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| It got darker than this before Ty Montgomery caught the go-ahead touchdown with 14 seconds to play. John Carroll athletics photo |
By Joe Sager
D3sports.com
Halloween may be next week, but the tricks and treats came early for John Carroll on Saturday.
That’s when the Blue Streaks rallied for a late touchdown and a thrilling 31-27 win at DePauw.
Tyren Montgomery provided the treats as he hauled in his third touchdown of the day in the back of the end zone on a 4-yard pass from Nick Semptimphelter with 14.4 seconds to play for the decisive points.
“It was pretty dramatic,” John Carroll coach Jeff Behrman said. “I am really proud of our guys, for sure, to keep their composure and poise and be able to execute when they needed to.”
It was an historic victory for then-No. 14 John Carroll (6-1) in its first-ever meeting with then-No. 11 DePauw (5-1). It was a key conquest, too, for the Blue Streaks, who joined the North Coast Athletic Conference this season, against the four-time defending NCAC champs. The triumph snapped the Tigers’ 29-game regular season winning streak as well.
“DePauw is a tremendous program. You don’t win four conference championships and 29 regular season games in a row by chance,” Behrman said. “They have really, really talented players and are coached really well. I was impressed with them in our first time playing there. I left there with a strong impression of what they are and what they’ve built.”
John Carroll had no problem building a 21-10 halftime advantage. However, the hosts trimmed that deficit to 21-13 before thunderstorms struck the Greencastle, Ind., area with 2:38 left in the quarter. The storms forced the teams into their dressing quarters for a lengthy delay – two and a half hours.
“It’s not something you deal with all the time,” Behrman said. “In my 30-year career as a coach, that was only the fourth time I’ve dealt with it.”
The Blue Streaks were prepared for the possibility of bad weather, though,
“We looked at the forecast and we knew there were threats of thunderstorms in the area at that time,” Behrman said. “So, we were able to pack a lot of extra food and things like that so the guys would have some calories in them. They were able to take the pads off and relax.”
The waiting game was one the players did not want to play.
“We were able to eat, stretch and hydrate. The training staff did a good job,” John Carroll wide receiver Shane Lindstrom said. “We wanted to get back out there and play the game, though. Being the football players we were, we didn’t care if it was raining or there was lightning.”
Montgomery just tried to remain focused during all the downtime.
“We were all getting a little anxious,” he said. “It got to a point about after about 45 minutes that our coaches said we could take off our shoulder pads. I didn’t want to do that because I didn’t want my mind and body to think it was time to wind down. I kept my pads on and just stayed locked in and put some music on my headphones.”
Once play did resume at 5:40 p.m., it was a drastically different environment.
“When we first started off, it was sunny outside and 80 degrees,” Montgomery said. “After the delay, it’s all gloomy and cold and rainy. There was a big difference in the weather change. Mentally, we had to stay focused and execute our jobs.”
In addition to the adverse conditions, the Tigers posed a formidable challenge, too. After a Blue Streaks field goal, the hosts cut the deficit to 24-19 early in the fourth quarter. They took a 27-24 lead on a touchdown with 2:02 remaining.
The Blue Streaks didn’t panic, though. They went into their two-minute offense they run every Friday and it worked well. John Carroll covered 77 yards on 10 plays, with multiple players coming up big in the drive.
Lindstrom had one of the biggest — a 38-yard diving catch to set up John Carroll deep in DePauw territory.
“We just focused on the task at hand. We weren’t thinking about the rain or how long we had to go to score. We just focused on getting that next first down. We had to stay level-headed,” he said. “I was so happy to be able to step up when my number was called and see everyone else step up when their number was called. A bunch of us contributed during that drive. I think it shows the type of team we are. You can’t just take away one player. We’ll hit you in all different aspects of the game.”
Of course, though, Montgomery came through with the winning TD catch. With rain falling, darkness descending upon Blackstock Stadium and a cemetery located next door, it was a spooky setting. However, Semptimphelter turned it into a haunted house for DePauw when he fired a short dart to Montgomery, who jumped, snagged the ball and got his feet down in bounds for the score.
“It felt amazing. It was a surreal moment,” Montgomery said. “It’s part of our two-minute drill we do every Friday, so it felt just like practice, actually. We were just able to execute.”
The teams’ preparation helped to alleviate some stress from the situation.
“We’ve practiced that situation before, so it was great we had that experience under our belts for that critical situation,” Semptimphelter said. “It was getting dark and the rain was noticeable, but we didn’t care. We just wanted to go out and try to win the game. Our guys did a good job catching the ball and getting out of bounds on that last drive. I feel like we executed it pretty well.”
But, the game wasn’t over just yet. DePauw got the ball back and a pass interference penalty gave the Tigers the ball at their own 35. With 3.8 seconds left on the clock, Scott Ballentine fired a 37-yard bomb that was tipped to Palmer Samuels. A series of wild laterals ensued before the Blue Streaks were able to pounce on the loose ball and secure the win.
“It was a little scary there. I expected the defense to get the job done and am thankful for that,” Montgomery said. “It was a big win for the program. I am just proud of my teammates and the coaching staff. Despite all the weather and their comeback, we just believed. Tough people win.”
