbs at midfield. They would embrace. Hibbs earned his first victory as a head Viking coach. Aguilar is still searching for that elusive win.

What did they say to one another?

“He told me, congratulations,” Aguilar said. “That was it.”

Aguilar as well as the Wellington fans and the Wellington players were torn up after this one. Players collapsed in heartbreak. There would be no ringing of the victory bell this year.

The thing was, for one brief second it appeared like the Crusaders had won this one.

But years from now, people will describe the dog pile. Winfield facing a 4th-and-1 in the first overtime, handed the ball to Jayden Tate, who went into this melee of Wellington defenders and Winfield offensive linemen. It looked like some massive pile of bumper cars, who jumble up in an amusement ride. The pile went this way, and the pile went that way. And the officials whistle never seemed to blow.

And finally after it was over, one official looked at the other and finally the sideline judge raised his hand. Touchdown.

The Crusader faithful will forever say the play was dead long before the officials deemed it so. The Viking faithful will say, “good call, ref.”

Winfield then hit the extra point, which Wellington failed to do on its try to clinch the win.

The Crusaders are 0-7 and are staring at their first winless season in its 96-year history. Winfield is now 1-6.

This game was a tug of war from the start. Wellington appeared early to be the dominant team. The Crusaders would drive all the way to the 1 in its first possession but came up short. But after stopping Winfield 3-and-out, Wellington would punch it in the next time with a 5-yard Colton Glover touchdown run. It was Wellington’s first touchdown against varsity starters in 12 quarters.

But as good as the first quarter was for Wellington, Winfield was just as dominating in the second. But like the Crusaders, the Vikings weren’t scoring at will either getting stopped inside the 5. Finally, Jack Mull scored from the 3 on the next possession. The PAT was good and that was the difference at halftime 7-6.

Then suddenly things got really good. Wellington would piece together a 74-yard early third-quarter drive that ended with a Glover scamper from the 2. Then Cade Phelps would pass to De’Andre Washington for the 2-point conversion pass.

The defense hadn’t given up a big play all night until the next play when Tate would turn the corner on a sweep and scamper 60 yards for a touchdown. The game was knotted at 14-all with 2:31 in the third quarter.

The rest of the half was an exercise in futility as neither offense could really get inside one another’s 20. Winfield, though, was knocking at the end of the regular session at the 30 looking to score.

Wellington received the ball first in overtime, and used three Glover runs to score a touchdown. Instead of going for a PAT, the Dukes went for a pass. Phelps was sacked.

It was then up to the Crusader defense. After Winfield gained 5 on a Suttles scramble, the Vikes would only get three more on the next two plays. Then came the dog pile.

What a game. What a heart break for the Crusaders.

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