LA CROSSE — As teammate Connor Groth hauled in the tying touchdown catch and reached the end zone with less that 1 minute remaining and the Ark of Victory on the line, Central High School junior Charlie Buxton had to get serious quickly.
An extra point was all that stood between him and the chance to hoist the Ark as a hero after growing up on the RiverHawks sideline.
Buxton watched exciting finishes in this series, but this was a chance to produce one at Swanson Field as the teams approached the conclusion of their 100th meeting on Saturday.
Central coach Mitch Olson tried to get a timeout but couldn’t, so the play went on as 56.3 seconds remained on the clock.
Junior Beckett Allert snapped the football to junior Gabe Servais, who got it down for his former partner as sideline ball boys for their school.
“I trusted my holder and my snapper, and it went straight up in the air,” Buxton said of the kick. “And then it went through (the goalposts).”
Buxton’s kick didn’t reach the clouds, but the ball drifted significantly high than the tip of the uprights. It hung in the air long enough for a very delayed reaction from fans as they watched it drop and then fall just a few feet behind the crossbar.
The Rangers (4-1 overall, 2-1 MVC) moved the ball across midfield in response, but Groth was there for the interception that iced the game.
Central 13, Logan 12 was the final score in an exciting contest from start to finish after being delayed a day due to lightning and rain on Friday night.
“It was middle, straight up, and I was just hoping it was long enough,” said Buxton, who pushed his only other attempt to the right. “I’m so thankful it went in.”
Buxton’s kick certainly wasn’t the sole reason for a Central (3-2, 3-0) victory on Saturday. The RiverHawks did many things well to become the first team this season to beat the Rangers and hold on to what is now a two-way tie with Holmen (5-0, 3-0) for the conference lead.
Consider the combination of quarterback Christian Rudrud and Groth, who combined eight times for 135 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which covered 34 and tied the game for a second time.
Don’t forget junior Wyatt Foley’s blocked extra point after Logan’s first touchdown for his second blocked kick in as many weeks.
And while Saturday was as much about Buxton as anything, it was also about the combination of Rudrud and Groth and exactly where Central is today in relation to when it was 0-2 after a 23-21 loss to Ellsworth.
Conference wins over Reedsburg, Baraboo and the Rangers have followed, and the RiverHawks find themselves tied with Holmen (5-0, 3-0) for first place going into Friday’s home game against Sparta (3-2, 1-2).
Rudrud spoke before the season about the rapport he has built with Groth as they’ve grown up. That paid off on both of Central’s scoring plays at Swanson Field on Saturday.
The first came on a throw to the front corner of the end zone to tie the score at 6 early in the second quarter. It was Groth’s second catch of what became a 135-yard day and covered 12 yards after a holding call wiped out a 2-yard touchdown run by Rudrud.
The second came when Groth ran down the left sideline and past the coverage of Tommy Check and Viktor Kravanja.
“It was a flood concept, and I just sat in a zone until I realized no one was deeper than,” said Groth, who also ended Logan’s final possession with an interception. “I went deep and went to make a play.”
Groth echoed Rurdrud’s story about the two working out together extensively in the offseason.
“Thousands of routes,” he said. “Thousands.
“We have a connection. On the first touchdown, that wasn’t even the play call. I read it, and we connected on it.”
The connection on the only extra point that was converted Saturday was a good one, too.
“Ten out of 10,” Groth said when asked to rate the kick. “He made it.”
Olson was certainly happy to see his RiverHwks break the tie, but the fashion in which the game was won wasn’t lost on him because it took him back to the days of having Buxton and Servais as helpers on the sideline rather than players on the field.
“I just saw a picture of those two kids holding the Ark when they were in fourth or fifth grade,” Olson said. “To see them hold it again today shows what the Ark means. I still remember that game. Greg Koehler caught a pass on a wheel route on the sideline right here, and we came back to beat Logan.
“I remember sitting up in the booth and losing my mind. It’s fitting that they got to recreate the photo.”
Buxton, who said he was a ball boy for the team from third through eighth grade, agreed partially with Groth’s assessment of the winning kick.
“I’d say it was a five, but a 10 for the moment,” he said. “It’s huge because (winning the Ark) is so special to everyone here.”
