“That’s my man, I love that dude,” said Diggins of Taylor.
The play was originally a short slant, but Taylor and Diggins communicated before the snap, and they decided to go for broke with 2:40 remaining.
“I just kept telling him, the game isn’t over, look for the big plays,” said Taylor, who had dropped a deep pass earlier in the game but accounted for 59 yards on three grabs. “We have the ability to make those plays, and he checked it off, threw it up there and I went up and got it.”
Sophomore running back Michael Jolly scored on two short runs in the third quarter to put Lee (7-4) in position for the win.
Hayfield (8-3) generated its three first-half touchdowns off Lee turnovers, including fumble returns for touchdowns by Justin Dill and Steve Lynch. But it was unable to move the ball much of the second half.
The Hawks, leading 20-17, faced a fourth down from their own five with 2:53 to play and lined up to punt. But a bad snap led to a safety, cutting the margin to 20-19.
The winning Lee touchdown came on a five-play, 55-yard drive that took 80 seconds. But the action was far from over. Lynch took the ensuing kickoff to the Lee 30 yard-line, giving the Hawks a glimmer of hope with 1:13 to play.
On fourth and seven, Hayfield turned to trickery and it nearly worked. Ellis Knudson took the snap and tossed the ball to his older brother, Hayden Knudson, on the left sideline. Hayden Knudson then heaved the ball to the middle of the field, where it was grabbed out of the air by Wesley Scott, who looked to have scored an improbable touchdown.
As Hayfield players began celebrating, the referees congregated, eventually ruling the initial pass went forward, making the second throw illegal and nullifying the score.
Hayfield Coach Roy Hill, who had a good view of the play from his sideline, said he couldn’t tell if the first pass had gone forward.
“But it shouldn’t have come down to that,” he said. “We should have done more to win that game.”
The Lancers, who were 1-9 last season, will face Yorktown next week.
“It’s a big turnaround, we’ve got a whole new coaching staff,” Diggins said. “Coach [Clarence] Martin told us we were going to get to the playoffs and go on, and we believed him.”
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