MURRAY — Fourth down at the 2-yard line. Only one second left on the clock and the score is 7-3. It's your defense with no ground to give and the game on the line.
It's the stuff great movies are made of. Only this time it was the exact scenario Coach Keeko Georgelas and his Murray Spartans faced as time wound down Thursday night. And just as scripted, the defense stepped up and made the big play in the Spartans' 7-3 victory over the Olympus Titans.
"We just showed pride right there," said Georgelas. "They were not going to be denied."
"It was them or us, whoever wanted it the most, and we did," said Spartan defensive back Dean Takai, who, along with linebacker Jesse Ward, came up with the stop at the 2-yard line to seal the victory.
The tackle was a big relief for Takai, who had thrown an interception just moments earlier on a halfback option play to give Olympus the ball on the 33.
It wasn't the first time of the night that the Spartan defense stepped up with big stops. Three times the Spartans turned the ball over inside their own 40-yard line, and only once did they allow Olympus to put points on the board — on a Collin Wilson 42-yard field goal.
"We tried everything we could to give (the game) away," said Georgelas.
Max Moala, who transferred to Murray from Olympus, played big on both sides of the ball, scoring the game's lone touchdown in the second quarter on a 7-yard run, and also making big stops on defense from his linebacker position.
"It feels great," Moala said of the win, "We played as one and we wanted it more.
"It felt pretty good to go up against some of my old buddies."
Moala played the game after barely practicing in the past two weeks due to a sprained ankle.
"It's just special to see kids believe. No matter what happens here on out," Georgelas said.
The win gave Murray the second seed from region 5. Olympus will go into the playoffs as the region's No. 4 seed.