Class B final: Eureka stuns Loyola on Hail Mary

MISSOULA — Eureka head football coach Trevor Utter had just one word for this one: “unbelievable.”

Senior quarterback Garrett Graves connected on a 38-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to senior receiver Austyn Sherwood in the final seconds to give Eureka a heart-stopping 31-28 victory over Missoula Loyola in the Class B state championship game on Saturday afternoon at Rollins Field.

“It was unreal,” Utter said of the game-winning play.

“I looked up at the (time) clock at it was all zeros at that point.”

Eureka’s game-winning scoring drive started on its own 5-yard line. Loyola, up 28-25, went for it on fourth-and-5, hoping to cash in with a late score and put the game out of reach. But the Lions defense came through.

“There was about three minutes left,” Utter said when his team acquired possession of the ball.

“We had no timeouts.”

Eureka marched down the field, converting twice on critical fourth-down plays, to keep the drive alive.

The Lions had the ball at the Loyola 43, facing a third and 10 situation with time running out. Graves connected with senior tight end James Dunn on a short 5-yard reception, but the clock kept ticking as Dunn was tackled inbounds.

Eureka then scrambled back to the line of scrimmage for the dramatic finish with 8.5 seconds showing, and counting.

“Garrett was yelling at the kids to get up, line up,” Utter said.

“All four receivers went deep.

“Sherwood slipped behind the coverage,” Utter went on.

“He caught it on the 2-yard line and pushed himself in.

“Garrett and the receivers did it on their own,” Utter added.

“Garrett threw it up high and Austyn came down with it.”

Things looked bleak for Eureka with Loyola marching on its final drive by removing nearly four minutes off the clock. Failing to convert on fourth down near the goal line, however, gave Eureka one last opportunity.

“The kids made so many good plays,” Utter said.

“I’ll have to watch the film to remember them all.”

Utter said his offense had not worked on its 2-minute drill “the last couple of weeks. We didn’t practice the Hail Mary either. It was just good football players knowing what to do.”

The state title is the first for Eureka. The Lions played in the 1990 state championship game, losing to Cut Bank 28-8. Utter was a freshman wide receiver for the Lions that year.

“Oh my gosh ... I’ve never seen a football game that good,” Utter said.

“To be coaching and playing in it was the most amazing feeling for all of us. It was back-and- forth. We were up 19-14 at halftime and 25-14 in the third quarter.”

Graves was 10 of 24 passing for 163 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for one.

Cannan Smith led the Eureka ground game with 135 yards on 22 carries. He had a touchdown run of 7 yards and caught a 45-yard scoring pass from Graves.

Dunn had a 13-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.

Sherwood finished with three receptions for 78 yards.

Eureka outgained Loyola 421-359.

Eureka 7 12 6 6 — 31

Loyola 7 7 0 14 — 28

E — Cannan Smith 7 run (Jacob Nowakowski kick)

L — Jacob Byrne 3 run (Byrne kick)

E — Smith 45 pass from Garrett Graves (kick failed)

E — James Dunn 13 pass from Graves (run failed)

L — Brady Needles 3 run (Byrne kick)

E — Graves 2 run (pass failed)

L — Kellen Round 2 run (pass failed)

L — David Koppang 30 pass from Round (Joaquin Trevelline run)

E — Austyn Sherwood 38 pass from Graves

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING – Eureka: Cannan Smith 22-135, Matthew Anderson, 14-76, Garrett Graves 9-25, Jacob Nowakowski 2-22. Loyola: Joaquin Trevelline 9-37, Jacob Byrne 8-31, Brady Needles 8-23, Kellen Round 4-2, Scott Twite 2-(-11).

PASSING – Eureka: Garrett Graves 10-24-0-163. Loyola: Kellen Round 21-27-0-273; Scott Twite 1-1-0-4.

RECEIVING – Eureka: Austyn Sherwood 3-78, James Dunn 4-41, Cannan Smith 2-41, Matthew Anderson 1-3. Loyola: David Koppang 5-86, Jackson Maricelli 6-75, Caden Sant 4-52, Thomas Sellman 4-27, Jacob Byrne 2-23, Cooper Waters 1-14.