There may be no other sport where the entire tone of a game can be changed by the results of one play.
Saturday night, that is what happened to the San Bernardino Valley College football team.
Down three points to Southwestern College and driving, the Wolverines had a first and goal from the Jaguars' 1. Quarterback Mekhi M. Lewis rolled to his right and jumped to make a throw into the end zone. He was hit as he threw the ball, a pass that fell incomplete, and Lewis was hurt on the play, unable to continue.
And while the Wolverines were able to score on the next play - Robert Eggleston handed the ball to Thaj Stevens-Nguyen for a 1-yard score with 10:20 remaining in the game - the die was cast. Southwestern scored on the ensuing drive, then only allowed SBVC two more first downs the rest of the way, as the Jaguars beat SBVC 29-27.
The game was a hard-hitting affair from the start, with the defenses playing strong early on. Southwestern finally opened the scoring after a muffed punt was recovered by the Jaguars at the SBVC 14. Three plays later, Southwestern quarterback Kahanu Davis found JaQuan Dorsey for a 7-yard score and a 6-0 lead.
SBVC fired right back, marching 90 yards in six plays, capped off by a 29-yard strike from Lewis to Jerrell Calhoun. Julian Pan's kick made it 7-6 SBVC.
Southwestern got the lead back, as running back Alijah Robinson kept pushing through a crowd of SBVC defenders, forcing his way into the end zone from 14 yards out. The extra point kick made it 13-7 midway through the second quarter.
The Wolverines got the lead back just before the half, as Lewis hit Eric Wells with an 18-yard pass with eight seconds remaining, allowing SBVC to go into the break with a 14-13 lead. They expanded on it in the third, as Austin Bacher scored on a 39-yard run, giving SBVC a 20-13 lead.
Overall, SBVC defense shut down the Jaguars' offense, only allowing Southwestern 211 yards of total offense - to 363 for the Wolverines. Lewis was 16-for-28 for 188 yards and two scores. Bacher ran the ball 20 times for 130 yards, while Stevens-Nguyen added 53 yards on 10 carries.