Ohio team wins football game on last-second hook-and-ladder

Westerville Central trailed by three in the final seconds, but they pulled out a hook-and-ladder to score a touchdown of about 7 yards to win.

Friday was the night of trick-play game-winners in the world of high school football.

In a four-overtime game in Georgia, Loganville High School went for a bewildering over-the-head pass that somehow worked and won the game. Meanwhile, about 600 miles north, Westerville Central High School in Ohio was performing its own trick play in regulation.

Trailing by three with 5.1 seconds left on the clock and standing more than  70 yards away from the end zone, Westerville Central couldn’t play for an overtime battle against Westerville North. They had to go for it all on the last second. Instead of a Hail Mary, the Warhawks called upon the hook-and-ladder play.

It worked to perfection. According to the Columbus Dispatch, senior wide receiver Jacob Harris caught the ball around the 42-yard line and lateraled it to senior receiver Kobi Davis. Davis had room to operate and put on a burst of speed to get by the closest defender, who had paused briefly when it looked like Harris was getting tackled.

Davis outpaced all the defenders for a touchdown of about 73 yards to call game. Final score: 23-20.

Westerville Central is in the winner’s category after going just 2-9 last season. They’ll look to carry the momentum forward better than last season, when the team opened with a similarly close 17-14 victory over Westerville North but lost the next seven games. If anything can get a team rolling, it’s a hook-and-ladder to win the game.

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