If that was a catch, I’m Jim Murray
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OK, I just caught the end of the 31-31 tie between San Clemente and Mission Viejo on Cox Cable Channel 3, and I must say that I’ve never seen anything quite like that.
The 39-yard field goal by Nathan Casey as time expired? Seen that a dozen times.
The comeback from 10 points down in the fourth quarter? Been there, done that.
But I’ve never seen a ball fall so far to the ground and be ruled a reception. Ever!
Warren Reuland’s ‘catch’ that pulled Mission Viejo to within three points was the most egregious example I have ever seen of an incomplete pass being ruled a catch. Most times, balls are trapped, skidding off the turf as it arrives to the receiver. This time, the ball hit the turf three feet away. It was a basketball dribble as Reuland then fell on top of it.
If you do get a chance to view for yourself (it was a great game, by the way), watch when Reuland holds up the ball to convince the official: it slips out of his hand as he raises it, which probably should have been a red flag that just maybe there was a control issue. Hopefully the play will show up on YouTube in the next day or two so everyone outside of San Clemente can enjoy it.
‘It was ruled a catch on the field,’ Reuland told The Register. ‘I’m not saying I dropped it, but the refs called it a touchdown. That’s all that matters.’
Actually, he never dropped it because he never had it. It was so bad it was laughable, but the truly unfortunate part of this -- the part being lost on the ideal that you want to win knowing that you didn’t get away with one -- is that it taints Mission Viejo’s comeback.
There’s no guarantee that Mission Viejo wasn’t going to score, but it might very well have taken enough time off the clock that the Diablos wouldn’t have been able to set up for Casey’s game-tying field goal with 0:00.5 left on the clock. That’s right, a half-second.
About the time it takes for an official to blink, apparently.
- Martin Henderson