In a city known worldwide for its imaginative architecture and production of tough diesel engines, Brebeuf’s football team rebuilt their season Friday night with a 32-29 fourth quarter comeback road win over 6A Columbus North that was as lovely to behold as the autumn sunset that proceeded it. Senior WR Carter Cosgrove took a two-yard pass from senior QB Keegan Bouwkamp with four seconds remaining, dragging two Bulldog defenders the remaining two yards before extending the football to break the plane of the end zone for the winning score. It was the culmination of an improbable, incredible eight-play, 97-yard drive that took 1:01 of clock time that should probably go on a shelf in the Brebeuf Football Museum in the display of Greatest Drives in Team History. And that wasn’t even the most (checks adjective count for repeats) amazing part of this victory. Before Bouwkamp could even take the first snap on The Drive*, Brebeuf’s defense had to first complete The Goal Line Stand. (*apologies to John Elway) Columbus North had the football, and a 29-26 lead, on Brebeuf’s 1-yard line, first and goal, with 1:25 to play. Read that again. This thing was over. A few Bulldog parents who had to work third shift at Cummins were packing up their seat cushions and headed for the parking lot. All North had to do was kneel it out, and perhaps score a clinching touchdown to extinguish any Brebeuf hopes. The Bulldogs lined up in “Victory Formation” before the first QB kneel-down. Except Braves coach Matt Geske still had all three timeouts, and (brand new, appointed earlier in the week) Bulldog head coach Luke Teague didn’t want Geske’s high-powered offense to have any hopes of a comeback, so the sequence went like this: • 1st and Goal from the 1: QB kneel-down (Brebeuf timeout.) • 2nd and Goal from the 1: QB dive into the center of the line, where Braves Eli Drake and Josh Rogers made the tackle for no gain (Brebeuf timeout.) • 3rd and Goal from the 1: Another attempted QB sneak for the touchdown, but North gets flagged for procedure- five-yard penalty, repeat third down from the six. • 3rd and Goal from the 6: Toss sweep to RB Ashton Schwartz, who immediately gets high-and-lowed by Ryan Cummings (high) and Brady Allen (low) after a gain of four (Brebeuf final timeout) • 4th and Goal from the 2: Sweep to the left by Schwartz, who was met by new Brave (Noblesville HS transfer) Xavion Bond in the backfield for a one-yard loss. Four plays, minus two yards, 20 seconds of clock time: The Goal Line Stand. Brebeuf then took over on their own three-yard line, with no timeouts and barely a pulse. The Cummins parents may have shrugged on their way out, but kept walking. Keegan Bouwkamp brought the Braves offense to the field at just about the same spot as he had left it on Brebeuf’s previous drive, after his pass was intercepted by Bulldog DB Cohen Long at the Columbus North 40. Long had a wall of blockers, and returned that interception 58 yards, almost to the end zone, when Bouwkamp- 6’3” and snarling- made a great open-field tackle at the 2. A game-saving tackle in hindsight. A minute to play, we all learned in 2024, is more than enough time for Matt Geske’s passing offense to traverse a football field. Geske is an offensive innovator in the mold of Clessie Cummins, who in 1919 put Columbus on the map by taking Rudolf Diesel’s engine design and perfecting it for use in automobiles. But innovation alone won’t beat a good 6A defense when the money’s on the table. The kids have to execute, and boy did they ever: • 1st Down on the Brebeuf 3: Bouwkamp has time from his own end zone to find Cosgrove in stride for eight yards on the left- out of bounds. Clock stops. • 2nd Down and 2, Brebeuf 11: Bouwkamp rifles a quick out to Cosgrove, who flips to RB Jasir King on a designed hook & lateral. Gain of seven- out of bounds. Clock stops. • 1st Down on Brebeuf 18: REVERSE FLEA-FLICKER. Bouwkamp hands to King, who runs to the right and flips reverse to Cosgrove, who flips back to Bouwkamp, who throws a beautiful 39-yard pass to Gabe Cox, who get tackled at the Bulldog 41. Clock ticks… o At this point, Cummins parents in the parking lot are reversing course, texting their shift supervisors to inform them that they might be a few minutes late. • 1St Down on Columbus 41: No ‘spike play’ to stop the clock (and give the Bulldogs a chance to breathe) because this is why you drill and drill in practice. Bouwkamp quickly takes the snap and throws perhaps the best of his forty passes of the night: right over a defenders grasp and into Cox’s waiting hands at the 18. Gabe fights to the eleven. Clock runs. • 1st Down on Columbus 12: Incomplete pass to Cosgrove. Clock stops • 2nd Down: Incomplete pass to Cox. Clock stops • 3rd Down: Bouwkamp scrambles, pulls down the ball and charges for the end zone, but is pushed out of bounds at the four. Time for one more play. Columbus timeout to reset and try to stop the bleeding. • 4th Down and two on Columbus 4: Bouwkamp hits Cosgrove, who makes his parents, as well as Brebeuf strength and conditioning coach Joel Clem, very proud, because that young man clearly doesn’t skip Leg Day. Cosgrove dragged the aforementioned Bulldog DB Cohen Long and teammate Nate Riker from the three to the two, to the one, before extending his pipe-like forearms across the imaginary plane of the end zone. Clock reads 00:04. Line judge signals touchdown as Riker puts his hands on his shiny black Bulldog helmet and lowers his shaking head, unable to believe what he has just witnessed. Columbus got the ensuing kickoff at their own 17 with two seconds left, and time to try a crazy nine-lateral miracle play (which Brebeuf fans know cannot be ruled out of the realm of the possible) but QB Max Wilson was swallowed up by Charlie Austin’s third sack of the game, and it was time to start the buses back to Indianapolis. Buses which, ironically, were powered by Cummins diesel engines. All of this occurred in the aftermath of what had been the most picturesque sunset of the football season- the kind of multi-colored, fluffy-cloud sky that seems to only occur at the end of a cloudy, rainy day. Great for the Bartholomew County Chamber of Commerce (and for writers seeking football analogies.) A sunset capping a cruddy-looking day. Not unlike a comeback fourth quarter victory over a 6A opponent that had scored 15 straight points on you to begin the fourth quarter. What a win: The Goal Line Stand, followed by The Drive. Brebeuf improves to 4-3, and will get ready for another trip south next week when they play at 5A top-ranked Bloomington South. Make the drive down south- watch your speed on 37- and cheer on the Braves, as they seek to continue their season surge. Go Braves!