Williamsville football upends rival Athens in overtime after gutsy rally in final seconds
WILLIAMSVILLE — The Williamsville football team summoned several clutch touchdown passes.
The last seemed least likely of all.
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Trailing 28-21 with only five seconds left in regulation, senior receiver Mason Lyttaker pulled down a breathtaking 20-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Josh Cates as time expired before the Class 3A No. 9 Bullets nicked 2A No. 4 Athens 36-35 in overtime at Paul Jenkins Field on Friday.
“They called my name on the pass, and they told me that I needed to make a play,” Lyttaker said. “I knew with five seconds left that’s what I had to do.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt better. It was probably the greatest feeling in my life.”
It mirrored Lyttaker's earlier 20-yard TD grab in the first quarter on fourth-and-6.
Josh Cates also hit Mason Johnson 28 yards for a 14-0 lead on fourth-and-8.
“That shows how much fight we have and how bad we wanted to win this game,” Lyttaker said.
Lyttaker, who tied his dad’s school record for longest TD earlier this season, finished with five receptions for 63 yards and two scores.
“Just to get the ball where he can catch it is great because I know he’s going to,” Cates said. “He’s a great athlete.”
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Cates went 12-for-20 for 203 yards with one pick and ran for 68 yards and two additional TDs.
“Just come out, execute and everything’s fine,” Cates said.
Athens' Camren Bigard began overtime with a 10-yard TD run.
Cates responded with a 4-yard TD run before his brother, Braddock, delivered the game-winning 2-point conversion in a melee at the goal line. An offsides penalty moved the ball forward to the 2 and ultimately assisted Braddock’s game-winning PAT run.
“I got stopped on the goal line,” Braddock said. “If I was two yards farther back, I don’t know if I would’ve made it in, so I think it made a big difference.”
Williamsville (4-1) avoided back-to-back losses after falling to 3A No. 7 Stanford Olympia 27-20.
Athens (4-1) last defeated the Bullets 36-35 in overtime in 2015. It was also Williamsville's last overtime game.
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Senior running back Cory Craig Jr. ran for 236 yards and four scores for the Warriors, who rallied ahead 21-14 early in the fourth quarter. Craig’s three-yard TD run lifted Athens ahead again, 28-21 with 1:53 remaining.
“It was clutch,” Williamsville coach Aaron Kunz said of the TD throws. “Josh made great plays and our receivers were outstanding. Those were not easy catches – none of them. They focused and concentrated, and they got it done.”
Contact Bill Welt: 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA football: Williamsville survives overtime classic against Athens
