Stone Beckwith has had many memorable moments in his high school football career.
It’s hard to imagine if he’ll have a more memorable one than on opening day against Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
The Beal City senior caught a late-game Hail Mary pass on Friday to lead the Aggies past the defending state champions 28-27 in the season opener.
It was his third touchdown of the night. Beckwith also rushed for 129 yards and caught three passes for 110 yards and had a big day on defense. Sam Schafer, on fourth-and-20 at the Sacred Heart 30 with 33.7 seconds to play, tossed a pass that Beckwith brought in for the winning touchdown.
It’s a moment Beckwith won’t soon forget.
“I ran about 15 yards, turned around and our quarterback was rolling out,” Beckwith said. “I was backpedaling and he threw it up.”
When Beckwith hauled in the pigskin, it was time to celebrate.
“It was a big win for us,” Beckwith said. “Last year, we played our worst game of the season (against Sacred Heart).”
Aggie coach Lou Rau didn’t get the indication his team was ready to go until the second half.
“We were pretty inconsistent,” Rau said. “Fortunately we did wake up and were able to stay in it and come out on top at the end.”
But in the end, “the kids showed what they were made of,” Rau said. “They didn’t give up even when we were down by two scores. They kept coming back. We just hung around until the end and were able to make a big play with our big-play player.”
While Beckwith stole the show at the end, Rau noted that Ty Rollin also had a productive game with just under 100 yards rushing. Schafer threw for more than 100 yards.
The victory, Beckwith said, serves notice that the Aggies are capable of another huge season on the gridiron.