One full live practice after a summer of preparing for a chance to compete for the St. Peter Saints football. That's what junior Lathe Bly, a varsity cross country runner for the Saints, had in his back pocket as he lined up a potential game-winning 27-yard field goal with three seconds left in regulation.
After having his first attempt wiped off the board due to a false start resulting in the longer kick, Bly felt confident as he took his steps behind holder Ethan Potts.
"After after I hit the first one and seeing it go through, I was like, 'oh, I'll just do it again.'" he recalled. "When I hit it, I knew it was good right away."
The ball was snapped, put to the turf by Potts and the kick was perfect, sending the Saints into full celebration of the first victory of the season, and the initial win for St. Peter's first-year head coach, Justin Helget.
"You know, we're fortunate. Lathe is doing cross country as his main sport and he's just kicking on the side, but he was ready to go," Helget said after the win. "I know when I walked out to the huddle, they're all a little nervous. I just said, 'guys, this is how memories are made.' They'll remember this for the rest of their life, and hopefully, this will be the momentum we need to carry us going forward."
The wild ending of the game and the celebration that followed helped to ease some of the game's many rough edges as the young and relatively inexperienced Saints squad struggled with procedure and falls start penalties all night long. But when the team needed players to step up, there was an answer as St. Peter earned the 15-13 win over Albert Lea to open the season.
The Saints flipped the field after falling behind 13-12 midway through the fourth when Jeremiah Soderlund hauled in a deep pass along the left sideline for over 40 yards from the arm of quarterback Cole Suska. While that drive stalled, it allowed the Saints to pin the Tigers deep in their own zone and with just over five minutes remaining, St. Peter downed a punt at the Albert Lea 44 with the chance to drive for the win.
After a pair of four and five yard runs, Evan Walter broke free to the right side for a 15-yard run to the 11 yard line, which proved pivotal. On a fourth and one from the two yard line, quarterback Alex Korir, who split time with Suska at the position, managed to break a tackle in the backfield that would have turned the ball over on downs, before slipping forward to earn the first down with the ball just inside the one.
St. Peter then attempted three more runs, one to the edge that was stuffed for a loss, and two up the middle, but none of them could break the plane. As the clock wound down past 30 seconds remaining, Helget told the sideline official that at three seconds, he wanted the timeout with the intent to send out the kicking team.
The kicking team lined up for the game-winner and the Tigers used a timeout in an effort to ice the attempt, and a false start seemed to be the result, pushing the kick from a 22-yard attempt to 27. Despite the drama though, Bly was in the right mindset and made the most of his opportunity, drilling the kick and securing the victory.
"I think it's really important for us all get to start off strong," Bly said, "We are a totally new team and yeah, it's just a good way to start the season."
"They fought hard, you know, we didn't play very clean the whole time, but they gave us a chance to win," Helget said of his team. "You know, we've asked them to do a lot of things all year, and they've been going out there and executing them."
The Saints will certainly enjoy this victory over the Labor Day weekend before returning to the drawing board with a trip to Big South Conference foe Waseca waiting in the wings next Friday. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m.
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