His undefeated team was two minutes away from winning a provincial championship with a 17-point lead and Ray Moon still couldn't savour the moment.
"I was just paranoid that something could go wrong," laughed the longtime head coach of the South Delta Sun Devils. "I wanted to make sure our running back had both hands covering the ball. I guess there was a little sigh of relief in the last minute."
As it turned out, there wasn't much to worry about in a dominant season that led the Tsawwassen school to its second-ever provincial "AA" championship, capped by a 31-14 victory over the Mission Roadrunners on Saturday afternoon at B.C. Place Stadium.
Yes, there was some adversity, including three straight playoff games that saw the Sun Devils trailing at some point of the second half. In the end, there was just too much talent making too many big plays to falter en route to a 12-0 season.
"It's been pretty amazing," said two-way standout and team co-captain Rene Sencio who was named the final's top lineman.
"This is what we have been thinking about since last August. We were all on the same page with the same goal and we got it done."
The Sun Devils had their way with the defending champion Roadrunners for much of the afternoon but their lack of production in the red zone kept the outcome in doubt longer than it should have been.
Four times the Sun Devils were inside Mission's 15-yard-line in the opening half, yet they only had an 11-7 lead to show for it thanks to 15-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Menzies to Jeremy Gordon-Carmichael and a 25-yard John Longay field goal. Penalties pushed one drive out of scoring range while the time clock cost them another when David Mann was brought down on the seven-yard-line after a 57-yard catch and run play and the end zone couldn't be found in the two plays before the halftime whistle.
Mission then took a 14-11 lead in the third quarter on an impressive march that concluded with a one-yard sneak by quarterback Kevin Wiens. It was the Devils' turn to answer and they did just that on a 24-yard touchdown run by Menzies.
South Delta finally took control midway through the final quarter when the Roadrunners were forced to punt deep in their own end. Last second substitution Will Kraynyk came through untouched and blocked the kick, eventually recovering it for a touchdown.
The Devils forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff which was scooped by Ryan Marquardt. A few plays later, Shane Dagg hit paydirt from three-yard out and South Delta suddenly had a commanding 17-point lead.
"That play was a fluke," chuckled Moon of the block punt. "We had gone to a five man front with big Mitch (MacLeod, a 6foot-3, 315-pound lineman) in the middle. I knew he wouldn't help much in pressuring the kick so I turned and the first guy in front of me was Will.
"I told him to get in there for Mitch. All of a sudden their two guards opened up to the outside and the centre came wide open for Will to run through."
Mann's versatility, which he showcased all season, earned him the game's Most Outstanding Player Award. The next step in his football career will be weighing offers from various CIS schools as one of the province's top graduates.
"I'm so proud of everyone," he said. "We definitely wanted revenge having lost to them twice last year. We studied them a lot, knew our assignments and got it done today."
