Montour edges Hampton on 99-yard drive that ends in Hail Mary touchdown

By: Antonio Rossetti
Saturday, November 5, 2022 | 12:33 AM

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Playoff games between No. 8 and 9 seeds are — on paper, at least — expected to be close. Friday night’s first-round WPIAL Class 4A matchup between Montour and Hampton couldn’t have been much closer.

No. 8 Montour won on the game’s final play: a 23-yard Hail Mary pass from Kaleb Platz to James Bundridge that gave the Spartans a 34-33 win over the Talbots.

Platz came in on the final play of the game, replacing Trey Hopper, who already had taken over for injured quarterback Jake Wolfe. The Spartans took over on their 1-yard line after a Hampton fumble and faced the daunting task of going 99 yards in 1 minute, 24 seconds with no timeouts.

Senior Jonas Halaja forced a Hampton fumble at the Montour 1-yard line to give the team the ball back with a longshot chance to win.

“The momentum was gone on our side, and the guy (Brock Borgo) reaches out to try and cross the goal line, and then he fumbles,” Montour senior running back Brock Janeda said. “You go 99 yards managing the clock all the way down the field. Hail Mary answered our prayer. It’s all you could say.”

Added Halaja: “We all had to do our job, and that was one of those plays where I did my job, so that’s all I have. Hell of a birthday gift for me, but these are my brothers and I know they would all do the same for me, so I went out and did it for them.”

Halaja left the game with an injury but returned late in the fourth quarter, just in time to make a big play.

“I couldn’t even breathe. It was bliss,” Halaja said of his reaction to Bundridge’s catch. “I just kind of sat there for a second because this is my last time on this field, and I wanted to make the most of it. The prayer was answered.”

Montour advances to face top-seeded Aliquippa next week.

Friday’s game was a roller coaster from beginning to end, featuring six lead changes.

Hampton opened the scoring on a 52-yard touchdown run by Joey Mayer. Luke Fiscus’ extra point put the Talbots up 7-0.

The Spartans responded quickly, driving right down the field and tying the score on 3-yard touchdown run by Janeda.

The momentum shifted in favor of Montour after Platz intercepted an Adrian Midgley pass and returned it to the Hampton 17-yard line. The Spartans capitalized when Wolfe found AJ Alston for a 20-yard touchdown pass. After a Matt Marcinko extra point, the Spartans led 14-7.

Hampton receiver Benny Haselrig then took things into his own hands, catching a pass on a drag route and racing 52 yards for tying score. Montour retook the lead on its next drive when Wolfe threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Batch to make it 21-14.

As the clock wound down in the first half, Hampton quarterback Midgley threw a short pass to Haselrig, who juked his way to a tying 38-yard touchdown with 2 seconds left.

The Talbots wasted no time striking first in the second half. Less than two minutes in, Haselrig scored on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Midgley. The PAT was blocked, making the score 27-21.

Montour had possession as the game moved into the fourth quarter, and Batch’s 8-yard touchdown run and ensuing extra point by Marcinko put the Spartans up 28-27.

Just over a minute later, the Talbots responded with a Midgley dart to Eric Weeks for 67 yards. The two-point conversion failed after a bad snap, leaving Hampton with a 33-28 edge.

The Talbots got the ball back and worked their way downfield to the Montour 1-yard line. The clinching score seemed imminent, but Halaja knocked the ball from Borgo’s grip, and Alston recovered.

With no timeouts remaining, the Spartans mounted their winning drive.

Wolfe threw for 147 yards. The Talbots were led by Midgley, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 303 yards. Haselrig caught three passes for 153 yards and also had an interception.

“They love each other, and they want to play hard for each other, and I’m going to be sad to see the senior group go,” Hampton coach Steve Sciullo said. “We can’t replace Benny (Haselrig) and Joey (Mayer). It’s just, you can’t do it. Obviously, we would like the scene to be for us, but it’s for them tonight.”

Spartans coach Lou Cerro was elated by the Spartans’ late-game heroics.

“We have great seniors on this team, and they fight and fight,” Cerro said. “That’s all I can ask for, and we got it done, so there’s not much to say. It was just an emotional ballgame.”

Added Janeda: “Grit. Grit, fight and never giving up until the last whistle. You saw tonight. This team’s a gritty team, man. We’re never going to give up. This team’s gonna fight to the last whistle.”

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: Hampton, Montour