PORTLAND – There’s no shortage of motivational movie fare for high school football teams on the eve of a state championship game. “Rudy” and “Remember the Titans” are old stand-bys. “Miracle” or “Hoosiers” will work nicely if a coach elects to veer away from the football genre.
At Lisbon, however, nobody needs to go to the video store. Whenever the Greyhounds require a pick-me-up prior to the biggest game of their lives, their coaches keep the entertainment in the family.
It’s a grainy videotape of the 1997 Class C championship game, played between 6-inch-deep piles of plowed snow at Lawrence High School in Fairfield.
Even the director’s cut is scratchy, with enough shaking of the camera to make most viewers dizzy. It’s overdubbed with retroactive commentary by local television personality and former Lisbon football player Norm Karkos.
“They set up the winning touchdown with a goal-line stand,” said senior receiver and defensive back Nick Adams. “We knew we might have a chance to make one of our own.”
Indeed, the number of inspirational selections for future Lisbon pre-game parties has doubled. “The Drive,” which chronicles Lisbon’s 96-yard march to the end zone in the ’97 final, is so outdated, so VHS.
For the DVD generation, Lisbon presents “The Stand,” a 90-second docudrama starring Levi Ervin, Nick Adams, Nick Harmon and Dan Willis.
Backed by a senior-laden cast, those four stuffed Foxcroft on four plays inside the 5-yard line to secure a 12-7 triumph and Lisbon’s ninth state championship in school history.
“We were down (7-6) at halftime, worked so hard to get the lead, and there we were with our backs to the goal line,” said standout running back and safety Levi Ervin. “That was all heart. All heart. I think Foxcroft is a hell of a team. This was just our day.”
Be warned, aspiring Greyhounds: The movie you might someday watch should be rated PG’ for realistic drama, if not the adult language that was being muttered under Lisbon’s collective breath after four consecutive pass plays of 8, 12, 34 and 12 yards pushed the Ponies to the brink of their second title in three years.
Once the officials tacked on a roughing-the-passer penalty and James McPhee fell forward for a 2-yard gain, it was second-and-goal from the 2.
Lisbon called timeout with 53 seconds left.
“I told them either (Foxcroft) was two yards away from a state championship,” said Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan, “or we were.”
Ervin and Adams filled a hole at left tackle to stifle Joey Caparrelli on second down. Harmon decked McPhee as quickly as Logan Forrest handed him the ball for a 2-yard loss on third down, and Willis batted down Forrest’s last-ditch toss to the end zone with 13 seconds remaining.
Beginning next year, Mynahan can leave “Rocky” on the rack. As long as he remembers to bring the popcorn and Kleenex.
“My tears,” said 280-pound supporting actor Elijah Trefts, “are all I have to say.”
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