CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
As the ball was snapped for the final play between Miller and Flour Bluff, home fans at Hornet Stadium was ready to celebrate.
But Laythan Wilson shut down the party.
With 8 seconds to go on their own 45 yard line, Miller sophomore QB Jayden Herrera threw a dot to Wilson on the visitor sideline. Wilson leaped like he had springs in his shoes, brought the ball down, high-stepped a diving tackle, and crossed the pylon.
Miller 46, Flour Bluff 41.
"It's electric," Wilson said. "It's a good feeling. Everyone cheering for you."
The Bucs sideline erupted. Fans and players that were hanging their heads only a moment ago were losing their minds.
Herrera to Wilson. 65 yards. Final play of the game.
Improbable? Yes. Impossible? No way.
Miller shouldn't have needed the dramatics to walk away with a season opening win. The Bucs led 40-29 with 5:15 remaining but Flour Bluff scored two quick touchdowns. The second came on a Sam Smith 2-yard rush that left 1:33 on the clock for Miller to respond.
Herrera drove his team down the field with 90 seconds, scrambling out of bounds to stop the clock and connecting with Wilson twice before the game-winning miracle.
It was the first win for new head coach David McHugh, who takes over for all-time winningest coach in Miller history, Justen Evans.
McHugh, who came to Miller after being the head coach at Bishop, was euphoric postgame.
"We responded," McHugh said. "Every single time we got punched we responded. We were resilient all night."
Miller scored on its opening drive behind a couple nice catches by Wilson. The drive was finished off by running back Tayshayun Taylor who had multiple scores.
Flour Bluff responded in the second quarter on an 80-yard TD from QB Michael Lawrence to senior wideout Ransom Watson.
Miller led 30-16 at halftime but the Hornets added two touchdowns in the third quarter to make it 30-29.
Jaidyn Gonzalez caught a 28-yard pass from Herrera to make it 37-29, followed by a field goal to make it 40-29.
And just like McHugh said, Flour Bluff gave them a punch. The Hornets scored twice to take the lead 41-40.
But with all odds against them, Miller responded on the final play.
Nobody could've predicted it. Nobody was expecting it. Nobody believed it could happen.
Nobody, except for the folks in the purple and gold.
We talk about it every day being tough in tough times and battling together. We showed that today," McHugh said.
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