VERSAILLES – If Hollywood could write a reboot of last year’s Versailles vs. New Bremen football game, they couldn’t do better than what actually happened Friday night in Versailles.
Eerily similar to last year’s game, New Bremen took an early third-quarter lead on a 74-yard pass, and the game came down to the last play. This year the Cardinals took a 7-3 lead early in the third on an 86-yard pass. Last year the Cardinals hit a 20-yard pass with no time on the clock.
This year the Cardinals trailed 16-13 with 31 seconds left. The Cardinals drove down the field and, with six seconds left, threw a sideline pass around the 30 as time was expiring. The pass was caught, and the receiver stepped out, sparking debate over whether time had expired or if there was time for one last play. The referees said time expired and the game was over.
“We battled some adversity tonight.” Coach Scott Broerman said. “I don’t know how the game ended, whether it was right or wrong. I don’t want it to take away from the type of game it was; kudos to both teams.” The Tigers would prevail this year.
With the Cardinals up 7-3, the Tigers answered on a 66-yard drive. Facing fourth-and-goal, the Tigers lined up for a field goal. But it was a fake, with Blake Monnin taking off and pitching to Kade Schwartz for a 9-7 lead.
“We needed a touchdown there. A field goal would have gotten us a little closer, obviously, 7-6.” Coach Broerman said. “We go through that every week. I got that, Coach Olwin, when I coached with him 15 years ago.”
The Cardinals would get the ball back with 8:56 left in the fourth quarter. They would answer with a nine-play drive covering 57 yards to take a 13-9 lead on a three-yard run. They went for two but failed to convert. The Tigers had 4:03 left to pull off back-to-back last-minute victories. The Tigers scored on 14 plays, including a seven-yard TD pass from Monnin to Westgerdes to take a 16-13 lead.
New Bremen got a good kickoff return to set up their drive with under 30 seconds left. The Cardinals were facing third down with six seconds remaining. The pass would be complete, but the referees would call time expired, and the game would end.
