Unity Christian’s Deemter “Tebows” Hamilton, holds for O-K Green win

Hamilton steadily marched down the field as seconds melted off the clock. Second and goal from the 1-yard line, 10.3 seconds on the clock, Hawkeye quarterback Nick Kronemeyer leaped over the pile of bodies for the touchdown to pull Hamilton within one.

There was never a question that Hamilton was going for two.

With the game on the line, Kronemeyer rolled right looking for a receiver.  He never found one.  His pass was broken up and Unity Christian held on for the 35-34 O-K Green victory, in one of the highlight games of the season.

Five minutes earlier, the game was tied, with Unity Christian threatening at the Hamilton 5-yard line.

An errant snap squirted past quarterback Lance Deemter.  The crowd screamed “fall on it” in unison, but Deemter reached down for the ball at full speed.  He smoothly scooped it up and sprinted out of the pocket.  Defenders closing in, Deemter jumped and heaved the ball high to the back corner of the endzone.  And as the ball landed neatly in running back Caleb Ellens’ hands, Unity Christian took a 7-point lead for the first time since they scored the game’s opening touchdown, less than one minute in.

“I was facing the other way going after the ball, and I knew when I turned around there would be people in my face,” said Deemter.  “But I was just trying to be an athlete.”

Call this athlete Tim Tebow.  Deemter, who finished with 161-yards and 2-touchdowns on the ground, along with 83-yards and another score through the air, is the reason college recruiters use the “Athlete” tag.  Lined up behind center, Deemter functions almost like a lead tailback in the Crusaders’ full house read offense.

It didn’t always look good for Unity Christian.  The first half belonged to Hamilton and wideout/linebacker Cody Buresh, and he managed to pack the entire half into only four snaps of the ball.  In four plays midway through the second quarter, Buresh caught a pass, tallied 53-yards, blocked a punt and put the ball in the endzone twice.  Hey, when you’re hot you’re hot.

Buresh is a compact missile on defense.  He has the ability to accelerate to full speed in a matter of about a foot.  So if he hits you, he hits hard.  The first half saw more crunching hits than points, and Buresh was often the one doing the hitting.

These teams were special

When your kick return unit gets you to the opponents’ side of the field more often than not as Unity Christian’s did thanks to returners Tyler Baum and Payton Ponstein, who combined for well over 100-yards returning, and when your kicker boots each kickoff into the endzone for a touchback, plus a couple of 24-yard field goals for good measure as Mike Stepanek did,somebody on that special teams coaching staff needs a pat on the back.  It’s tough to overestimate the impact that field position had on a game as close as this.

Killer action photos (including the dive) courtesy of Murray Photography.