Derrick Davis' 9-yard touchdown run to begin overtime gave Temple a 28-21 lead, then Deandre Jones raced for a 25-yard score on Harker Heights' first OT snap to bring the Knights to within a point.
Given an option to win the game on one play, Heights first-year coach Mike Mullins rolled the dice and his Knights paid him back - on an option play, fittingly - by coming through for their most crucial victory in several years.
Kerry Sloan took an option pitch from Brandon Bullock and dove inside the right pylon for the two-point run that gave Heights a dramatic 29-28 win Friday night at Wildcat Stadium, spoiling Temple's homecoming and dealing the Wildcats a potentially devastating blow in their quest for a third straight Class 5A state playoff berth.
"I just felt it was time for us to win the game or lose it," Mullins said. "I felt, 'We've got to win it right here.'"
Said Sloan of the call to go for two points and the win: "I loved it. He had faith in us and we had faith in ourselves."
It was a bitter defeat to swallow for Temple coach Bryce Monsen and his Wildcats, who dropped to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in District 12-5A, meaning they most likely must win their final three games to have a playoff shot.
"It was a great high school football game and they just made one more play than we did," said Monsen, whose team charged back from a 21-7 deficit to force OT. "They made some great plays and so did we.
"I liked the second-half comeback and our kids showed a lot of character tonight," he added. "The biggest disappointment is that we knew they were going to run the speed option (for the win). We just didn't like how it ended."
Meanwhile, Heights (2-5) - which had one-win seasons in 2007 and '08 before Mullins moved in from Cameron Yoe - moved to 2-2 in district and trails leaders Belton, Copperas Cove, Bryan and College Station A&M Consolidated by only one game with three left.
"We'll definitely take it at this point," Mullins said as his players slapped hands with their fans. "We'll have a short celebration and then get ready for Consolidated next week."
Lache Seastrunk led Temple with 113 rushing yards and elusive touchdown dashes of 32 and 23 yards, and fellow senior Davis - the hard-charging fullback - shook off a slow start to tally 101 yards and the Wildcats' final two TDs from 13 and 9 yards.
"Derrick's a warrior," Monsen said.
Bruising senior Sloan led all rushers with 119 yards on 31 carries and scored TDs of 15 and 3 yards; sophomore quarterback Bullock ran 22 times for 106 yards, including a 50-yard score; and Jones gained 93 yards on only five attempts, highlighted by his touchdown sprint in overtime.
Behind the running of Seastrunk and Davis and a defense that contained Heights' backs in the fourth quarter, Temple rallied from a 21-7 deficit to tie the game on Davis' 13-yard touchdown with three minutes remaining.
The Wildcats made one last defensive stand, then got the first OT possession - Heights won the coin toss - and seized the 28-21 advantage for Temple's first lead of the night on Davis' 9-yard touchdown blast through the left side and Garrett Walsingham's fourth extra point.
But on Heights' first play from Temple's 25-yard line, Jones took a handoff to the left side and broke several tackles en route to the score that made it a 28-27 game.
Mullins said the old theory of going for the win on the road never entered his mind, but he had another reason for choosing to run the two-point play.
"I felt like we were wearing down a little bit on defense and No. 15 (Seastrunk) and No. 23 (Davis) were getting stronger," he said. "I felt we had to put the ball in (Sloan's) hands."
After a Temple timeout, Bullock tested the right side on an option play, then as a defender came up on him he flicked the ball to Sloan. A burly, violent runner, Sloan bounced to the outside of another defender to get the edge, and as he lunged he snuck the ball inside the pylon for two points and a victory.
Said Sloan: "(Bullock) could have kept it, but he pitched it and I bounced outside and did what I had to do to score."
The loss clearly dejected Temple seniors Nich Crosswhite and Ryan Powell, who along with their defensive mates gave the Wildcats a shot to prevail by buckling down in the fourth quarter.
"I got the defensive line together and just said, 'Let's play the hardest we can,'" Crosswhite said. "We came together and just played hard."
Added Powell: "Everybody was stepping up and doing their job, rallying to the football. We did some good things. Now we've got to shake it off and get ready for Bryan."
The Wildcats will travel to battle the Vikings (4-3, 3-1) at 7:30 next Friday night.
"It's a hard one to lose, but we're not out of it," Monsen said. "But we've got to win all three now. There's no margin for error. We've got to get over it and find a way."
gwille@temple-telegram.com
