More News

Since losing last week's football game on the final play, the rallying cry all week at St. Vincent Pallotti High School has been "last play," coach Pat Courtemanche said.

Friday night, the Panthers' game came down to the last play again, but this time they held on for a 14-13 double-overtime victory over Baltimore Lutheran at Fairland Regional Park.

Lutheran sophomore kicker Dave Dooley missed a 35-yard extra point attempt on the game's final play, giving Pallotti (2-4 overall, 1-1 in conference) the victory over the Saints (2-3, 0-1) in a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association C Conference game.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Lutheran running back Matt Toscheff for spiking the ball after his touchdown run was the reason for the long extra-point try. It was the fourth dead-ball penalty of the game; the other three were all against Pallotti.

"I'm disappointed, and I think he did spike the football, but you hate to see a double overtime game decided on a play like that," Baltimore Lutheran coach Brent Johnson said.

Pallotti sophomore quarterback Rafi Correa tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Matt Defrank, also a sophomore, in the second overtime to give the Panthers the lead. Rob Hughes' extra-point kick proved to be the game winner.

Lutheran, which won both coin tosses in overtime and deferred both times, responded with a four-play drive that ended with Toscheff's score on fourth-and-goal at the 1. But he spiked the ball in front of some Pallotti fans, earning the penalty that might have cost his team a chance at forcing another overtime.

Pallotti lost on the final play last week when Annapolis Area Christian scored on a 31-yard touchdown pass to claim a 16-13 victory.

Correa scored the game's first touchdown on a quarterback keeper from the 1 with 3 minutes, 56 seconds to play in the second quarter. Lutheran tied the game on its first drive of the second half, ending with an 8-yard run by Jay Davis.

Pallotti running back Alex Colin tried to score the game-winner on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the first overtime, but was denied. He was stopped short, but kept fighting, and by the time Lutheran brought him down he was inches short of the score. Lutheran's first overtime ended when the Panthers' James Ragland intercepted a third-down pass in the end zone.