Michigan City coach Phil Mason walked down to the end of the sideline to be alone.
Crown Point trailed by two points Friday night, but was lining up for a 47-yard field goal that would have sent Michigan City to its second straight loss on the final play of a game this season.
“We always laugh when we talk about the football gods, but I guess we had them,” Mason said.
A miscue on the snap prevented the kick from being attempted, and Michigan City hung on for a 17-15 Duneland Athletic Conference win on the road.
The botched field goal sealed the win for Michigan City (6-3, 5-2), but Crown Point (5-4, 4-3) would have been better position if not for a key play by the Wolves’ defense on a 2-point conversion earlier in the fourth quarter.
Crown Point had just scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ryan Bolda to wide receiver Tyler Jones.
On the 2-point conversion, senior running back Tyler Gomez was initially met at the goal line by Michigan City linebacker Ashton Morrow.
“I saw a hole open up and saw someone coming at me, so I filled the hole,” Morrow said. “He tried to run and then my teammates swarmed him.”
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Morrow said he couldn’t take the sole credit for the play as it was a mob of Michigan City defensive players that drove Gomez away from the end zone to preserve the Wolves’ late lead.
That was the strategy all night for Michigan City, a swarming mentality that limited Crown Point to 265 yards and nine first downs — redemption after allowing 58 points last week to LaPorte.
“It’s disappointing,” Crown Point coach Kevin Enright said. “We left plays on the field. Sometimes you come out on the wrong end of it and (Friday) we did.”
Michigan City’s offense couldn’t repeat its 56-point performance from Week 8, but Mason said his team made enough plays in the first half to win the game.
“You can’t put up 56 points every week,” Mason said. “I wish we could’ve run the ball a little bit better. But we did enough to win, and maybe winning it the way we did was good. It’s always hard to win a football game.”
Senior Daelon Wren led Michigan City with 87 yards rushing and one TD on 24 carries, while senior quarterback Michael McCullough added 52 yards rushing and 115 passing.
McCullough set up Michigan City’s second TD with a crucial 23-yard run on a fourth down, but was bailed out on the next play when wide receiver Tyler Siegmund recovered a fumble in the end zone. It gave the Wolves a 17-7 halftime lead.
Gomez finished with 164 yards rushing on 23 carries for Crown Point.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.