Best game you've ever been a part of?

1st year at my current school. We have been down for about 10 years, 2-3 wins each year. We had struggled during the season, going into our rivalry game we were 1-8. Hadn't beaten these guys in 7 years. Pouring rain. We get up on them, 8-6. Right before half, we try an onside kick with our soccer player kicker. He boots this ball right off the chest of the center front line player and it bounces right back into our hands. We go down and score. We were playing the greatest game of keep away I've ever seen. Time of possession was at least 3:1 in our favor. We ran for 370 yards and closed the game out, winning 20-14. Best part? I put my 280 lb LT in the backfield and he scored on a wedge play in front of a sold out crowd. He hadn't beaten these guys the previous 3 years. Everybody loves fat guy touchdowns.

State championship game this year. We played a team we beat 34-0 1st game of the year. We lost a D-1 player the third week. They had 2 all-stars sit out the first game. We played at a big college stadium and we had an alumn fly in from California just to see the game.

Down 7 to 0.
Tie it up.
Down 13-7 - they had a bad snap on xpt.
Tie it up with under a minute in the half. We hit the upright on the xpt.
Here is where it gets good in the third quarter.
They drive - stop them on a missed FG.
Throw a pick six. Down 20-13.
Fumble and lose the next KO. Stop them on another missed FG.
Go for it on 4th down and get stopped.
Cause a fumble that we recover and run 50 yards for a TD. Tied 20-20.
Fourth Quarter
Have a huge 70 yard play on a pass that I have been holding in my back pocket all year.
Score and go up 27-20 with about 6 minutes left.
They score with under 3 minutes to go. They convert 3 4th downs. The play they scored on we cause a fumble on the 1 and recover in the endzone. No doubt - the officials missed it. It was right up the middle and the QB is 6'6" 230 so that might have something to do with why they didn't see it.
We BLOCK the extra point of the edge. Up 27 to 26.
They stop us and get the ball back.
They drive a little but we tip a ball and a senior gets his first career int.
We win out first ever state title 27 to 26.

Hmmm I have been in so many but will start with this one. Last year. Down 1. Less than a minute to play. Maples sets up for a field goal. They miss. Grant Park gets the ball on their 35. In three plays, the Pirates march the field and win the game! Here is the film our Video guy put together that week.

Last year was my first year coaching (and granted it was a youth league) but there were three games that stick out to me.

1st - my first win. we lost the first game of the season badly but bounced back to win the second 19-0

2nd - It was the third game of the year and we were playing the team that beat us badly the first game of the year. Their star player was the son of the FBS program in town and is an incredible player and killed us the first game. I told the players before the game - any chance you get to lay a good, hard clean lick on the kid - take and make him pay for every yard he goes for. They did. Unfortunately the player did get hurt (not seriously) but missed the 2nd half. They jump out to a 8-0 lead and we respond with a score on the next drive to make it 8-6 and right before the half we score and go up 13-8. We battle back and forth with them until about 3 or so minutes remaining in the game when they score to make it 14-13. They kick the ball off and we get it out to the 35-40 yard line and on the next play our QB takes it to the house. They get the ball back with about 1:30 - 2 minutes remaining and drive to the 3-4 yard line but fall short of endzone has time expires

3rd - We had just lost our star MLB and Ray Lewis type leader for our team in practice the week before. I have never seen a 11 year old demand that kind of respect and be that kind of leader at that age. It was incredible. Both teams battle back and forth the entire game and they are 10-15 yards from making the game winning score with about 1:30 left in the game. Knowing that we did not have a two minute offense installed, I called a timeout and told the team to let them score, figuring that it would be the only way that we would have time to respond to tie and push it into overtime. They score and we get the ball back. I call Trips Right Bubble Smash and we score on a 60+ yard touchdown pass but there was a flag - illegal man downfield. I call Trips Right Bubble Smash again and we score again with 30 seconds left. We end up going into 3 OT before we dug ourselves into a deep hole with penalties. We lost 56-50 in one of the most exciting games of football I have ever witnessed.

Oh...and thanks to Brophy for breaking down some of Oregon's plays. That's where Trips Right Bubble Smash came from

I have 2 games that stick out for me.

First one was in 2011. We had been considered the doormat of the district coming into the season because of previous records 2 wins in 3 seasons. We enter a must win game to make the playoffs and had yet to capture a signature win for the year. They score on 2 long runs early in the first qtr. We spent the entire first half on offense driving up and down the field but getting shutdown in the redzone. At least 4 trips the 1st half with no points. The defense meanwhile buckled down and didn't give up anything else. End of the 3rd qtr we have to punt and our guy pins them on the 1yd line. Next play our D-tackle burst through and gets a safety making it 15-2 in the 4th. We get the free kick and drive down. 4th and goal we hit our wr on a slant and he gets leveled but holds on to the ball. Now we decide to kick the xp even though our kicker had only hit about 20% of his xp for the season and its game 7. He hits it making it 15-9. 2 plays later the defense causes a fumble and we recover. My wr that scored on the slant comes over and says he has the slant and go so I say what the hell lets do it. One play later qb hits him over the outside shoulder in the endzone. Our kicker then goes out and hits the first back to back xp he had hit since the first game. We are up 16-15 now. Defense played stout the next series and on 3rd and long they tried a halfback pass and it looks like its gonna be an easy catch and score cause our safety to that side flies up playing run. Out of no where our sophmore corner comes out of no where and swats the ball down. They punt and we get a crucial 1st down on 3rd and 7 to ice the game. My Qb was so pumped he didnt realize all we had to do was kneel and run the clock out. Our 1st signature win for our seniors and the new coaching staff.

