Winning the hard way

Hard on the heart but good for the soul. And worthy of a heroes’ welcome.

Displaying some true gridiron grit right when they needed it most, the Noxon Red Devils stunned the White Sulphur Spring Hornets 36-35 in chilly White Sulphur Springs Saturday, clinching the No. 2 seed from the west and securing Noxon’s first home football playoff game ever.

Clearly fired up about their feisty football team, Red Devil fans quickly organized a welcome-home party complete with fire engines and cop cars for the team’s arrival back in the West End late Saturday night.

Coach Bart Haflich’s Red Devils persevered and won the game when they were 16 points behind at one point, coming back to snatch the win with a dramatic fourth quarter effort that left the hometown Hornet fans heartbroken in the end.

“It was a heart-stopper for both sides,” Haflich said. “And I have to give credit to our kids. We faced a lot of adversity this year, went through some tough stuff, and showed a lot of fortitude when it counted in White Sulphur.

“They stepped up and got it done when they had to,” he said, “and I am very proud of the way they responded.”

A wild and woolly finish produced the Red Devils’ latest greatest gridiron win.

Trailing 35-28 with less than five minutes left in the game, Jared Webley caught a screen pass from Derreck Christensen and, after receiving a lights-out block from Michael Antonich, flew down the sidelines for the 43-yard touchdown to make the score 35-34 White Sulphur. Noxon’s conversion kick was blocked.

On the ensuing kickoff, Noxon attempted an onside kick but the Hornets recovered. On first down from there, Antonich crashed into the White Sulphur ballcarrier and forced a fumble, which Rylan Weltz recovered.

After marching down into scoring position, the Devils were then held on downs at the Hornets’ one-yard line as time continued to wind down. Although it appeared that the Devil defense may have scored a safety on first down, the Hornets made it to fourth down with less than half a minute to play.

Attempting a punt, the White Sulphur kicker was confronted by Webley and Antonich on that attempt and Weltz shoved him out of the end zone for the two-point safety, giving Noxon a 36-35 lead with only 26 seconds left in the game.

“That fourth quarter was ridiculous, a lot of things happened,” Haflich said.

Webley also scored a touchdown on a 40-yard pass from Christensen in the first quarter. Weltz caught a four-yard scoring pass from Christensen and ran 18 yards for another touch, and Josh Baldwin scored a touchdown on a one-yard run. Christensen successfully booted through two two-point after touchdown kicks, which turned out to be critical in the final analysis.

Probably still on an emotional high from the White Sulphur win, the Devils must now turn their attention to the incoming Roy-Winifred Outlaws. The Outlaws arrive in Noxon with a 5-3 record and the No. 3 seed from the south.

“Roy-Winifred is a very capable team, pretty comparable to White Sulphur from what I see,” Haflich said. “They like to spread it out on offense and are pretty physical on defense. We will have to play well to win.”

If Noxon wins the Devils will face either Big Sandy, the No. 1 seed from the north on the road, or in the event of a huge upset, Richey-Lambert (the No. 4 seed from the east) back in Noxon next week.

The Red Devils were ranked No. 9 in the final 406mtsports.com power poll, Big Sandy was No. 1 and Richey-Lambert No. 7. Roy-Winifred was unranked in the final poll.