The Tigers’ football team had a triple handoff, ending with a Beau Brungard pass to Lukas Yemma with 5 seconds remaining to win a high-scoring Division VI, Region 21 final, 52-48, in the final seconds.

“I give a lot of credit to our kids that kept battling,” Springfield coach Sean Guerriero said. “We talked to them at halftime. They threw a lot of punches and we kept taking them, but our kids did not give up.”

Bobcats running back Ameer Cunningham scored his second touchdown as Norwayne took a 48-45 lead with 35 seconds remaining. The home side of the stadium went silent.

The Springfield bench remained hopeful. Multiple players could be heard yelling, “It’s not over yet.”

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Springfield junior Beau Brungard (left) gains yards during the first half against Norwayne.

It wasn’t.

Norwayne’s kicker was squibbing kicks the entire game. The Tigers knew, at worst, they could settle for a field goal and force overtime.

Springfield, which moved into scoring range with a few short passes, had 11 seconds left and one time out remaining. The Tigers took their shot at the end zone, a 16-yard, game-winning pass from Brungard to Yemma.

“Knowing how they were kicking off and squibbing it, we figured if we had a chance to get it on the 40 with three timeouts and 35 seconds left,” Guerriero said, “we could at least get Clay (Medvec) a good opportunity to kick a field goal and tie it back up. Then once we got it down to the 16, coach (Mark) Brungard called out one little play, and like I said, our kids executed it, and it was for the victory.”

In addition to the game-winning pass, Beau Brungard ran for four more touchdowns and caught another. The junior finished the game with 307 all-purpose yards, 168 passing and 139 rushing.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Brungard, left, and senior Coleson Kertesz, right, share of a hug on the field following the Tigers' regional final victory over Norwayne.

If it wasn’t for a trick play earlier in the game, the Tigers may not have even been in that position to win.

Norwayne’s offense continued to pound the ball, holding a 10-point lead in the second quarter.

On fourth down, Springfield called a double-pass from Brungard to Jacob Joyce back to Brungard that resulted in a 75-yard score.

“I just love how we always have these different plays in our playbook that we can always go to and they work,” Brungard said. “We practice them a lot in practice trying to perfect them. I’m just glad we always have something we can go to like that. In the game, our guys know what they’re doing and then they step up and they do it.”

That touchdown sparked Springfield, who forced a fumble on Norwayne’s first play from scrimmage and scored again to take a 24-20 lead.

The Bobcats didn’t go away easy, however, matching each Springfield score.

“It was just back-and-forth the whole entire time,” Brungard said. “I got to give it to my guys. They just executed so good.”

Springfield (10-0) advances to the state semifinals where they take on the Fort Fyre Cadets.

“We’re going to have a great battle again next week with Fort Frye,” Guerriero said. “Our kids get to enjoy tonight, but we got to get back at it (today).”