To cap a sensational Saturday afternoon, Poly quarterback Troy Brown Jr. knew that he would need to find something extra in the final minute of the Engineers’ storied rivalry game against City.
The go-ahead score was one challenging yard away when the senior rolled out to his left, broke one tackle and dragged another Knight into the end zone.
There were 41 seconds left before Poly could officially put to rest its 12-game regular-season losing streak to City in the 136th edition of the longstanding series. It turned out even more when the Knights got one final play after a pass interference call spotted the ball around midfield with no time left on the clock.
But the Engineers’ defense stood firm and, soon after, complete jubilation on the Poly side took over Morgan State’s Hughes Stadium. The scoreboard read: Poly 41, City 36. It’s the Engineers’ first win in the series since 2011.
“It’s amazing. Being able to do this, end this streak, execute everything we had to do. We prepared hard all week and we were ready,” said Brown, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores to be named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “It’s a good feeling, backing everybody up that couldn’t quite do it before. This year, we got the job done.”
Last year, City won its 12th straight in the regular season over its biggest rival, 40-0. (City also secured a win over Poly in the 2021 Class 3A state playoffs.) At the start of Saturday’s game, the Knights looked like they would pick up where they left off.
The defense got an immediate stop and then the offense needed just three plays to go 48 yards with running back Brandon Rattet scoring from 7 yards out and then running in the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 advantage two minutes into the game.
But the Engineers immediately showed that they weren’t going to back down when Keyon Rice ran back the ensuing kickoff 86 yards to make it 8-7.
It was the start of a superb game for Rice, who had five receptions for 89 yards and a score and also completed two passes on pivotal trick plays for 75 more yards.
The teams exchanged leads seven times in one of the rivalry’s most epic games — the electric play from Brown and Rice countered by the Engineers’ grinding running game led by Rattet, Rahniah Smith and Qamar Loise-Baker.
City had a 30-28 lead entering the fourth quarter after Smith completed a 14-play drive with a 1-yard plunge with 1:21 left in the third quarter.
After the Engineers’ defense came up with a key stop early in the fourth quarter, the offense went 71 yards to take a 34-30 lead with 5:30 to play. Brown scrambled 27 yards on third down and Rice threw to Mehkai Robinson for a 37-yard gain to set up Brown’s first rushing touchdown from 1 yard out.
The Knights’ running game gave them the lead back. Rattet accounted for 33 yards before Loise Baker scampered 27 yards to make it 36-34 with 2:15 to play.
Poly’s 65-yard game-winning drive in 1:34 featured runs of 7 and 12 yards from Haize Collins and Rice finding Angelo Bond for a 38-yard catch before Brown’s determined 1-yard run.
“Man, this is incredible. We told them before the game, it had to be one play at a time,” Poly coach Jamaal Johnson said. “Troy is incredible. A lot of people doubt him because of his size, but he’s got a big heart and he played like a giant today.”
After the handshake line, the Engineers ran to their cheering section before heading back onto the field, all closely gathered in pure joy with the trophy right in the mix. The win puts the Engineers at 5-3 this season, strides ahead of last year’s 3-7 record that included the lopsided loss to the Knights.
What has been the big difference?
“The whole atmosphere changed this year,” said Brown, a two-year starter. “The coaches provide us with everything we need and we’re coming in ready to play.”
City, now 4-5 this season, now leads the all-time series 67-63-6. But six-year coach Rodney Joyner, who lost the big game for the first time, couldn’t help but appreciate the quality of the competition on a picture-perfect Saturday at Morgan.
“This is what it’s all about, right? Back and forth, nobody had a big lead and it was a fight to the end,” he said. “So you can’t be all upset. Sure, you’re upset that you lost, but this is what the rivalry is all about. I’m not mad at this. I’m happy for them that they finally broke the streak, but we’re going to get it back next year.”
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