He was laughed at. Then his walk-off field goal sent Highland to the 5A state finals
The entire crowd laughed at Ian Hershey’s expense Friday. But he got the last laugh.
The two-time All-Idaho kicker drilled a 40-yard field goal on the game’s final play to lift Highland to a 29-27 win over Eagle in the 5A state semifinals. His game-winning kick allowed the Rams (10-2) to storm the field and sent them to the 5A state championship game, where they will host Rigby (10-1) at Idaho State’s Holt Arena next week.
The walk-off celebration came moments after an embarrassing moment for Hershey. With all eyes on him as he warmed up for the kick with 4 seconds left, the senior slipped and fell on his rear on the wet turf. Cackles spread throughout both sides of the stadium. But Hershey didn’t let it faze him. He picked himself up, raised both arms to the crowd and motioned for the fans to bring it on.
“Bring on all the noise,” Hershey said. “If it’s that way in college, it’s going to be a lot louder than it was tonight, I’ll tell you that.”
The walk-off field goal adds to the growing legend of Hershey, who will almost assuredly play on Saturdays but currently holds offers from only Idaho State and Sacramento State.
He scored all of Highland’s nine second-half points Friday, drilling a 52-yard field goal and a 23-yarder as well, making him 18-for-21 this season. Last week, he nailed a 58-yarder and kicked a game-winning 45-yard field goal with 3:25 left in a 22-21 win at Rocky Mountain.
So when he slipped and fell, Highland coach Gino Mariani didn’t give a second thought to sending Hershey back out there with the Rams’ season on the line.
“He’s not afraid,” Mariani said. “He loves the pressure. He’s a cocky kid. But he brings it with confidence, and he just comes through.”
That confidence allowed the Rams to stay calm when Eagle (9-3) took a late lead. Eagle quarterback Jack Benson fooled everyone in the stadium when he kept the ball on an option and broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run, giving the Mustangs a 27-26 lead with 3:18 left.
A holding call on the ensuing kickoff backed Highland up to its own 7-yard line. But knowing Hershey remained in their back pocket, the Rams never panicked. They called eight straight runs, milking the clock and lining Hershey up to become the hero again.
“The things that he’s done for us the last couple games, that’s professional-type stuff,” Mariani said. “That’s NFL (thinking) where, ‘Let’s get into position and kick the field goal to win the game.’
“That’s an NFL-type mentality, and we can do that with him because he’s a weapon.”
Highland dominated most of Friday night’s semifinal, racking up 457 yards of offense, including 305 on the ground. But Eagle junior receiver Ian Duarte nearly single-handedly willed the Mustangs to their first state championship game appearance since 2011.
Duarte turned six offensive touches into 252 total yards and two touchdowns. That included a 90-yard touchdown catch, a 73-yard touchdown catch and a 71-yard run on an end around that set up another score.
But Highland weathered the storm, continuing to run the ball at will and relying on Hershey to ride to the rescue when needed. The Rams snapped Eagle’s seven-game winning streak.
“Any time you cross the 50, he’s in range,” Mariani said. “When you’re in games like this where you’re close, that’s a nice thing to have.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 11:40 PM.
