Pass with 10 seconds left...

WARNING: EXTRA LONG POST AHEAD.
It's 4th quarter. 10 seconds left in the game. Lehi Pioneers down 13-10 against Provo. 2nd down. We have the ball on the 15. Jordan gets the snap. He looks for an open receiver...

Wait, let's rewind for just a second.

Jordan led the offense the first and second quarters of the game like clockwork. He again completed 7 for 7 at the beginning and made great decisions. He had a couple of great runs which made the news again and two possible touchdown passes that hit the receiver in the hands, but were dropped. He ran it downfield to set it up for a field goal by Brennan Stringham and then he had a 5 yard pass to CJ who ran it up the sideline for 30 yards for a touchdown. Halftime score was 10 to 0.

Then the nightmare happened. Provo took possession of the ball and had it the whole entire 3rd quarter except for 10 seconds! The flags were burning holes in the refs' pockets and were thrown down on call after call after call on Lehi. It really got ridiculous when after one of the calls was waved off, they gave Provo 5 downs! They basically handed a touchdown to Provo on a silver platter. Then we finally got the ball back, but by this time Jordan hadn't touched the ball in almost an hour and was so cold that he ended up throwing a floater over our receiver's head and it was intercepted for a touchdown. 13 to 10 for Provo!

With about 1 and a half minutes left in the game, Jordan got the snap and made an attempt to run up the middle, but only made it 3 yards before he got smashed by 4 guys! He laid on the ground for a minute, got up way too slow for my heart to handle, doubled over and hobbled to the sideline. He ripped off his helmet and started spitting something. Oh my gosh! The sophomore QB went in and took two snaps and handed the ball off twice for about a 5 yard gain each time. He did well. By this time, we all realized that Jordan had just got the wind knocked out of him and was putting his helmet back on. He went back in and made an 8 yard pass to give them first down on the 9 yard line. Next snap comes, he rolls back and gets sacked for a 5 yard loss! Now back to the story I started at the beginning....

2nd down, 10 seconds left, Jordan gets the ball, looks for an open guy...he spots Josh Miller in the left side of the endzone...perfect 15 yard pass...through the defenders...Josh jumps up and its caught!!!!!!....But wait, there's a flag (of course).....we all go silent until we see Jordan jumping up and down....Defensive pass interference....penalty declined...touchdown is good. Lehi goes up 16 to 13 with 1.4 seconds left. We kick it off, stop Provo immediately and THE PARTY IS ON!!!!!!!

Cute Jake was next to me and just started bawling! It was so intense and we all wanted this win so bad. Lehi's Varsity team has not had a winning record since 2004. That's only because "our boys" hadn't climbed the ladder up to Varsity yet. It's going to be different now. We are officially 2-1 so far. We ALL ran down to the field this time. Jake wanted to be the first one to get to Jordan. He sprinted down the bleachers and found his big brother. Jordan saw him coming and spread his arms out, picked him up, and grabbed him for the biggest hug ever (good job leaving the camera home Mom). Next was his Dad. I don't know who picked up who. Allison and I finally fought through the crowd, but lost Jordan in the meantime. I hugged a few of "my boys" that I have loved since 6th grade football and was immediately glistening with residual sweat....eeeewwwww! We finally found Jordan and Allison commented, "Jordan actually gave me a huge hug! I don't remember the last time he hugged me." Ya, he must have really been happy.

He ended up getting interviewed by the newspaper and the following is an excerpt from one of the articles.

"The final play showed just how much tenacity Lehi quarterback Jordan Smith has, as he'd just been nailed hard on a sack the play before, landing him 15 yards away from the win. But he calmed himself, counted on his own confidence and the confidence the team had in him and threw the ball to Josh Miller, who made a great grab in the end zone with only 1.4 seconds left on the clock, sealing the victory for a Lehi team that had won one game in the past two years. " Jaclyn Olsen, Deseret News, "Late Score Propels Pioneers to Victory" Sept. 6, 2008

Then this was from the article in the Daily Herald:
"If you happened to be driving along I-15 at about 9:30 p.m. Friday night, it may have seemed as though the residents of Lehi were throwing a party on the middle of the Lehi High School football field. That's because they were. The Pioneers have become the toast of the town through the first three games of its season. After Provo rallied from a 10-0 halftime deficit to take a 13-10 lead in the third quarter and then managed to hold the lead with Lehi pinned deep in their own territory and just over 4:00 left in the game, it seemed as though Lehi could be headed towards a sub .500 record again. Until Senior quarterback Jordan Smith took control. Smith and the Lehi offense began their game-winning drive on their own 20-yard line and started pounding the ball on the ground. C.J. Fredrickson carried the ball for three of the first six plays of the drive, picking up 28 of his 30 total rushing yards along the way. Lehi Head Coack Derrick Peyton added,"It took a little bit for us to get back in rhythm, but we knew and had confidence that he (Smith) could do it. We're comfortable with him, he makes good decisions." Smith was given a couple options for a game-winning play and after surveying the Provo defense; he chose correctly and found Miller in the corner for score. "We were told two plays in the huddle." Smith said. "Their corner walked up close on our fastest receiver, I threw it up in the corner and he went up and got it."
Miller's diving catch put the Pioneers up for good, with only 1.4 seconds remaining in the contest. Smith, who finished with 129 yards on 22-of-31 passing, maintained his composure in the final minutes despite Provo's offense being on the field for nearly 20:00 of the second half, including 11:50 of the third quarter While it may be easy for the Pioneers and their fans to get excited over a winning record, Smith and his team have bigger plans for the season. The Pioneer football players aren't satisfied with just a winning record, they want more. "Playoffs." Smith said. "Playoffs baby!"

The photos posted were in the newspaper articles. The really good ones from the team photographer will be coming this week. Deseret News listed Jordan’s stats at 22 of 32 for 160yds and 2 touchdowns.