Homecoming comeback: Washington scores late to win thriller

CEDAR RAPIDS – It's a gesture than many teams demonstrate, but rarely see the tangible results.Cedar Rapids Washington raised their hands in the air with four fingers extended – a sign to fight to the final buzzer.The Warriors eclipsed a 12-point deficit with two touchdown passes from Reid Snitker to Isaiah Nimmers in the final 1:01 to pull off a 28-27 come-from-behind Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division victory over Waterloo West last night at Kingston Stadium.Nimmers hauled in a pass from a scrambling Snitker, turned inside and maneuvered his way into the end zone with 15.5 seconds left for the winning score.“I was just trying to make a play,” said Nimmers, who had 53 yards on six catches. “Do something for my team. We knew it was never over from the start of the fourth quarter."We just kept on fighting.”The Warriors remained positive and clung to hope. The same can't be said for many of the fans. Maybe it was too late to stay out, but their departure caught the attention of Washington Coach Paul James."There were a lot of people in the stands who left, thinking we didn't (have a chance)," James said. "To come from behind like that, you've got the get the ball bouncing right. The onside kick was perfect. Just our clock management, too. I thought Reid did a great job with that with the team. Then the last play, doing a great job scrambling and getting the ball to Isaiah, and Isaiah did a great job finding the end zone.”Washington (2-3, 2-1 MVCV) put itself in position for the final drive, recovering an onside kick at the West 43 with 59 seconds remaining.Snitker needed just four plays to hit Nimmers, completing 4 of 5 passes on the final drive.“We were all pretty pumped about getting that onsides,” said Snitker, who finished with 232 yards passing and 78 on the ground. “We had a lot of faith. I tried to keep cool and calm and get the ball down the field.”The kickoff recovery came after Snitker hit Nimmers for a 5-yard touchdown, capping a 10-play, 52-yard drive that took just 1:18 off the clock.Snitker was impressive on the final two possessions, completing 11 of 15 for 95 yards."Our line blocked great," Snitker said, "and our receivers, when I was struggling and running around, they retracked their steps and did a good job of getting the ball."West Coach Lonnie Moore execution was the difference in the final 2:19 when the comeback started.“They just made plays and we didn't," Moore said. "They made some great plays. They adjusted to things we were doing, and their kids were doing the things they needed to do.”He called a timeout after the onside kick recovery. He had confidence in his defense, especially in a close finish that he expected.“I didn't say anything, really," Moore said. "I let my defensive coaches take over. I wasn't nervous at all. Our defense had saved us a lot this year. We knew coming in it was going to be a tight game. Before the game I told our kids it was going to be a tight game, and they made more plays.”Washington grabbed its first lead with 11:49 to go in the game when Joseph Lenzen, who delivered the pivotal onside kick, drilled a 35-yard field goal. The Warriors led 15-13.James said this ranked among the most miraculous comebacks he has seen. One the seniors will never forget.“They rose to the occasion,” James said. “I told them this was a real gritty performance.”The Warriors didn't have an answer for the West (2-3, 1-2) rush attack in the first half. The duo of Lance Dunn and Alex Young combined for 118 yards on the ground by the break, averaging more than six yards a carry.Washington contained the ground game better in the second half, despite allowing two four-quarter touchdown runs by Young.“They made some adjustments, then we came back and made other adjustments and had some success after that. Some of the adjustments they made was to bring some pressure on us, and we figured that out.”Young put West up 27-15 with touchdown runs of 5 and 30 yards. He finished with 133 yards rushing and three TDs. Dunn finished with 204 rushing yards, including a 39-yard TD in the second, putting West up, 13-6.Snitker kept the Warriors in the game in the first half, scoring on two TD runs of 9 and 45 yards. He helped Washington win its second straight game. This win provides a boost and one to build on for the second half of the season.“This is really big just to develop confidence and knowing they can come from behind and pull one out," James said. "We made a lot of mistakes at various times that people in the stands wouldn't recognize … We've got a lot of things to work on, there is no question.”

CR Wash. 28, Waterloo W. 27

AT KINGSTON STADIUM

TEAM STATISTICS

Waterloo W.

CR Wash.

First downs

14

17

Rushes-yards

42 - 337

32 - 152

Passing yards

13

232

Comp-Att-Int

2 - 6 - 0

24 - 33 - 1

Total yards

350

384

Fumbles-lost

3 - 2

1 - 1

Punts-average

4 - 41.0

4 - 26.0

Penalties-yards

6 - 43

5 - 25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing:  Waterloo W. – Lance Dunn 18-133 , Alex Young 24-204  CR Wash. – Reid Snitker 11-78 , Mason Taylor 9-34 , Connor Vincent 2-15 , Caleb Smothers 3-13 , Johnny Hobbs 7-12

Passing:  Waterloo W. – Young 2-6-0-13  CR Wash. – Snitker 24-33-1-232

Receiving:  Waterloo W. – Elijah Evans 1-4 , Dunn 1-9  CR Wash. – Clayton Bjornsen 8-49 , Isaiah Nimmers 6-53 , Landen Akers 5-66 , Lars Bjornsen 3-37 , Smothers 1-13 , Jacob Bjornsen 1-14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Waterloo W.

7

6

14

–

27

CR Wash.

12

16

–

28

SCORING SUMMARY

WW - Young 2 run (Nevzad Osmanececvic kick)

CRW - Snitker 9 run (kick failed)

WW - Dunn 39 run (kick blocked)

CRW - Snitker 45 run (kick blocked)

CRW - FG Joseph Lenzen 35

WW - Young 5 run (kick blocked)

WW - Young 30 run (Young rush)

CRW - Nimmers 5 pass from Snitker (Lenzen kick)

CRW - Nimmers 17 pass from Snitker (rush failed)