The Galveston County Daily News

SANTA FE — For the last month, the Santa Fe Indians haven’t been able to catch a break.

With a flip of the coin on Friday night, that all changed.

Santa Fe lost its fourth straight contest, falling at home to Dawson, 28-14. However, the Indians still came out winners, when they won a coin flip to clinch the final playoff spot from District 24-4A.

It’s only the third time in Santa Fe’s history it has made the postseason.

“It’s fairly indescribable,” said Santa Fe coach Jay Buckner, who flipped the Indians into the postseason. “That was such an emotional game for us, and the kids were devastated after we lost. Then to have the unbelievable happen and us win a coin flip — that’s an amazing feeling.”

The three-way tie was set up when La Marque lost to Friendswood, Texas City beat Brazosport and Manvel upset undefeated Angleton. Santa Fe, Texas City and Manvel all were tied at 3-4, and since they had beaten each other by four points during the season, it had to be decided by the coin flip.

Buckner received a coin from Santa Fe volleyball coach Anna Marie Milligan — a 2009 quarter.

“Coach Milligan has been having a season as good as anyone,” Buckner said, “so I figured she could bring us some luck.”

Texas City coach Tim Finn and Manvel coach Kirk Martin arrived at Earl Routh Field House just before 11 p.m. Finn had brought a quarter that one of his players picked out.

The trio decided to go with “Friday Night Nights” rules, where they all flipped coins at once. The odd coin was the winner.

On the first flip, they all flipped tails, forcing another attempt.

“That didn’t surprise me,” Buckner said. “I was surprised it didn’t go four or five attempts.”

On the second attempt, Finn and Martin each flipped heads. Buckner was the last to look at his coin. When he realized it was tails, he went running around the weight room in excitement.

It didn’t take long for the word to reach the players, who had stuck around for the verdict.

Santa Fe senior defensive end Shane Sobnosky was in tears after the loss to Dawson. A little more than an hour later, he had a huge grin on his face.

“Between crying and walking around for the last hour, I felt horrible,” Sobnosky said. “Then everyone came out screaming that we were going to the playoffs. It’s unbelievable.”

Finn obviously was disappointed losing the flip, but took the defeat in stride.

“After all that happened for us, we were glad to be here,” Finn said. “It just didn’t work out. But that’s the way it works. We knew two out of three people were going to leave here unhappy.”

Santa Fe (6-4 record, 3-4 district) had control of its own destiny entering the night, and looked to be in good shape after building a 14-7 lead in the first half.

Joseph Walton led the way with 140 yards rushing in the first half, including a 45-yard touchdown. He finished with 190 yards.

Garet Davidson also scored on a 1-yard run.

“I wasn’t playing for me tonight,” Walton said. “I was playing for the seniors. I wanted to keep the season going for them.”

But the Indians couldn’t find a way to stop Dawson quarterback Darian Lazard. Lazard threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the first half to help the Eagles build a 21-14 lead. He added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

Lazard finished with 239 yards passing and 48 rushing.

Adding to the Indians’ woes in the second half, Walton missed most of the fourth quarter with a hip pointer.

“I tried to keep running, but my hip kept getting tighter and tighter,” Walton said. “During the fourth quarter, I went up to every senior and apologized and told them I wished I could be out there for them.”

In the end, no apology was needed. The Indians were rewarded for their 6-0 start with a little bit of luck on a foggy night.

“Our goal all season was to make it to the playoffs,” Sobnosky said. “We never quit trying, even when no one thought we could do it.

“It was tough losing those last four games, but you know what? There is no regular season anymore. It all starts new in the playoffs. Now we are going to make more history by winning a playoff game.”