‘It’s just trusting your dudes.’ Kuna completes come-from-behind win with trick play
Kuna quarterback Cole Luekenga lined up under center and let the snap go through his legs and into the hands of Gus Austin.
Austin faked a dive and then tossed the ball in the air for a leaping Colton Deatherage in the end zone.
The Kavemen had installed that two-point conversion play only two days ago, not knowing it would prove the difference in a 22-21 win over Middleton on Friday night at Middleton High.
“I’ve been telling these kids all year long that as a coaching staff, we believe in them, that we know that they have what it takes,” Kuna coach Jeff Schank said. “They’ve got to just start believing in themselves a little bit. And I think the second half of this game, they came out there and did it.”
Friday’s game was a win-or-go-home scenario for the Kavemen (5-4), who needed to beat the Vikings (6-3) to secure a 5A state playoff berth. Kuna earned the conference’s sixth and final automatic bid with an improbable comeback.
The Kavemen fell behind 14-0 after the first quarter and trailed 21-14 when they got the ball back with 1:12 on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Facing third-and-10 from the Middleton 31-yard line, Luekenga dropped a pass into the outstretched arms of junior wide receiver Luke Selto in the end zone with 35 seconds left. Then Kuna and Middleton each took a timeout, setting up the winning trick play.
“I got a lot of trust in my guys,” Luekenga said. “So I put the ball in the air and I trust them to make plays. There’s a lot of confidence in my guys, so I knew we could get it done.”
Although he admitted he felt some nerves when he lined up for the conversion play, Austin said he was equally confident the play was going to work.
“I knew it was gonna be open,” Austin said, “because no one’s seen it.”
Kuna scored all three of its touchdowns in the second half. Selto accounted for two TDs, while Mario D’Orazio hauled in an 8-yard TD pass of his own. Selto led all receivers with four catches for 118 yards.
“We told them at halftime, ‘Hey, we’re kind of waiting for things to happen, waiting for good things to happen,’” Schank said. “We’ve got to stop that. We’ve got to go out there and make things happen. And we had some guys step up in the second half and make big plays for us.
“... These kids just came out and played their guts out, and I am proud of them.”
The Kavemen took advantage of a Middleton fumble and interception to score on back-to-back drives and tie the score at 14-14 with 4:31 remaining in the third quarter.
“It’s just trusting your dudes, right?” Deatherage said. “You’ve seen them in practice. You’ve seen them step up. And you know you can trust ‘em, and you’ve got their back and they got yours.”
Middleton retook the lead 21-14 with 11:55 to go in the fourth quarter on Dekker Hagler’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Sawyer Heck.
The Kavemen then came up empty in a drive that took five minutes off the clock. Middleton’s ensuing drive also proved fruitless, and the Vikings punted the ball back to Kuna, which took off on its game-winning drive.
“I’m just incredibly happy for them,” Schank said. “I think they deserve it. I love these kids with all my heart. I’m so proud of them and just happy to see them have some success finally.”
UP NEXT
Kuna: Will travel to Rocky Mountain in the first round of the 5A state playoffs.
Middleton: Also secured a playoff bid as the first at-large team. The Vikings travel to Lewiston next week.
This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 12:03 AM.
