By John Hillman

Special to the Tribune-Herald 

University never heard the quitting whistle.  The Trojans rallied for three unanswered fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat District 16-4A rival Midway, 35-31, at Waco ISD Stadium on Friday night.

“Our kids played their hearts out tonight,” University head coach LeRoy Coleman said.  “I knew it would be difficult.  I just told the kids to take it a step at a time.”

Trailing 31-28, Randy Price threw the “Hail Mary” to Vencent Finley for a 60-yard touchdown pass with 49 seconds remaining in the game.  Midway safety Vyonte Guess leaped for the ball.  But it missed his outstretched hands, and Finley cradled the pigskin into his arms and waltzed into the end zone.

“When I saw the ball coming to me, I thought I need to get this because the game is on the line,” Finley said.  “There’s no way I let this ball get through my hands.”

“Coach just called the right play,” added Price, who completed 13-of-23 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns.  “I knew once the defense stopped them we were going to win the game.”

Price’s touchdown pass capped a 98-yard drive that began when Panther punter Corey Holmes nailed a 49-yarder that bounced out-of-bounds at the University 2.  But Price hit Finley for 16 yards and Jarrod Hall for another 22 before Finley’s incredible game-winning catch.

“The first thing I thought was this was a long way to go for a touchdown,” said Finley, who caught six passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns  “But when you believe, anything is possible.”

“We ran a double post,” Coleman added.  “Finley had it one-on-one, and Price threw a great pass.  It was a fantastic win for us.”

The Panthers (4-5, 1-3) seemingly put the contest on ice after John Hubert raced 62 yards for a touchdown that put Midway in front 31-14 with just over 11 minutes left. But the Trojans came to play when it counted.

“This hurts,” Midway head coach Kent Bachtel said.  “They did a good job, and we didn’t.  I think we’ll be so embarrassed and disappointed that we’ll come back and beat Brownwood next week.”

University (2-7, 1-3), which beat Midway for the eighth time in nine tries, needed just one play to get back in the ballgame after falling behind 31-14.  From his own 35, Randy Price found Darius Erwin in the right flat.  Around midfield, the running back cut it back to the middle and bolted into the end zone, narrowing the Trojan deficit to 31-21 with 10:48 left to play.

“I told Randy Price to catch me open, and he did,” Erwin said.  “I saw daylight and went for the touchdown.” 

“There was nobody open but him (Erwin),” Price added.  “I knew if my receiver could get a block downfield, we would get a touchdown.”

Antonio Neal set up the Trojans’ next touchdown by sacking Midway quarterback Todd Glaesmann at the University 37.  Glaesmann fumbled after the blindside hit, and Neal recovered. 

“He didn’t see me, and I just hit him as hard as I could,” Neal said.  “

The Trojans took seven plays to reach the end zone with Price taking in from nine yards out on a naked bootleg to the left.  Price’s touchdown run cut University’s gap to 31-28 with just over five minutes left.

University scored two quick touchdowns in the first quarter.  Finley caught a 28-yard touchdown pass on the game’s opening drive, and Marquise Hughes went in from 22 yards out following a Midway fumble.

But Midway responded with three first-half touchdowns to lead 21-14 at halftime.  Hubert scored on runs of four and one yards, while Glaesmann sneaked over from the 1.

University 35, Midway 31

Midway 7 14 3 7 — 31

University 14 0 0 21 — 35

First quarter

University — Vencent Finley 28 pass from Randy Price (Dominick Gutierrerz kick), 9:00

University — Marquise Hughes 22 run (Gutierrez kick), 8:36

Midway — John Hubert 4 run (Ryan Kelly kick), 6:41

Second quarter

Midway — Todd Glaesmann 1 run (Kelly kick), 7:24

Midway — Hubert 1 run (Kelly kick), 0:00

Third quarter

Midway — Kelly 29 field goal, 1:35

Fourth quarter

Midway — Hubert 62 run (Kelly kick), 11:10

University — Darius Erwin 65 pass from Price (Gutierrez kick), 10:48

University — Price 9 run (Gutierrez kick), 5:16

University — Finley 60 pass from Price (Rafael Hernandez kick), 0:48

Midway University

First Downs 20 18

Rushes-Yards 38-278 33-163

Comp-Att-Int 12-23-1 13-23-0 Passing Yards 153 248

Total Yards 431 411

Fumbles-Lost 5-3 1-1

Penalties-Yards 7-59 5-54

Punts-Avg 2-48 4-31

Individual Stats

Rushing

Midway — John Hubert 22-193, 3 TDs; Todd Glaesmann 12-21, TD; Josh Williams 4-64

University — Marquise Hughes 12-85, TD; Darius Erwin 14-70; Randy Price 6-5, TD; Jamon Levels 1-3

Passing

Midway — Glaesmann 12-23-1-153

University — Price 13-23-0-248, 3 TDs

Receiving

Midway — Williams 3-74; Trey Graham 3-40; Brian Hannan 4-23; Corey Holmes 1-12; Hubert 1-4

University — Vencent Finley 6-134, 2 TDs; Erwin 2-68, TD; Jarrod Hall 3-31; Demarcus Hicks 2-15