Palo Verde comes up big

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Oct. 29, 2004 | 10:41 a.m.

Listed in the program as standing 5-foot-4 and weighing 140 pounds, Palo Verde senior wingback Anthony Smith was by far the smallest player on the field in Thursday night's Northwest Division title decider against visiting Cheyenne.

But it was Smith who made the biggest play of the game, if not the entire season, for the Panthers in a dramatic 35-32 come-from-behind victory against the Desert Shields.

Palo Verde (9-0, 5-0) was trailing, 32-27, and had a fourth-and-goal at the Desert Shields' 5-yard line with less than two minutes to go. All that was riding on the next play for Darwin Rost's squad was the Northwest Division title, home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a second consecutive undefeated regular season.

Backup quarterback Gary Boubon, filling in for injured Jarrell Harrison -- more on that later -- rolled to his right and fired a pass for junior wingback Drew McDaniel in the end zone. The ball bounced off of McDaniel's hands, then was deflected by a Cheyenne defender behind him to Smith, who caught it at the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 1:40 to go in the game.

"I was blocking on the play," Smith said. "I turned around and I saw the throw. Then I saw Drew tip it and the defender tip it again. Then I just caught it."

So tiny is Smith -- he looks a lot closer to 5-foot-1 than 5-foot-4 -- that Rost didn't even know he had made the game-winning catch until he was informed by reporters 15 minutes after the game had ended.

"I didn't get to see the catch," Rost said. "I don't even know who got it."

When told it was the tiny Smith, Rost smiled and said, "Unbelievable! That's a miracle."

Smith was in the game because starter Marc Evans, who earlier had an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Harrison for another touchdown, had limped off the field the previous series with a left knee injury.

As if that wasn't bleak enough for the Panthers, Harrison re-injured his bruised right shoulder on the next play, forcing Boubon to take over on a 4th-and-11 at the Cheyenne 18 with 5:46 remaining.

Boubon connected with tight end Mike Smith on a 10-yard pass that was just short of a first down. Cheyenne (7-2, 4-1) then took over on downs on its own 8 with a 32-27 lead and 4:34 to go.

But on second-and-10, Desert Shields running back Torrie Coleman, who earlier in the game had a 65-yard touchdown run, was stripped of the ball by Sam Ewalefo and Kevin Vinik recovered at the Cheyenne 10 to give the Panthers another shot.

However, with their two top offensive players, Harrison and Evans, on the sideline, the Panthers managed just 5 yards on their first three plays setting the stage for Smith's heroics.

"I was going for (McDaniel)," Boubon said. "Then I just saw the ball bounce up in the air. ... I didn't know until the referee put his arms up that we had scored a touchdown."

Palo Verde went for two points on the conversion try but McDaniel was stopped short. Cheyenne, trailing 33-32, needed just a field goal to pull out the win.

But on the ensuing kickoff, junior linebacker Ramon Hill-James nailed Desert Shields return man Shamario Jones at the 17. Following two pass incompletions, quarterback Quentin Carter was sacked for an 11-yard loss, setting up a fourth-and-21 on the Cheyenne 6. Carter then couldn't handle a high snap in the shotgun and the ball went out of the end zone for a safety to increase Palo Verde's lead to 35-32 with 43 seconds to go.

The Desert Shields attempted an onside kick but it rolled out of bounds before it could be recovered. Palo Verde then ran out the clock.

"I've been doing this for 21 years and that's one of the most exciting games I've been involved in in a long time," a relieved Rost said.

Rost said he would not know until Thursday whether Harrison, who has been offered a scholarship by UNLV, would even play after taking a solid shot on his right (throwing) shoulder in last week's win against Cimarron.

"He hadn't practiced all week long," Rost said. "So Gary took all the snaps in practice which helped."

Despite the sore shoulder, Harrison still managed to rush for 64 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and also threw for another touchdown before leaving the game.