Laughter may not have been the most obvious emotion at the old ballpark, but Bediako had to let his emotions out somehow. With several players going both ways for each team, Rocky Hill, in its final game of the season, and SP/GT, its players playing their final home game, staged an emotional-filled, taut, thriller that came down to the last play.

And the closeness of the game's outcome was measured by the depth of the crossbar as Rocky Hill sophomore Chris Tyler's attempt at a game-winning 37-yard field goal bounced off the crossbar, back up into the night sky, and fell harmlessly into the end zone as the teams ended in a 14-14 tie.

"Boy, a couple of more inches, and it would have bounced in," Rocky Hill head coach Dave Coyne said after his team first tied the game, then nearly won it, in the fourth quarter.

SP/GT coach Joe Cefaratti expressed feelings of deja vu as the two teams, just as they did the last time they played at Muzzy Field (in 2001) settled for a tie. "I thought 'Oh, my God.' Then, I thought 'deja vu.' Another tie," Cefaratti said, recalling his thoughts as the play unfolded. "This is an upbeat, positive factor. We didn't win, but we didn't lose."

Cefaratti's club, which had scored nary a point in its two previous games, scored first when Kevin O'Neil (who was extraordinary on both sides of the ball) took a short pass from quarterback Rob Swanke (8-for-26, 4 INTs, 2 TDs, 154 yards) in the left flat, broke a tackle, and went 55 yards with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

"That catch was just phenomenal," Cefaratti said of O'Neil's catch and run. "(Then) getting into the open field. That was picture-perfect. I can't wait to see that one on the films."

Rocky Hill (4-6-1) employed the no-huddle offense it unveiled a week ago, and mounted a pair of long drives, the second culminating in the first of Mark Fritz's (22 carries, 89 yards) two touchdown runs, a one-yarder with 2:43 left in the first half.

The strong-legged Tyler was perfect on the extra point to tie it at seven, but SP/GT (3-6-1) needed just two plays to make it 14-7 when Luis Rodriguez caught the ball in stride on a deep pass down the left sideline with the Rocky Hill defensive back a step too slow.

The 58-yard scoring strike looked like it might stand up when The Hill was unable to penetrate a focused, stingy SP/GT defense that was led by O'Neil (fumble recovery, at least 7 tackles) and Danny Guevera.

Quarterback Eric Fritz (11-for-24, 120 yards), who was sacked four times in the second half (five overall), was forced repeatedly to scramble.

"Defensively, the kids worked their hearts out," Cefaratti said. "I think we had some great sacks, some great defensive plays."

But the game's momentum turned with 5:54 left in the second half when Rocky Hill sophomore Sean Burgwardt made his second (of three) interceptions in the game, stepping in front of Rodriguez near midfield.

Burgwardt's 24-yard interception return left the ball at St. Paul's 23, and Fritz found his favorite target, nifty wideout Jeff Courneen (7 catches, 74 yards) on a fade pattern that went for 20 yards.

Mark Fritz went three yards on the next play, and Tyler's kick tied it.

Moments later, SP/GT appeared poised to score when the Falcons drove 31 yards to the Rocky Hill 30, but Burgwardt snared a fourth-and-five pass near his own goal line with 43 ticks left.

Fritz found Courneen for a 27-yard completion down the left sideline; a pass interference penalty advanced the ball 15 more yards before Burgwardt caught a short crossing pattern and showed excellent presence of mind to run out of bounds just past the first down marker, preserving a timeout with 14 seconds left.

From SP/GT's 28, Courneen caught an eight-yard pass off of Fritz' scramble, putting the ball at the 20 with three seconds left, setting up the final play.