Tornado lose on final play, 44-42, after furious rally

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Thomas Burks booted a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the game, making up for a missed extra point earlier in the contest and giving Blackman a 44-42 victory over visiting McCallie on Friday.

McCallie scored twice in 71 seconds late in the final period, with Robert Riddle passing to Shawn McColley for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 2:03 remaining. Jonah Bryan then executed a perfect onside kick and Rico Dozier recovered at the Blackman 46.

Five plays later, Riddle threw to Tynelius Hall from 13 yards out, and after a timeout, the Blue Tornado (0-2) went for the win. Riddle found Dozier in the back of the end zone for a two-point conversion and a 42-41 edge with 51.6 seconds to play.

Blaze quarterback Miller Armstrong accounted for all 68 yards before the field goal on the final drive, completing four of six passes. He hit Darius Simple on fourth-and-10 to the McCallie 25, and Quantez Pugh’s catch for 13 yards moved the ball to the 12 with just 2.7 seconds to play. Pugh cut outside to get out of bounds, setting up the Burks kick for the win.