SAN ANGELO, TX-- With 2 seconds on the clock and just one last chance, Central’s senior kicker Miles Houser trotted onto the hallowed turf of Shotwell Stadium with a chance to win a huge rivalry game and seemingly nothing more on a 37-yard field goal Friday night.
“Just kick the ball like every day in practice,” Houser thought. “Don’t overthink it or you’ll just shank it.”
As soon as the southpaw kicker cleared the crossbar, Central’s season came back to life as if it had just taken 1,000 volts from a defibrillator; Central won 17-15 and Euless Trinity lost to Haltom, putting the next three teams at 2-1 in district and just a half-game back of first place.
“It was a big deal, that kick,” Central head coach Brent Davis said at his Monday press conference. “Miles Houser, we knew he had that kinda range… At the time we didn’t know it, but then when Haltom beats Euless, that gives us a chance, if we win out, to get a piece of the [district] title.”
Houser’s kick was set up by Daylon Green’s forced fumble on the 2-yard line as Abilene looked sure to score. With one timeout and 2:30 left in the game, the Bobcats knew they had to do something special to get into range.
“The whole time that last drive, we only had one timeout,” Davis said. “So, we were just trying to get down there as close as we could, try to give [Houser] a shot at it. We had the wind behind our backs and we felt confident he was gonna hit it because he had done it a bunch in practice.”
Enter sophomore QB Malachi Brown, who’s done well as Central’s starter.
On the next play from scrimmage, Brown accomplished the first goal of Central’s drive: escape their own goal line, which the sophomore did with a 24-yard run.
After a false start, Brown picked up another 8 yards before finding Tanner Dabbert in bounds for a 14-yard gain to keep the chains and, more worryingly, the clock moving.
Central would then find their season on the line with a 4th and 11 from their own 40. Brown’s next pass was incomplete, but Abilene was flagged for pass interference to keep the drive alive and move Central into Abilene territory, still with their lone timeout.
Brown found Dabbert once again for a 6-yard gain before the sophomore picked up 19 yards on two rushes to get Central on the left hash for Houser with two ticks remaining on the clock and a chance at a spectacular team win.
There’s absolutely no way to simulate the pressure of a last-second field goal, especially for a guy who was just playing soccer until spring practice this year.
Yet the american football debutant thrives under the pressure.
“It’s crazy pressure,” Houser said after the game. “But you’ve just gotta put it behind you, take it like it’s nothing.”
Even before reviving Central’s season, Houser had no regrets about adding football to his repertoire.
“I’m glad they pulled me in,” Houser beamed after the win. “They were asking me every day last year. I finally just gave in, gave it a shot. I was good at it, I guess.”
While Central has a second life, their season only gets tougher from here on out.
This week, the Bobcats return home against the resurgent Richland Rebels (3-3, 1-1).
The Rebels have scored 35 points or more in their last two outings. Three weeks ago in a losing effort, they put 41 on the same Abilene team that held Central to just 17 points and 307 yards of total offense.
Next week, Central gets their first true taste of the Metroplex with a trip to Pennington Field to face L.D. Bell where it is always tough to get a win, regardless of opponent.
Following a bye week, and assuming Central and Haltom win out, they’ll get a chance to claim a piece of the District 3-6A crown at home in the regular season finale.
However, if by some unforeseen fortune such as Trinity, Abilene and Haltom all losing somewhere in the next four weeks, Central could claim the outright title after their hopes for a sixth-straight district championship had seemingly washed away against Trinity.
Central hosts Richland this Friday at 7:00 p.m.
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