It was a play eerily reminiscent of Mike Jones goal line tackle of Kevin Dyson as time expired in Super Bowl XXXIV…A stop that helped the St. Louis Rams hold on to beat the Tennessee Titans in one of the wildest finishes in NFL postseason history. Friday night, six years and six-hundred miles removed from that historic day in the Georgia Dome, a high school classic of pivotal consequence was brewing in Fairmont. With exactly 2.6 seconds showing on the clock in one of the most highly anticipated East-West games ever played, Fairmont Senior was clinging to a 35-28 lead but East Fairmont was threatening with a 4th down from the West side 15-yard line. When Zach Boone of the Bees’ hauled in a Carter DeVault pass downfield the buzzer sounded. Every soul at East-West Stadium inhaled in unison and for the first time in two hours – if only for a few seconds – the countless small clouds of breath dotting the cold November air were suspended. The eyes of Marion County were riveted to the five-yard line where Boone came down with the ball and turned directly upfield with visions of the endzone and a tie game dancing in his head…But Kyle Allard had other plans. The West side standout closed like a hawk on Boone and wrestled him to the ground just short of the goal line to secure the win.

It’s strange how this game works out sometimes, and it’s always entertaining to witness the Gridiron Gods exercising their considerable sense of irony as they did Friday night in Fairmont. It was a game that saw Allard vault to the top of the heap (in our opinion) in the Kennedy Award race by accounting for nearly 350 yards of offense (297 passing, 52 rushing) and five touchdowns. It was a game in which the Polar Bear field general showed true grit by leading his squad on a winning drive in the final minutes that culminated with a 42 yard scoring strike that gave FSHS the lead for good. Yet for all of the offensive antics not only Friday night but throughout the 2006 regular season that have made Kyle Allard a household name in West Virginia prep football circles, it wasn’t a TD pass or a high light reel run that folks will remember most from him…It was a tackle. A great tackle in an even greater game.

For his outstanding performance in Fairmont Senior’s epic victory over East Fairmont, Kyle Allard is THEGAMEBREAKER.NET’s Player of the Week for week eleven, marking the third time this year that Allard has claimed the honor.