It was the sub-state championship against Mayfield Highs heated rival Victoria. The winner was on its way to the state championship. Mayfield High was trailing by four points with less than 5 seconds to go. Coach Frost was becoming very desperate, the powerful running game that had enabled the Mayfield Wildcats to ramble through the season was in trouble. Victoria was stacking eight men in the box and Mayfield could not find an answer to the situation. This is the moment when the legend was officially born.
In desperation Coach Frost looked up and down the sideline. He was looking for that future play-maker..NOW..His eyes transfixed on Steve Nichols. "Nichols get your ass over here!" Coach Frost yelled. "Yes sir!" Nichols yelled.."Get your ass in there and win this f#$king game for us! 23 slot right half-back pass! Go boy!" "Yes sir!" Nichols yelled as he sprinted on the field. Long story short, the last play of the biggest game in Mayfield High history was now in the hands of Steve Nichols.
Nichols makes his way to the huddle and tells the QB the play. The team lines up and the ball is snapped. Nichols was lined up in the slot position. His job on that play was to hold steady for a second or two then run like hell down-field. "Set! Hut! Hut!!" The ball is snapped. "This is your shot boy! Don't mess it up!" The thoughts going through his head as he was sprinting toward the end zone were almost to much to bare. As he was about to hit the 20 yard line, he was picked up by the Victoria safety. He looks up and sees the ball getting ready to be launched his way.."Get in the end zone. It's now or never." Anything short of a touchdown on this play and Mayfield loses. Nichols looked up just in time to spot the ball coming over his left shoulder. He had a half step on his opponent. "I got this!" Nichols said to himself as he laid out to make the catch. At first he thought that it was going to get away from him, but he stretched out with every fiber of his being, and all of a sudden he felt the cold sting of the football hitting his hands.
"Pull this sonuvabitch to your body! Control it! Pull it to your body!" Everything coach Frost had taught him about being a football player was going through his mind in that split second.."I got you!" Nichols said to himself as he was laid out. As he was about to go down, Nichols cradled the ball in the right side of his arm. It was all so surreal to him at the moment. He couldn't hear a thing. When he got up from the ground with the ball in his hand? He saw what looked like the whole town of Mayfield running down the field at him in celebration, he immediately looked up at the scoreboard to check the time. It read double zero.
Mayfield High went on to win the state title the following week. It was their first title in 25 years. Nichols scored a few more touchdowns in his Mayfield career, but all of those are forgotten. That's alright, the one he scored on that cold November Friday in Victoria was monumental! To this day, it's still considered the greatest play in Mayfield High history.
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