KIRKWOOD – Despite a wet day, the roller coaster ride did not stop for Brett Drye.
The Farmington junior quarterback, returning from injury after a two-and-a-half game absence, experienced a whirlwind of explosive plays and costly turnovers during the Knights first round playoff game against Webster Groves.
“It was a wet night, but with all the support from my teammates, I put those (turnovers) in the past and just moved forward,” Drye said.
Drye delivered the game-tying touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, and Kaesen McClain scored the overtime game-winner as Farmington overcame a double-digit, fourth quarter deficit to defeat Webster Groves 22-16 in a Class 5 District 1 quarterfinal Friday at Kirkwood High.
No. 5 seed Farmington (5-5), which won its opening-round playoff game for the ninth consecutive season, will travel to play No. 1 seed Poplar Bluff (5-4) on Friday, Nov. 3 at a time to be determined.
The roller coaster ride for Drye began by reaching the high of highs. Executing the flexbone offense to perfection, the six-foot quarterback faked a handoff, rolled to his left, faked an option pitch and raced 56 yards for a touchdown on the Knights’ opening series.
But the twists and turns of his night were just beginning.
After a brilliant punt by Webster Groves’ junior Sean Patrick Keegan pinned Farmington inside its own five-yard line, Drye attempted an option pitch to his left that hit the turf and bounced into the end zone.
Farmington senior offensive lineman Luke Birkner batted it back into the field of play, but it bounced straight into the arms of Webster Groves senior linebacker Gah-Life Kaanagbara who reached the end zone in three strides and gave the Statesmen a 7-6 lead.
It was the first of three consecutive forced fumbles by a Webster Groves defense that was flying around, led by an 18-tackle, two sack performance by senior linebacker Qwalan Miller.
“We knew that if you fall back on your fundamentals defensively, everybody runs to the ball, good things happen,” Webster Groves coach Conner White said. “I thought our outside linebackers did a good job playing the quarterback on option (plays) and we were able to get in between that pitch relation and force some of those turnovers.”
Webster Groves (3-6) exploited the press man-to-man single coverage employed by the Farmington cornerbacks and the offense joined in the big-play parade.
A back shoulder throw from sophomore quarterback Will Travers to senior Clark Bias Jr. down the left sideline went for 31 yards. Two plays later, Travers found senior Jabari Booth for 23 yards along the right sideline. Booth took a screen pass on third-and goal from the 14 and zigzagged through defenders, touching the ball against the left pylon to give Webster Groves a 13-6 lead.
Just before the half, Travers quarterbacked another long drive, finding Booth, Demetrius Bias Jr., and Jackson Torbit for first downs and setting up a 30-yard field goal from junior Jackson Lauck.
Travers went 13-of-23 for 149 yards in the first half, the defense was containing the explosive Farmington rushing attack, and the Statesmen took a double-digit lead into halftime.
“I’ve been playing this game 10 years and I told (my teammates) at halftime that I wasn’t ready to hang ‘em up,” senior wide receiver Gabe Giuliani said. “We had to get out there and start playing and we came out fired up.”
Led by seven second half receptions by Giuliani, the Knights’ passing attack brought them back.
A 19-play, 71-yard drive early in the fourth quarter included three tough receptions in traffic by Giuliani and resulted in a 31-yard field goal by junior Ian Zohner to slice the deficit to 16-9 with 8:24 remaining.
After forcing a three-and-out, Farmington mounted a 10-play, 63-yard drive, highlighted by another contested catch by Giuliani on fourth-and-6 that went for 18 yards.
On third-and-14, Drye found junior Connor Rice on a corner route for a 21-yard touchdown to tie the game at 16 with 2:31 on the clock.
“When (the coaches) called it, I just had a feeling that was the play,” Drye said. “I stepped back and delivered a good ball.”
Giuliani, who had made two receptions on the previous four plays, was slated to be the primary receiver but yielded the spotlight to Rice.
“Pre-snap, I was supposed to run that route but I was a little tired, so I looked over at Connor and said, ‘You run this corner,’” Giuliani said.
Farmington had run 47 plays in the second half compared to 14 for Webster Groves, and when the Statesmen won the overtime coin toss, White chose to give his defense an extra breather and take the ball first.
“I felt good about what we were doing. I thought we could get them back on their heels and score and then get a stop on defense,” White said.
But the first two plays for the Stateman yielded no yards, and after an eight-yard completion from Travers to Clark Bias Jr. set up fourth down, a 34-yard field goal attempt by Lauck drifted wide left.
A conservative Farmington approach ensured no negative plays, and on the fifth play, McClain broke through the line for a 10-yard touchdown run for the game-winner.
It was McClain’s 24th carry of the game and just the third that went for at least 10 yards.
“They were stopping us. They were great defenders, the linebackers filling gaps, the defensive line moving around filling gaps as well, but at the end, everybody got good blocks and I found an open lane,” McClain said.
For Farmington coach Erik Kruppe, the ability to withstand the ups and downs was the most impressive part of the victory.
“Those three turnovers in the first half, the ball security was not great, but the big thing that I’m proud of is the resiliency to not quit and keep fighting. It’s one of those life lessons beyond football,” Kruppe said.