Field goal as time expires gives Davison 22-20 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary

Bill Marshall | The Flint Journal

DAVISON, Michigan — With 4.8 seconds left on the clock and the Davison Cardinals lined up to kick a 32-yard field goal down 20-19 to visiting Orchard Lake St Mary, coach George Porritt decided to ice the kicker, not once but twice.

It didn't matter.

William Nicolai was clearly unfazed through the two timeouts as he drilled the game-winning field goal as time expired to keep the Cardinals' playoffs hopes alive with a 22-20 win on Friday.

“My mind was racing,” said Nicolai when asked to describe how he felt during the two timeouts that preceded his postseason-preserving kick. “I've always dreamed about kicking a game-winning kick like this, I'm just glad I had a chance to do it.”

After St. Mary (4-4) quarterback Robert Bolden connected with Tayler Peruski on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals (5-3) ended up on their own 21-yard line, down a point, with only 3:31 to go against a stingy Eaglets defense.

Sophomore quarterback Jake Thompson began what would become the game-winning drive like he had done it a dozen times before. The nine-play drive was highlighted by a 27-yard completion to Matt Greer and an acrobatic 24-yard sideline grab by Adam Trafas to put the Cardinals in field-goal range.

Thompson finished 11-for-16 for 121 yards passing and rushed for 76 yards on 12 carries.

Fullback Oliver Saylor put the Cardinals up 10-7 at halftime with 8:58 left in the second quarter on a 19-yard touchdown run. Saylor's second touchdown of the evening came at the 9:46 mark of the fourth quarter. A failed two-point conversion in an attempt to stretch the lead to seven left the Cardinals up 19-14. Saylor finished with 85 rushing yards on 22 carries.

Orchard Lake St. Marys had 379 yards of total offense compared to 287 for the Cardinals. Turnovers proved to be the difference in the game, as the Eaglets had four turnovers compared to just one for Davison. Daniel Thwing led the defense with an interception and a fumble recovery and Greer broke up what looked like a sure touchdown in the Cardinals' end zone on the last play before halftime.

“They're a very fast and athletic team,” Davison coach Jeff Putnam said. “Our guys took a beating tonight.”

Davison will need to win a home game against Holt next Friday to earn an automatic state playoff berth.

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