“I was expecting it to go to (senior Dashawn Cunningham),” Jefferson said. “It came my way so all I had to do was follow my blockers and do what I do in practice. We practice it every day.”
Jefferson returned the kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown with 32 seconds remaining to tie the score and junior Daniel Torres converted the extra point to lift the Indians to a 35-34 comeback victory over Shawnee in a Week 1 thriller at Edmundson Stadium in Riverside.
“Our kids didn’t quit,” said Stebbins coach Greg Bonifay said. “I respect the heck out of them. They fought their tail off the entire game. They believed and did what they needed to do at the end.”
Sophomore quarterback Devin McCormick went 15-for-23 for 350 yards and four TDs for the Indians, who trailed 28-13 early in the fourth quarter. Cunningham and sophomore Brayden Walters each caught two TD passes for Stebbins.
Sophomore Carter Bumgardner rushed for two touchdowns and threw a TD pass to senior Caden Craig and seniors Hayden Coppess and Evan Ballard each ran for TDs for the Braves, who dropped their season opener for the third time in four years.
“We’re just young,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks. “We made dumb mistakes. We gave up the big play. We said we couldn’t give up the big play and we did. If you would’ve told me we were going to score 34 points, I would’ve said we were going to win.”
Trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter, McCormick hit Cunningham for back-to-back TD passes of 27 and 39 yards and junior Andre McConnell converted the two-point conversion to tie the score with 4:44 remaining.
With less than 40 seconds, Bumgardner hit senior Connar Earles on a 35-yard pass, giving the Braves the ball at the 1-yard line. Bumgardner scored on the next play to make it 34-28, but Shawnee missed the extra point.
“The effort was there, we just made too many mistakes to win,” Meeks said. “They made one more play than we did. We made too many mistakes to win. Hopefully they learn from it and move on.”
On the ensuing kickoff, Jefferson caught the ball on the 15-yard line and took it to the house to tie the game.
“It was like the best feeling in the world,” Jefferson said. “I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
The kickoff return was also Jefferson’s first varsity touchdown.
“It was the biggest play of his life,” Bonifay said.
“Absolutely,” Jefferson said. “100 percent.”
The sophomore was especially happy to bring home the victory after falling to the Braves in the season opener a year ago.
“Last year we lost 41-0,” Jefferson said, “and to come out here and prove ourselves, prove that we’re not underdogs, it was a great feeling.”
Stebbins (1-0) hosts Sidney next Friday night. Shawnee (0-1) travels to Cincinnati Madeira.
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