WEBSTER GROVES — The kick that Chaminade's Mason Hutson had envisioned — 48 yards of high-arcing, airborne precision — cleared the south goal post at Moss Field with no room to spare.
Watching from the opposite end of the field last Saturday, Webster Groves athletics director Jerry Collins felt certain the looping field goal was short.
Public address announcer Steve Leftridge realized otherwise when the visitors' stands and sideline erupted in a sea of raucous cardinal and white.
School secretary Barb Smith never saw the kick, having left early out of a sense of duty to her team.
Meanwhile, Statesmen coach Cliff Ice, now trailing 29-28 with 6.9 seconds left in a Class 5 state quarterfinal, re-thought his upcoming calendar. He would give the team Monday off, call a coaches' meeting Tuesday and hold a film session for players on Wednesday. Hopefully, the disappointment would have dissipated by then.
In the stands, Ice's wife, Malinda, was texting friends and relatives with news of the imminent loss and asking herself the obvious question.
"At that point," she said, "what were they going to do with 6.9 seconds?"
After starting the day with a team prayer around a small tree, which is dedicated to former teammate Eric Schmidt, the Statesmen needed a bit of divine intervention to extend their season.
Regardless of the outcome of tonight's state semifinal between Webster Groves and host Parkway North, those 6.9 seconds will endure as one of the classic moments in St. Louis prep football history.
Leftridge watched as Webster Groves players kicked helmets and crumpled to the ground, their undefeated season seemingly over. In a span of 34 seconds, Chaminade had scored a touchdown, recovered an onsides kick and kicked the field goal to complete a comeback from a 28-14 deficit.
But Ice sensed a glimmer of hope in the calm that engulfed Derrick Dilworth. The senior quarterback even volunteered for kickoff return duty, and when the ball sailed into the end zone for a touchback he knew he had one more chance.
Referee Bruce Hook sorted through a timing issue, resetting the clock from 2.9 to 6.9 seconds. Instead of one play, the Statesmen might have time for two.
Mark Arnold, the father of two Webster Groves players, stood on the Chaminade sideline with his video recorder. He filmed the scoreboard and then focused on the teams as they lined up at the 20-yard line, prepared to capture footage that would wind up on Youtube.com.
"I don't think I was very optimistic at all," he said. "But I don't think it ever crossed my mind that this was a waste of time."
Ice had opted for one play — "855 all vertical." Sophomore receiver Demetrius Robinson said the play, in which every receiver runs a straight route downfield, had been installed weeks earlier and was successful in practice.
Dilworth lined up in a shotgun formation. He took the snap and studied his options as two Chaminade linemen pursued. He saw that Robinson had gained separation down the left sideline, lofted his pass and was dragged to the ground, where he remained for several minutes.
In the stands, Robinson's mother, Jonitha, had closed her eyes, resigned to the outcome.
The pass traveled about 50 yards in the air. As three Chaminade players converged, Robinson caught the ball without breaking stride at the 35-yard line and grasped it as tightly as possible. The defenders collided and two sprawled to the ground.
"The next thing I know, I hear people screaming," Jonitha Robinson said. "I looked up and said, 'That's my baby. That's my baby. Run.' "
Dozens of people at the opposite end on the Webster sideline ran onto the field to get a better view. As Robinson eyed the end zone, Ice feared the officials might throw a penalty flag.
One Chaminade defender remained in pursuit but the collision had slowed his momentum, and Robinson appeared home free. Then he stumbled at the 5-yard line, lurching forward as if ready to collapse short of the goal line.
"When I stumbled, I was just going to stretch out," Robinson said. "But I caught my balance. Once I hit the goal line I just fell again."
He fell at the feet of police officer Erich Weimer, who slapped Robinson on the back. The two then realized that hundreds of fans had poured from the sideline and out of the bleachers to converge on the north end zone.
On one of three YouTube videos that have garnered a combined 80,000 views, Leftridge can be heard hooting and wailing over the P.A. system, "The Statesmen have won this game. We won the game." He doesn't remember saying a word.
Still wearing his headset, Ice ran to the top of the bleachers, hugged his parents, who were visiting from Oklahoma, and kissed his wife. Robinson untangled himself from the pile of bodies, finding it difficult to breathe but was otherwise unscathed.
Hook conferred with the other officials and determined there were no penalties on the play. By rule, he was required to raise the ball over head to signal the end of the game.
Eyeing the mass of humanity, he realized: "There was no way I was going to get the ball." So he signaled a touchdown and the officiating crew left the field. Webster Groves 34, Chaminade 29.
Hutson, who lives in Webster Groves, watched the last 6.9 seconds by himself as his career-long field goal became merely a footnote.
"When that play happened, it was like somebody shot me," he said.
Dilworth remained prone at the 20-yard line, watching the catch and touchdown from the ground and lingering for a while. Instead of celebrating with teammates, he exchanged a high five and chest bump with his father.
Having left when the game was tied at 14-14, Smith heard about the finish from her daughter. She also left early when the Statesmen trailed at Eureka on Nov. 9 only to find out they had won.
"I figured I was the jinx," she said. "So, I left Saturday again so they could win. Now I've been told I have to go (tonight), but eventually I have to leave."
When Malinda Ice finally reached the field, she overheard Webster Groves players talking about Eric Schmidt, a senior on last year's team who died suddenly in March. The tree was dedicated in his memory and some of his ashes were scattered at midfield.
Dilworth said the pregame prayer had been powerful. "Eric's like our angel,'' he said.
Jack Jones, who coached at Webster Groves for 25 years, said the only play he recalls at the school that might rival Dilworth and Robinson for dramatics came in 1988. The Statesmen won a state semifinal on a 31-yard pass on fourth and 18 with 44 seconds left and went on to win the state title.
Now they had gone 80 yards on the last play. Chaminade players and coaches eventually mustered the energy to walk to their bus. Webster Groves fans were stopped to clear a path and applauded the Red Devils.
Statesmen players and their families lingered longer than usual, trying to grasp what had happened, and how.
Whatever the explanation, the result is now etched into local lore under one name: "Miracle at Moss."
