MIDDLEBURG - Kaleb Robison’s 43-yard field goal as the game clock expired lifted Middleburg to a 31-28 victory over visiting Bishop Kenny in an instant classic on October 20.

“It is awesome,” gushed Middleburg head coach Ryan Wolfe, who intimated a 2M-Bishop Kenny win as strong for the Broncos' playoff aspirations. “The game had so many ups and downs.”

In the same district playoff chase in district 3-3S, Orange Park got cranked by 4S-Ponte Vedra 35-0 to hamper their playoff hopes with an upcoming Middleburg vs. Orange Park game on Friday a possible season changer for both teams. For Orange Park, a Timothy Barfield interception in the first drive of the third quarter by Ponte Vedra was the highlight of the night.

In Middleburg, there were five lead changes in a tense game and neither team ever led by more than seven points.

Bronco Quarterback Jaydan Jenkins directed the game-winning drive, moving the Broncos 57 yards in seven plays in the final 1:15. Jenkins, who had misfired on his first six passes, connected on his final five, four of them on the final possession. The big plays along the march were a swing pass that Jarren Rosier turned into a 20-yard gain and an 11-yard out pattern to Braydan Street. The senior’s five-yard run allowed the Broncos to take their final timeout with the ball sitting on the 26-yard line with 2.5 seconds remaining.

“We have one of the best kickers in the country,” Wolfe said of Robison. “With the wind behind us, I knew that if we got within the 40-yard line, we would be okay.”

A sharp snap by Travis Antienowicz and a perfect hold by Joe Forte preceded Robison’s kick, which split the uprights with plenty of room to spare and triggered a rush of black-shirted Broncos onto the field to celebrate with their kicker.

Wolfe called running plays on the final two plays of the drive to ensure that there would be no time left after the field goal attempt.

“I did not want to give them the ball back,” he explained. “[Bishop Kenny] Coach Krause is a great playcaller. He and I have been through this before. Ten years ago, when Clay beat Bishop Kenny 74-73, I was the offensive coordinator for Clay and he was the offensive coordinator for Bishop Kenny. It was, ‘Whoever had the ball last would win,’ just like tonight.”

It appeared that the Broncos had clinched the game on a 17-yard fade route from Jenkins to Rosier— Jenkins’s first pass completion of the game— that gave the hosts a 28-21 lead with just 2:15 remaining. Rosier snared the high throw along the sideline despite blanket coverage by the Crusaders’ Julian Dewees, somehow managing to get a foot down in bounds. But Bishop Kenny’s James Resar stunned the home crowd with a 60-yard bomb to J.P. Donovan to tie the game at 28. Resar, an Iowa commitment, completed 14 of 21 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns, while Donovan led all receivers with six catches for 201 yards.

Both offenses were successful using up-tempo, no-huddle attacks in the first half. Jenkins capped a 38-yard drive on Middleburg’s first possession with a 26-yard run, giving the Broncos a 7-0 lead. The Crusader's defenders appeared to lose sight of Jenkins in a scrum in the middle before he burst out of it and sped to the end zone. Luke Wheeler’s fumble recovery set up the short field. After Bishop Kenny answered with a 12-yard scoring run by Caleb Mattison, the Broncos retook the lead on Jenkins’ second touchdown run of the quarter, a 20-yard scamper off of the right end.

Bishop Kenny dominated the second quarter, scoring on an 18-yard back shoulder throw from Resar to Kaleb Lampkins and on a one-yard plunge by linebacker/fullback Gunnar Rogers. The Crusaders led 21-14 at halftime.

Whether in an effort to rest its harried defense or to rest Jenkins, who tallied 34 carries on the night, Middleburg slowed its pace in the second half. The Broncos methodically marched 80 yards in 13 running plays to open the third quarter, taking 7:57 off of the clock.

Linebacker Austin Cruce entered the game at running back on a third down from the six-yard line and dragged several tacklers into the end zone to knot the game at 21.

Robison had a huge impact on the game as a punter, averaging 46.8 yards on four punts. The Broncos gained 37 yards of field position when the teams exchanged two punts each on three-and-out possessions spanning the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. Robison’s 54-yard blast set the Crusaders back to their 10-yard line and his next punt, a 41-yarder to the sideline, forced them to start their next drive at the two-yard line. Middleburg began its next possession at the Kenny 43-yard line and drove the short field for Rosier’s touchdown.

Jenkins had 203 yards rushing and accounted for 265 of the Broncos’ 311 total yards.

“This is the guy who has to touch the ball a lot,” Wolfe said of Jenkins, who moved from wide receiver to quarterback in week four. “He’s our guy, and our offense goes through him. A defense can take away a receiver, but you cannot take the ball out of the quarterback’s hands. Plus, quarterback runs add an extra hat [for blocking].”

Wolfe was also complimentary of Rosier, a 6’0” receiver whose role in the offense has risen dramatically in the last few weeks. Rosier finished with 51 yards on four receptions and ran for 18 yards on six rushes.

At 4-4 and with their remaining games at Orange Park on October 27 and at home against Fernandina Beach on November 3, the Broncos will be favored to win out. Both the Raiders and the Pirates are 3-5. While Middleburg will not win District 3-3S on account of its 17-6 loss to Lake City Columbia on October 13, the Broncos are positioned to earn an at-large spot in the playoffs. In addition to the four district champions, the next four highest-ranked teams according to MaxPreps.com in the region receive a playoff berth. Entering Friday’s game, Middleburg sat as the seventh-ranked team in the region, a ranking that should only improve with the win over the Crusaders.

“We are in pretty good shape,” said Wolfe. “What’s great about it is that our fate is in our hands. Our strength of schedule really helps us.”

Conner Subjinski was wide right on a 27-yard field goal attempt with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter for Bishop Kenny. The Crusaders, now 5-3, travel to Bolles on October 27 in a battle for the District 2-2M championship