WATERTOWN – With his team trailing by one point in the final seconds, Buckingham Browne & Nichols senior Vince Snoonian lined up for a daunting 41-yard field goal.
The moment didn’t faze the Cornell commit as he drilled the kick to give the Knights a 24-22 victory over Milton Academy on Saturday evening.
“Blanking out the noise in my mind was the biggest thing,” Snoonian said. “It’s just another kick, I just treat it as an extra point. I don’t see it as anything other than that.”
The game saw three lead changes in the final four minutes, and Knights head coach Mike Willey said the matchup showcased what makes high school football unlike any other sporting experience.
“If you’re talking about a high school football game, or even any football game, that’s one of the best I have ever seen,” Willey said. “Hats off to Milton Academy, Mike Mason does an incredible job, and they are a tough team. We came out on the positive side of it tonight, but it was a good football game between two good football teams.”
The Knights (4-1) started with possession and had a 12-play, 69-yard drive end in goal-territory with a fumble. Milton (3-2) would go three-and-out on its first drive, and a strong punt put BB&N on its own 33-yard line.
Damon Taylor and Sam Kelley then led an 11-play, 67-yard drive that ate up 10 minutes of the game clock and ended with a two-yard run from Taylor for a touchdown. A Snoonian kick gave the Knights a 7-0 edge.
Qur’an McNeill then led the charge down the field until the Mustangs were faced with a fourth-and-three from the 15-yard line. McNeill dropped back and scrambled for a few seconds before finding Kash Kelly in the end zone for a touchdown. After a blocked extra point, the score was 7-6.
BB&N would push down the field towards and brought the ball to the 5. However, Gio Joseph intercepted Taylor in the end zone to end the threat.
Milton started with possession in the second half but Jonathan White returned the favor with an interception for the Knights. He returned the turnover to the Mustangs 26-yard line and three plays later, Kelley dashed into the end zone to give the Knights a 14-6 edge.
McNeill and the Mustangs were quick to respond, pushing down the field in five plays before Dante Berger ended the drive with a 23-yard rushing touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, the game was even at 14.
BB&N then sustained a 14-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a Christian Flores 10-yard rush. 2:37 remained on the clock, but Milton only needed two plays and about 50 seconds to respond.
The first play saw McNeill connect with Ben Allen for 44 yards before he connected with Deacon Evriviades for a 52-yard touchdown. The Mustangs went for two, and McNeill converted with Allen to make it 22-21.
BB&N had 1:48 to play with, and Taylor knew what needed to be done.
“We practice this week in and week out,” Taylor said. “It’s tough to drive down the way we did but I trust our guys the whole way. They execute at a high level, and we are never out of it.”
He and the Knights charged down the field to the 31-yard line. This all led to Snoonian’s game-winning kick, which he acknowledged was the “kick of his life.”
“Vince Snoonian is one of the hardest workers I have ever been around,” Willey said. “Whether it’s kicking, blocking, catching the football, tackling someone, he does it to his maximum ability.”
With the win secured, Taylor (15-of-21, 214 yards) said BB&N is ready to tackle the rest of the schedule.
“Our team can get rolling now,” Taylor said. “That’s an unbelievable Milton team and to be able to come out on top, that gives confidence to this roster.”
