JT

Editor’s Note: This is the 25th anniversary of the famous John Tyler-Plano East high school football regional playoff game. It was held at on Nov. 26, 1994 at Texas Stadium in Irving. This is a reprint of Paul Stone’s column from that game. Stone covered the Lions that season.

In sports, superlatives are often handed out like candy at Christmastime.

When judged properly, however, every player cannot be “great,” every catch cannot be “unbelievable” and every game cannot qualify as a “classic.”

What happened Saturday night at Texas Stadium in the Class 5A, Division II regional contest between John Tyler and Plano East deserves any extraordinary description directed its way, however.

For those who were there, they attended one of the great high school playoff games this state has ever produced. Usually, history must run its course before such proclamations can be made, but this one requires no more passage of time.

It does not take an Einstein, or a Lombardi in this case, to determine Saturday’s game was truly special. Absolutely a classic.

Forget that the principals were ranked No. 2 and 3 in the state. This game did not need arbitrary designations to legitimatize its greatness. The final four minutes speak for themselves.

Unfortunately, any fans who left early to miss the traffic instead missed one of the most bizarre, wild finishes in Texas Stadium history.

Even though John Tyler won the game, 48-44, the Lions would have rather filed the final outcome into the “ho-hum” category, something along the lines of 41-17 would have suited head coach Allen Wilson and company just fine.

JT led, 41-17 after sophomore David Warren returned a Plano East fumble 35 yards for a touchdown with just 3:03 remaining. In sports writer’s terminology, that’s dash, 30, dash. As in game’s over, turn out the lights, the fat lady’s singing, hasta la vista, crank up the bus, we’re going to Disneyland … well, you get the picture.

But three successful onside kicks in a span of less than two minutes and an amazing four touchdown passes by East’s Jeff Whitley in just over two minutes lifted the Panthers to a 44-41 lead with just 24 seconds left.

John Tyler stood on the threshold of defeat. It appeared the Lions’ dream season would end with a “Nightmare on Phillips Street.”

With no timeouts remaining, the school known for producing one of the state’s greatest high school football teams of all-time (1973) was about to be tagged with a more dubious distinction, being on the wrong end of an almost-unbelievable comeback.

But like a fairy tale, JT’s Roderick Dunn, who had fumbled two of East’s onside kicks, returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards with 11 seconds left to put a lid on arguably the second most notable victory in JT’s 37-year history.

The final 4:30 of Saturday’s game had more action than all the episodes of “American Gladiators” combined.

Some of the amazing events of the final 4:24:

n The teams combined to score 48 points.

n The seven touchdowns scored during the span were separated by an average of 42 seconds.

n John Tyler scored three touchdowns, but none were offensive. Two of the Lions’ TDs were defensive and the other was the game-winning kickoff return.

n Plano East successfully executed three onside kicks, more than most teams do in any five-year period.

n East’s Whitley, who had thrown 11 touchdown passes in the Panthers’ previous 51 1/2 quarters, threw for four TDs in a 132-second span.

Lost in the finale-minute barrage was an outstanding opening three quarters. The matchup of 12-0, top three teams had been labeled the state’s highlight game during week three of the playoffs. The contest certainly lived up to its advance billing.

East unsuccessfully faked a punt late in the first half with the score tied at 14, giving the Lions the ball at midfield. JT cashed in with a 13-yard TD pass from Morris Anderson to Warren to take a 21-14 halftime lead.

On the second half’s opening drive, JT chewed up eight minutes of clock before settling for a 21-yard field goal by Nico Hernandez and a 24-14 lead. Making a statement about their intentions, the Lions successfully converted a fourth-and-1 from their own 37 on an Anderson sneak to keep the three-point drive alive.

Hernandez, who had no field goals in JT’s opening 11 games, now has kicked a trio of three-pointers in the Lions’ last two games. In the final analysis, both of Saturday’s field goals were critical, as were a number of key plays which are long forgotten by most.

Win, lose, or draw the rest of the way, Lions players, coaches and fans will likely remember this one as long as their minds allow them.

As is the case with the great ones, Plano East’s deficit will probably grow up to 50 points over time. Dunn’s remarkable kickoff return will probably be recalled as 125 yards or so. People who were not there will say they were. And the estimated 30,000 fans who did attend will duplicate themselves, making the crowd a near-capacity gathering of about 60,000.

That’s fine, however. That’s what classics are all about.

And this one was truly that.