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When Curtis Haugen stepped to the line of scrimmage in the final minute of the Minnesota State High School Football Quarterfinals, he had basically come to terms with the fact that his season was over. His Maple Grove Crimson trailed the St. Michael-Albertville Knights by a score of 27-10 with 59 seconds remaining in the game, and the team was facing a 4th-and-17 from the 28-yard line. If ESPN cared about high school football, it’s likely they’d give the Crimson a .000% chance of winning the game.
However, fate had other plans.
Haugen managed to connect with Joe Raymon in the end zone, and the special teams unit trotted out to midfield to attempt an onside kick— a play that traditionally has around a 20% success rate. However, they managed to convert, and that’s where things started to get crazy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWGpR4K-i3o
Haugen and Raymond immediately connected again for a 49-yard TD, and the team attempted another onside kick with 46 seconds remaining, managing to convert for a second time. They drove down the short field and reached the goal line with four seconds left on the clock before an untouched Evan Hull trotted into the end zone to put his team up 29-27 in what might be the most improbable comeback in the history of football.
I sincerely hope someone sends this footage to the Atlanta Falcons locker room so they know they only had the second most embarrassing loss of 2017. I’m sure they could use the pick-me-up.