“I was trying not to think about it too much,” said Solano, who is an all-league soccer player for the Indians. “But it was in the back of my mind. I had done it so many times in practice before, I just had to do it again.”
The Indians (2-2), needed some late-game heroics to escape with the win.
Muir (0-4) scored late in the first quarter and held a 6-0 lead until late in the fourth quarter.
With 3:36 left in the game, Dalton Williams scored on an eight-yard run up the middle to tie the game at 6. However, Burroughs’ chance to take the lead evaporated when Solano’s extra-point attempt was blocked.
The turning point in the game came on the ensuing kickoff, when Muir’s Trayveion Yates was stripped of the ball. The fumble was recovered by the Indians’ Jonathan Serrano at the Muir 22-yard line.
The Indians were able to drive the ball to the Mustangs’ 5-yard line, but time was running out. Facing second and goal from the 5, Burroughs Coach Keith Knoop decided to let his kicker take a shot.
“We have complete confidence in Michael,” Knoop said. “He’s a very good kicker. He gets the ball up nicely, we just have to give him some protection.”
The Indians were kept in the game by a fine effort by their defense. When its offense sputtered, it was the defense that stepped up its game and kept Burroughs in it.
Burroughs was hampered by two interceptions and a passing game that yielded just 55 yards.
Both teams missed 40-yard field goals in the first half.
Dalton Williams gained 77 yards in 19 carries. .
