Such was the case at approximately 10 p.m. last Friday, when Temple senior receiver Tevin Reese found himself rolling on the artificial grass of A&M Consolidated’s Tigerland Stadium.

Trailing 24-14 with 3½ minutes left and facing a fourth down-and-10 predicament at their 43-yard line, the Wildcats had to have a big play to remain in contention for their first win of the season.

“I remember it was fourth-and-10 and I knew we really needed a catch,” said Reese, a Baylor verbal commitment who takes 19 receptions for 314 yards and a touchdown into Temple’s homecoming game against 10th-ranked Copperas Cove at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Wildcat Stadium. “I was going to do everything in my power to help us win.”

Quarterback Kevin Lock fired a pass down the middle to a sprinting Reese, who reached low to snare the football before it hit the turf. As Reese crashed to the ground and three Consol defenders closed in, he began to roll and the ball began its attempt to come loose.

The rest of the play was decided by Reese’s natural talent and instincts.

“I went down and made the catch and put my hand down under the ball. It popped out, but I kept my eye on the ball,” Reese recalled. “I saw it go behind my helmet, so I reached back and grabbed it. I think I rolled three times and caught it two or three times.

“When I came back to the huddle, everyone was saying, ‘You’re going to be on the highlights.’”

Reese’s 19-yard, must-have reception set up Lock’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Lache Seastrunk to make it 24-21, but Temple couldn’t score on its last-gasp possession and the Wildcats fell to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in District 12-5A.

Reese’s amazing catch didn’t win the game for Temple, but it left Wildcats coach Bryce Monsen quite impressed.

“It was phenomenal, a big-time catch - one of the best catches I’ve seen,” he said. “Tevin had the ability to catch the ball barely off the turf, roll over, hit it up in the air and catch it. After the game, all the coaches and people who were there went up to him and just said, ‘Great catch.’”

As a junior, Reese was more of an occasional threat in the passing game than he was a go-to weapon.

Temple’s offense, in its first year back in its traditional Wing-T formation, averaged 322.1 rushing yards per game and didn’t have much use for the forward pass as it captured the 13-5A championship with a 6-0 record.

Reese shared playing time at receiver and caught only seven passes, though they went for 211 yards - including a 75-yard play against Round Rock Westwood and a 64-yard touchdown in the 7-4 Wildcats’ 34-31 overtime loss to eventual state finalist Pflugerville in a Class 5A Division II first-round playoff game.

He also scored on an 85-yard kickoff return against South Garland and on a 31-yard run against rival Belton.

Reese certainly stayed busy between the 2007 football season and this one.

A track and field star who plans to also compete in that sport at Baylor, Reese won 13-5A gold medals in the long and triple jumps and the 300-meter hurdles - he owns the Temple record in all three events - and helped the Wildcats win the 1,600 relay and take silver in the 400 relay.

He captured silver medals in his three individual events at the Region II meet and earned a bronze in the 300 hurdles in his first trip to the state meet.

During the summer, Reese was the most dangerous receiver for Temple’s 7-on-7 team that reached the state tournament for the second consecutive year and tied for ninth place out of 64 teams.

And on July 25, Reese solidified his college future by accepting a scholarship offer from new Baylor coach Art Briles after participating in a Bears football camp in Waco.

Reese says his busy schedule has benefited him in many ways, with track and field and offseason football workouts helping him get ready for 7-on-7, which, in turn, helped him prepare for his senior season.

“To help my team out, I had to get better,” said Reese, who added that he’s good friends with Baylor freshman quarterback Robert Griffin, a former Copperas Cove football and track star, from their days of running track together.

The grueling workouts have contributed to Reese putting more muscle on his 5-11, 170-pound frame, and his hard work is paying dividends.

“Tevin dedicated himself to the weight room and track. He’s still slender but he added muscle,” Monsen said. “We knew he had potential and that we had to get him some more throws. He has good speed, runs good routes and does a great job catching the ball, and he’s a guy Kevin has confidence in.”

Reese isn’t likely to make any Terrell Owens-like demands about getting the ball thrown his way, but he certainly has enjoyed receiving more opportunities to be a playmaker as a senior.

Still, the only statistic he seems to care about is wins.

“It’s good that the coaches want to get me involved in the offense, but it’s not good that we’re not winning,” Reese said. “We’re not worried about losing one district game, but this is an important game because we lost the last time we played Cove and there’s nothing like winning on homecoming as a senior."

gwille@temple-telegram.com