In a game that was about as evenly matched as it could be, Trinity University's football team scored a game-winning touchdown on the final play to capture a 28-24 victory over Millsaps College. In a play that began on Trinity's 39 yard line with only 2 seconds remaining on the clock, seven different Trinity players touched the ball with a total of 15 laterals. The victory kept Trinity's SCAC title and playoff hopes alive for the 2007 season.
While it was Riley Curry (WR) who finally crossed the goal line 62 seconds after the play began, other players who handled the ball included Stephen Arnold (C), Blake Barmore (QB), Shawn Thompson (WR), Josh Hooten (G), Michael Tomlin (WR), and Brandon Maddux (TE). The audio call was done by Jonny Wiener (play-by-play) and Justin Thompson (color), also students at Trinity. Video camera by Bill Swint and computer recording/transmission by Bob Edwards assisted by Scott Baer.
Shortly after the game, ESPN heard about the miraculous play and requested a copy of the video. The PAWS broadcast team uploaded the video (with play-by-play audio) to ESPN and it appeared later that same evening on Sports Center. The incredible play has captured the attention of sports fans world-wide and has been hailed as the greatest football play in history. The story & video have attracted media attention from San Antonio newspaper and TV reporters, ABC, NBC, CNN, Yahoo! Sports, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, The New York Times, and hundreds of other media outlets.
In their December 24, 2007 issue, Trinity's "Miracle in Mississippi" play was chosen as Time Magazine's "#1 Top Sports Moment of 2007". To see the announcement as it appeared in print and a link to link to Time.com, Click Here.
On Monday, January 7, 2008, it was announced that ESPN.com voters had selected the "Miracle 15-Lateral Play" as the "Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Year" ... awarding a $100,000 scholarship donation from Pontiac to Trinity University's general scholarship fund. Click Here to see the announcement and a link to ESPN.com.
On Tuesday, July 1, 2008, the "Mississippi Miracle" 15-lateral play was nominated for the 2008 ESPY Award for "Best Play". On July 16th, the players, coaches, announcer, and webcast engineer attended the 2008 ESPY Awards show in Los Angeles. Though they didn't win the award, everyone had a great time meeting their favorite sports stars, from Jerry Rice to Chris Berman to Tim Tebo ... even Dr. J! When they returned to San Antonio, they were interviewed by a local TV station ... watch the interview here.
* TENTH ANNIVERSARY NOTES: *
many of the links below are obsolete, y'all.
ten years is a very long time on the Internet!
ENJOY!
updated 27 October 2017