That's a wrap. The LaVell Edwards story is finished, complete with a happy ending. On Friday night, on national TV, the Cougars wrote the final chapter in the remarkable career of their coach with a victory straight out of Hollywood. A coach for the ages went out with a win for the ages.
In the end, the football gods proved to have a sentimental side — if not a flair for the dramatic — after all. The Cougars faced fourth down, with a minute left, 83 yards away from the end zone. Four plays later, Brandon Doman ran for a touchdown to give BYU a 34-27 victory — a perfect ending to a perfect game for the perfect coach.
"I couldn't have scripted it any better," Edwards said. "What a way to go out."
Right down to the scene on the field after the game, this was a fairy-tale ending. Amid tears and smiles, Edwards was carried to midfield by his players, where he was met by Ute coach Ron McBride. There, the old rivals exchanged a lengthy hug and a few kind words.
"I told him I loved him . . . ," McBride said. "I guess if you're going to get beat by someone, it may as well be a guy like that."
Let's face it. This was Edwards' night, just as this was Edwards' season. He didn't want it that way, but everybody else did. Edwards never so much as referred to his retirement in staff meetings this season until Thursday, when he told his assistants not to put too much pressure on the players with the win-one-for-the-coach theme. But they weren't having it. BYU players made it their battle cry in the final minute, just as they did much of the season. Facing the prospect of defeat late in the game, BYU coaches told each other that this was no way to send out the old man. Fans were crying and holding up their signs: FORGET THE RECOUNT, LAVELL FOR PRESIDENT. A long-time Ute booster confided, "Nobody loves the Utes more than I do — but I wanted BYU to win for LaVell tonight." Then he carried a coconut cream pie into the locker room to present to the coach.
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When the Cougars fell behind in the fourth quarter, there was hardly a soul in the stadium who wasn't hurting for Edwards. This was too cruel. The Cougars, who led 26-10 when the fourth quarter began, surrendered 17 straight points. Even while the Utes were driving for what would be their go-ahead score, offensive coordinator Lance Reynolds told quarterback coach Robbie Bosco, "Wouldn't it be just a shame to lose this way in LaVell's last game?" And then the Utes scored to take a 27-26 lead. Just before going onto the field, the offense huddled on the sideline.
"We've got to win this!" they were saying to each other. "The defense didn't do it, now we've got to do it. We've got to do it for coach!"
The Cougars' first three plays ended with an incomplete pass, a 10-yard sack and a seven-yard pass to Luke Staley. The odds were now overwhelmingly stacked against them. Fourth down, ball on their own 17, 1:04 left in the game. To boot, the Utes were playing a prevent defense, with three pass rushers and eight defensive backs.
"The odds of completing a long pass were astronomical," said Reynolds later.
And if all that weren't enough, the offense was simply out of gas by then. The Cougars had gone three-and-out on their last three possessions. "They're good!" Bosco told Reynolds at one point, referring to the Utes.
But then the fourth down play: Doman rolled to his left while his receivers ran streak routes. He heaved a spiral downfield, seemingly to no one. The pass was short. It seemed certain to land incomplete — and then Jonathan Pittman, who had turned and raced back to the ball, showed up to make the catch for a 34-yard gain. On the next play, Doman found Pittman again on the Ute sideline for 36 yards at the Utah 13. The Cougars were simply positioning themselves for a field goal on the next play, but Staley ran to the four-yard line, and on the next play Doman ran around the right end and dived into the end zone. Touchdown. One play later he completed a two-point conversion pass to Soren Halladay, then he ran to the sideline where he was greeted with a hug from Edwards.
"I can't believe this," BYU players were repeating over and over among themselves as they trailed Edwards onto the field afterward.
In the locker room after the game, Edwards gathered his team once more and gave a moving post-game prayer. Then he shouted "Three cheers for Patti!" referring to his wife — "Hip, hip, hooray! . . . " Then someone else called for three cheers for coach Edwards, and they did it all over again. After 29 years and 361 games, Edwards finally reached the finish line of his great career.
Edwards was true to form almost to the very end. When the defense gathered for its final stand, he stood off by himself, arms folded, the calm at the eye of the storm. It wasn't until the game finished and he had done a mass interview at midfield that he broke form. As he was being escorted off the field, he headed toward the stands, rather than the locker room, to acknowledge the cheers of the fans. They surged close to the railing, some of them with tears in their eyes, some with cameras, to get a last, loving look at the man. Edwards doffed his cap, waved and, yes, he smiled.
"I couldn't write a better script than that," Edwards said. "It was an unbelievable game. This may be the best win ever."
E-mail: drob@desnews.com