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Of course, in McMinnville, Ore., they call this play the Mishap in the Mud, and the sting continued at least until Linfield won the 2004 national title.
On this day, in the second round of the 2000 playoffs, Central and Linfield had gone to overtime.
Linfield had taken a 17-14 lead to open the overtime session on Scott Cannon's 34-yard field goal when Central took its turn on offense from the 25. Halted on its first three downs by the Wildcat defense, Dutch kicker Tim O'Neil lined up for a game-tying field goal. O'Neil's kick dribbled into the line and the game appeared over as the crowd of 2,500 began to celebrate. But Evans alertly grabbed the ball after a momentary delay, handed it to Ritzert who carried it 20 yards into the end zone. The officials, who signaled a touchdown, huddled for two minutes before declaring that the play would stand as called.