Down to the wire: Tigers' last-second field goal brings a victory on Senior Day

A rainy Senior Day at Northport High School saw the Bulls from Smithtown West come in and try to rain even more on the Tigers’ parade. The Tigers had lost two games in the last three weeks and their confidence had taken a hit. But today would be different.

The Bulls had the ball to start the game. On second down, Tiger Dylan McNaughton came up with an interception. Not only has Dylan been all over the field but his leadership abilities have been tremendous. “I feel really comfortable leading this team. I have no problem saying what I feel needs to be said to my teammates,” said Dylan.

On offense Danny Eagers took the handoff and barreled 23 yards to the 3-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Jackson Campbell. Eagers missed the first few games of the season and is glad to be playing again. “It feels great to be back on the field and back in the rotation of offense and defense,” he said.

The Bulls tied up the game with a 65-yard touchdown reception on a third-and-8 situation.

This would round out the scoring for the first quarter and to the second quarter the Tigers headed. Forced to punt fairly deep in their own territory, an errant Northport snap gave the Bulls the ball in prime position to take the lead. An 8-yard touchdown reception gave them just that – the Bulls went up 14-7 early in the second quarter.

The Tiger offense came back on the field and had a nice drive going until a turnover ended it. An excellent defensive stand got the offense back on the field again. Jack Helrigel reeled in a 40-yard reception which set up an 8-yard touchdown run by Danny Eagers, tying the game up at 14 apiece.

In the third quarter it was the Tigers defense which really started to put the clamps on the Bulls. One of the biggest contributors was Stelios Politidis, who made a few tackles for losses. “We had a lot of outstanding individual efforts today, but we have to start putting it all together more consistently,” he said after the game.

Another big contributor was Ryan McEnroe, who grabbed an interception on a batted ball. “I got my hands up, tipped it and it came right into my hands,” he said. The Tigers offense would move the ball the entire second half but had trouble finishing their drives.

In the fourth quarter, a Northport drive stalled out at the Bulls’ 24-yard line. JJ Ahlstrand attempted a 41-yard field goal that had plenty of distance and height but sailed left from the swirling wind. Back on defense and late in the game it would be Ryan McEnroe again who came up with a turnover, recovering a fumble on the Bulls’ 30-yard line. The Tigers offense used a heavy dose of running the ball and winding down the clock with Jackson Campbell and Danny Eagers. With two (yes, two) seconds left in the game, the Tigers lined up for a game-winning field goal. The pressure was on the snapper, the holder, and the kicker. Long snapper Jason Mohlmann, who was feeling the pressure of making a good snap after an earlier muffed attempt said, “I had to look past the botched snap and focus on getting this one right.” And that he did. He put the ball right where holder Fred Schlaich wanted it. Perfect snap, hold, and kick. Game over.

It felt great to get that chance. It was a great experience for me,” said kicker JJ Ahlstrand on the walk-off field goal. The Tigers left with a 17-14 victory on Senior Day.

I asked one of the stars of the game, Jackson Campbell, how it felt to get that win, “It feels great but as a team we were a little sloppy,” he said. The Tigers host West Islip next Saturday at 1pm in their first round playoff game. This should be an all-out battle between two tough teams.