Playoffs are about Cinderella runs, and Green Canyon quarterback Ethan Munk said Green Canyon loves “to go on Cinderella runs.”
The 14th-seeded Wolves took down another higher-ranked opponent Friday night in No. 11 Skyline by a 28-26 score.
Both teams had surpassed expectations with their deep playoff runs. Both teams also fought until the end in what proved to be a nailbiter despite neither team scoring in the first quarter.
“It feels like nothing really comes easy to us, which is fine. Football isn’t meant to be easy,” said Green Canyon coach JT Tauiliili. “That’s where we’ve sharpened our teeth all season long.
“It feels like we’ve been in every single game, back and forth, and just trying to battle it out.”
Green Canyon scored first in the gridiron battle behind a 100-plus-yard first half by Huston Paremski. In the start of the second quarter, Paremski followed his line’s lead and burst through the gap they created for the 24-yard touchdown.
Tanner Holt added the PAT and the Wolves were in business.
That score sparked something, though, in the opposition, as Skyline responded on the ensuing drive with Xavier Cocci finding Sione Tupua for a 23-yard touchdown.
Max Broadbent punched through the PAT to tie things up at 7-7 with 6:45 left in the half.
The game found itself once again in an anything you can do, I can do better situation as the Wolves only needed 45 seconds to take the lead back.
This time it was through the air as Munk launched a great throw, and Cody Edelmayer reeled it in to put the Wolves back on top.
“I love my receivers,” said Munk. “They’ve been working since Day 1, just working on their craft and getting better. I’m just putting it up there and letting them make the catch, and they were coming down with it.”
After holding Skyline and forcing a punt, Green Canyon mixed it up again and went back to the run. Paremski pounded his way up the field, carrying the ball on the first four plays of the drive.
But after rushing for a first down, the back got buried under a host of players and was injured. He left the game and didn’t return. It was a crushing blow for Green Canyon, but one they had to play through.
“Honestly the boys kind of picked themselves up,” said Tauiliili. “In the locker room is probably when it hit us that we didn’t have Huston, but we just wanted to rally.”
The second half start by Skyline was something else as the Eagles ran the ball nearly every play. They ate up six minutes and 47 seconds of the clock before tying things up again, this time at 14-14, this time behind Cocci’s legs from five yards out.
From there, the teams continued to swap scores, combining for four trips to the end zone in the final quarter.
The Wolves kicked things off with Munk tossing an even prettier pass to Edelmayer for a 63-yard touchdown with 9:56 remaining. It was Skyline’s turn next behind a four-yard burst from Cocci. This time the PAT sailed right of the uprights after a penalty moved the Eagles back five yards, making it 21-20 with 6:49 left in the game.
The final minutes saw Green Canyon extend its one-point margin after Munk hit Bryson Pabst on a route that saw him get lost in the defense.
The route was drawn up by Pabst, Munk said. With the extra point good, that left the score at 28-21 with 2:06 left to play.
Skyline wasn’t done as the Eagles used both the run and pass to march down the field and into the end zone with three seconds remaining on the clock.
Cocci was at it again, this time from two yards out, two yards he was not going to not get. But the same couldn’t be said on the two-point effort as the Wolves put all their chips into Cocci running and swarmed the quarterback to preserve the win.
“It’s really a testament to the experience that this group has, specifically, and that’s honestly where we’ve made our living, is in the tight, tight, uncomfortable games,” said Tauiliili.
The experience of Green Canyon was a difference maker in the win that puts the Wolves back into the semifinals next week — against Crimson Cliffs — after it missed out last season.
For Skyline, it was a great campaign that surprised many beyond the team, which only won one game a season ago.
“Green Canyon came out with more experience tonight, just the way they handled this late round playoff game,” said Skyline coach Marcus Mailei. “They ran the ball well, and we had been doing really good at stopping the run so that was surprising.
I’m really proud of what our team has been able to accomplish this season.”