CHARLESTON, Tenn. — Walker Valley coach Drew Akins called a timeout with 5.9 seconds to play in the first half and his Mustangs at the Campbell County 5-yard line.
The plan was for quarterback Evan Schwarzl to take a three-step drop and get the ball out of his hand quickly, giving the home team an opportunity to kick a field goal if the pass fell incomplete.
Schwarzl instead took the snap, scrambled to his right and bought time before finding Hudson Makuch wide open in the end zone. Akins stared at Schwarzl coming off the field, with the quarterback giving him a quick embrace and pointing to the scoreboard, which read Walker Valley 41, Campbell County 27.
“I was just like, ‘Man, coach, I’m sorry. I know what you told me, but I’ve got to do my thing, man,'” Schwarzl said of the second of his five touchdown passes in a 74-33 win for Walker Valley in the first round of the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs Friday night.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)