Jaron Saunders wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen on the play.
Actually, nobody in attendance at Noyes Field knew.
There Lafayette’s senior quarterback was, though, scrambling to his left on a fourth-and-goal with 2 yards separating him and a touchdown that would’ve sent the Week 5 matchup with crosstown rival Central into double overtime, pending an extra point.
Within those 2 yards were Lafayette’s chances at staying undefeated. Within those two yards were Central’s chances of capturing its first win of the season. Within those 2 yards was an opportunity for the Irish to stay unblemished against Central since 1999, and within those two yards was an opportunity for the Indians to erase any ineptitude that followed them throughout the first four weeks of the season.
Then Saunders hit the grass, giving Central a 63-56 overtime win against Lafayette Friday evening.
“I had to bounce it outside, because they blitzed up the middle,” Saunders said in the aftermath of Lafayette’s first loss of the season. “I thought I could get the edge, but the corner made a great play, made me cut back inside and the safety hit me.”
Central, logistically, was never supposed to be in that position. The Indians trailed 56-35 with 2 minutes and 8 seconds left in the third quarter.
But with a little more than four minutes left in the fourth quarter, Central coach Regi Trotter elected to attempt an onside kick following a 20-yard touchdown from junior quarterback Stone Wetlaufer to junior wideout Asher Katakis to cut Lafayette’s lead to 7.
After a hit left the ball ajar, the Indians recovered.
“That was, honestly, the best onside kick he’s ever had,” Trotter said of senior kicker and defensive lineman Gary Elder. “I’ve never seen him do better than that. Everybody did their job, came through and smacked the kid that had the ball, and we were able to recover. I knew at that point that we had an opportunity to go down and score again.”
That’s exactly what Central did.
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