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The NFL has gifted fans with plenty of drama over the years. From Joe Montana's hookup with Dwight Clark to bag the 1981 NFC Championship to Tom Brady's 25-point comeback in Super Bowl LI. Entertainment has always been the backbone of the NFL.
However, every so often, spectacular football games played on smaller stages slip under the radar of even the most ardent fans. As was the case with the quarterfinals of the 1994 Texas State Championship between Plano East and John Tyler High School.
While not played on a professional stage, the game held significance for both teams. It was a battle between two undefeated juggernauts in the limelight of Texas football.
"Even 20 years later, that's still the greatest game and the greatest ending I've ever seen in my life in football," said Plano East's '94 starting quarterback Jeff Whitley (via Bleacher Report).
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With commentators Eddy Clinton and Denny Garver calling the game, Texas didn't know what it was about to witness on that night of Nov. 26, 1994.
Plano East hardly hangs on after three quarters
Plano East head coach Scott Phillips brought his team into a game where they were completely outgunned in the open field. John Tyler High School sported an array of speedsters both on offense and defense.
Coach Phillips and co. had a hard time containing the track team on John Tyler's offense. Given how John Tyler High's offense ran rampant on Plano's defense, it was impressive that Phillips' team was still in it deep into the fourth quarter at Texas Stadium.
With 04:45 left in the game and John Tyler leading 27-17, Plano East was on the opposition's nine-yard line, set to score. But a vivid pass rush saw quarterback Jeff Whitley stripped of the ball, and the defense took it 90 yards the other way for a score.
With the scoreboard at 34-17, a lot of Plano fans started leaving the stadium, according to Coach Phillips. Then on the very next drive, John Tyler's David Warner strip sacked Whitley on Plano East's 36, resulting in another painful defensive touchdown. Interestingly, Warner ended up playing defense for Florida State after high school.
Buried at 41-17 with 03:03 left in the fourth, Jeff Whitley and an off-pace Plano offense had all of the odds stacked against them.
Three minutes more glorious than an NFL Super Bowl
Dead in the water by any football standard, Scott Phillips hopelessly looked on as his undefeated team seemed to have fallen spectacularly in the quarterfinals. But as commentators Eddy Clinton and Denny Garver reflected on Plano East's commendable campaign, running back Kevin Court broke the trenches. He streaked deep into the secondary for a 45-yard run.
The very next play saw Jeff Whitley hit wideout Terence Green on a post route for a 25-yard touchdown. Suddenly there was a spark with 02:30 left in the game.
Missing the 2pt. conversion, the score was 41-23 as Green (also the kicker) lined up an onside kick. Lo and behold, oddly enough, Plano East recovered the rolling kick.
Soon after, Jeff Whitley hit tight end Jonathan Braddick on a short throw, making the score 41-31 with a successful 2pt. conversion. The game was suddenly alive against all probability, as Green again lined up an onside kick.
Plano again remarkably claimed the kick, with John Tyler's sideline growing all the more nervous. Having been outplayed all game long, Jeff Whitley's offense indeed caught fire there on their own 45.
A screen pass from Whitley over the middle to Green saw the wideout weave through John Tyler's defense all the way down to the 11-yard line.
"I felt like Superman," said Terence Green.
Fueled by Green's highlight-reel run, Whitley hit Jonathan Braddick again, and although they missed on the two-pointer, Texas was on the edge of its seat. The score was 41-37 John Tyler High.
The odds of a third onside kick
Not a lot of teams, let alone NFL teams, can say they've successfully claimed two onside kicks in a game. But not only did Plano East do just that, they stunningly bagged a third onside kick on Nov. 26, 1994.
Shortly after, Jeff Whitley and his comeback force found themselves on John Tyler's 23 with 31 seconds remaining in that quarterfinal. The quarterback dropped back to pass, and while the defense desperately scrambled to cover the end zone, no one saw the running back leaking out the backfield.
Whitley, with the hottest arm in the state at that point, hit his running back on a dime down the rail and the back raced to the greatest football comeback the world has ever seen.
"I've never seen a crowd go that crazy," said Whitley.
As surreal as it was, the scoreboard read 44-41 to Plano East after the kick.
We could do no wrong, until the last kickoff: Scott Phillips
With Texas Stadium going wild, NFL-level celebrations took off all around. But coach Scott Phillips made a claim years later that would prove timeless, as he said:
"We could do no wrong ... until the last kickoff."
Disaster struck with 24 seconds left in the game when Terence Green kicked off again.
His kick went high and deep, and it was fielded on John Tyler's three-yard line. However, instead of being halted at around the 20, the returner broke left and split Plano's defense in devastating fashion.
The cut left spectators speechless as the kickoff was returned 97 yards down the rail to put a nail in the coffin of the greatest comeback football has ever seen.
That night of Nov. 26 was a true testament to how one should never stop playing until the last whistle. While Jeff Whitley and his teammates went their separate ways in life after high school, they'll always be joined together by that fateful night in 1994.