Second was this season 2012. We are down 21 to 0 with 6 minutes left in the 4th qtr. They are driving milking the clock and just taking it to the defense. Its a sloppy game been raining since 2nd qtr. Most of the crowd has gone home cause these guys are the defgending district champs and we are looking rough. Then on a 2nd down play we knock the ball out of the qbs hands and our DE scopps and scores from 60yds out. Next drive we make them punt and on 3rd down we hit a hb screen for 75yds and a score. 21 to 15 at this point. We have no one that can kick xp so we go for 2 all the time. Their next drive they are moving the ball down the field and the qb fumbles again. two plays later we run the same screen play and dont score but our guys gets it to about the 15 and in the process our wr cracks back on their mlb and knocks him out cold. 3 plays later our qb drops back and the scramlbles up the middle using the official as a screen in the process and scores. We get the conversion and go up 23 to 21. 2 plays later out DT picks off a middle screen and seals the game. We where the only blemish on that teams district record this year as they won the district again.

As a side note we are a small public school and both of these teams are private schools. Here in TN that is a hot topic private v public. So beating these guys was special for our guys.

Both games where amazing and I hope to have many more in my still young career.

In 2000 we kicked a FG with :03 left to win 61-60. We were trailing at one point in the second quarter 40-14. We recovered 3 onside kicks in the comeback (not consecutively). We also had two KO returns for TDs.

In 1999 we won 49-42 against another HS. Their RB (still plays in the NFL) rushed for over 200 yards and had 5 TDs. Our QB threw for 478 yards and 7 TDs.

There's two that I can't really differentiate to narrow it down to one.  One of these games I played in; well, had a good seat on the sideline!  The other game I was a coach in.

The first one was my last college home game in 2001.  We were a 4-4 team and hosted a nationally ranked team that had already clinched their playoff berth.  This was D3.  We marched down the field for a last second score and then completed a two-point conversion and won 41-40.  Our QB had over 500 yards throwing that day, I believe.  To add some drama, after we scored to take the one point lead, they almost broke the kickoff back--the last guy who had an angle to possibly make the tackle made it for us.

The second one was an IL playoff game in the 2004 season.  We played a conference rival in a rematch of a game where they drilled us 41-7 in the regular season.  We won 21-14 and our defense had to make multiple stops in the fourth quarter to pull it off.  I know our opponent on this day was state ranked and they may have been nationall ranked even.

2005 State Championship. We were huge underdogs against a team with 2 current NFL players on it. We had the lead in the 4th quarter but eventually had the game tied due to an interception return. With less than 2 minutes to go, the other team got the ball and threw it up for a deep pass. The WR comes down with an unbelievable catch. We end up holding them to a goal line stand to go into overtime. In the 1st OT, we hold them again without a score and then score on our first play but the officials say we were out. BUT on tv, they replayed it over and over again to show we weren't out of bounds. We then missed a 21 yd FG (NFL goal posts). We got the ball again to start the 2nd OT, went 4 & out. We held them to 4th & 2. They ran the ball behind one of their NFL players (DT for the Browns). We lost 20-14. A great game even though we lost. We had no business being on the field with them as they had many more athletes than us.

My first year
2nd game of the season, playing a team that's always good and that we had never beaten (we were the bottom ranked team in the league )

Great defensive struggle, regulation ends tied up 10-10

We get ball 1st in OT, get nowhere and kick a FG to go up 13-10.

They get ball and we stuff them on first 3 downs to force a FG

Now we had a crappy field with terrible holes and sprinkler issues, it hasn't rained in months and there just happens to be a puddle of mud and a little water right where the holder would place the ball for the kick

They complain and refs first move the spot of the ball to allow them better grass to kick from, we go nuts, say you have to play the field can't move the ball over to avoid puddle

What happens next is awesome, the 2 HCs get into a pissing match at midfield

They purposely take a delay of game to back up 5 and adjust the kicking location so their kicker won't slip, our HC declines... They have a kid false start to back up 5, we decline... Our HC is standing at the hashes waving his arms to decline daring their coach to kick it... He must have angered him because the coach put his offense back out on the field to go for the win, they rolled left and threw the ball into the end zone, everyone was holding their breath, next thing I know we see the ball bouncing on the track (still don't know to this day if the kid dropped it or if ours tipped it)

We rush the field and go nuts like we won the Super Bowl, heck with that win we doubled our win total from the previous season (my senior year which we went 1-9)

2011 State championship game. Back and forth game. We're down a score and the other team is driving in the 4th quarter. We force a fumble and recover on the 1 yard line. Next play 99 yard TD pass to tie the game. Our D holds them to a field goal on the next possession. On our final drive we convert a 4th and 9 and then score the winning TD two plays later an iso play breaks for 40 yards. Final score 41-37.

Semi Final game in 2007... had I think 7 lead changes and 2 ties... 13 points scored in final 3 minutes of the game. We lost 35-34... Our stud didn't drink all of his pickle juice at half time because it was 25 degrees and he didnt think he needed to... cramped as he scored last TD ... Gave up long run on next possesion... had ball back with time to score but he didn't have anything left and we didnt have another option... Torture reliving it.