MARYVILLE, Mo. — In a matchup that was three months in the making, Lathrop coach Chris Holt made his triumphant return to the Hound Pound. In a place in which Chris Holt coached the Spoofhounds to a state championship in 2009 and began a home win streak spanning eight years, he ended his former team’s season a decade later.
There were 42 seconds on the clock when Lathrop senior quarterback Blake Gordon dropped back on fourth-and-20 from Maryville’s 37-yard line. As pressure approached Gordon on his rollout, he heaved the ball to the north end zone at Maryville High School. A toss-up, a whistle and a signal from the official later, Lathrop trailed 28-27.
“That was a hell of a play,” Maryville senior Tate Oglesby said. “There’s not much we could do about it. We kind of knew it was coming, we thought we had it covered. … It’s tough, but that’s how it ended up.”
The way it ended up was the Mules lining up for a two-point conversion try after the miraculous touchdown. Gordon carried the ball to his right, plowing into the end zone, giving Lathrop with a 29-28 lead.
Maryville, with no timeouts, had four chances to get a first down on a drive that started on the Spoofhounds’ 47-yard line. In reality, the Maryville offense failed to produce much of anything other than four incomplete passes.
With the incomplete passes went a 67-game home winning streak that started when Holt was at the helm of the Spoofhounds.
“It’s just awesome, it’s a great feeling,” Holt said. “Both teams played their guts out. … We’re concentrated on trying to get back to Columbia, this was a step we had to take to get there.”
In a matchup of powerful rushing attacks, the passing games struck first. Oglesby and Caden Rardon traded long scores in the first quarter. Ben Walker rushed in for a Maryville score in the first before a 90-yard scamper by Gordon for a 14-all tie at the break.
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