Moments of the Year is a series of stories reflecting on performances, plays or games that occurred during the 2021-22 school year. Installations of the series will be released regularly throughout the summer, leading in to the beginning of the 2022-23 school year.
The final Friday night in October featured a Raleigh County showdown when Shady Spring traveled to Glen Danial for a clash on the gridiron with Liberty.
An already intense battle was magnified by playoff implications and the game did not disappoint.
With his team trailing by three points and lining up for a field goal to tie the game with under a minute to play, Shady Spring senior Jacob Showalter took center stage.
When the snap went high, Showalter improvised to score the eventual game-winning touchdown in a 29-26 victory for the Tigers.
“I didn’t even try to set it down. I looked over and I saw that hole open up. I darted and I wasn’t letting that kid tackle me. That is the best game I ever had in my life,” Showalter said.
Shady Spring head coach Vince Culicerto watched in amazement at what unfolded on the play.
“It was a bad snap. That was all Bucky, just getting that thing and going for the corner. He made a heck of a play,” Culicerto said.
Late game heroics appeared out of the equation with the Raiders controlling the action. However, fumbles haunted the boys from Glen Daniel all night.
Early mistakes and missed opportunities left Liberty on the wrong side of a 10-6 halftime score and when Bryson Pinardo scored early in the third period, the Tigers led 16-6.
Over the next 12 minutes the home team turned a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead thanks to the work of Logan Dodrill.
Dodrill first scored on a one-yard plunge before he scampered 70 yards for a touchdown off a Shady Spring punt.
Less than two minutes into the final quarter, Dodrill scored for the fourth time of the night and added the two-point conversion to give Liberty a 26-16 advantage.
Shady answered quickly, however, by going 56 yards in less than a minute to trim the lead back to three points at 26-23.
Liberty had two chances to seal the game, but came up empty.
The first drive was killed by penalties deep in Shady territory, while the second drive to secure the win ended in a turnover on downs.
“We had third-and-4 and fourth-and-3. We had transitioned over to the single-wing offense, and we were trying to chew up some clock to get some first downs. We had it and we let it slip,” Liberty head coach Mark Workman said.
Three pass plays from quarterback Cameron Manns to Tyler Mackey and a big 30-yard gainer from Caleb Whittaker helped the Tigers move the ball to the Liberty nine-yard line.
Shady was unable to move the ball any closer and on fourth down, the Tigers lined up for what turned out to the wildest play of the night in a game full of crazy twists and turns.
“We came up with some defensive stops, but they could have put us away too. We dialed some stuff up and just made some plays,” Culicerto said. “I can’t believe it. There was every emotional turn that you could imagine in the second half. Liberty played hard and they game-planned good, but our boys just kept fighting. That just shows if you keep playing the game and keep after it, you can win one. I haven’t been on the winning end of many of these.”
The win was crucial for the Tigers who went on to beat PikeView the following week and earn a spot in the Class AA state football playoffs.
