EGELSTON TWP. – The Muskegon Catholic football team is beginning to make a habit of dramatic, last-second wins.

A week after topping Centerville 24-16 on a touchdown with six seconds left, the Crusaders stunned host Oakridge in a similar manner in a non-conference battle between two local football powers on Friday night.

Trailing 28-22 with 12 seconds remaining, and facing a fourth-and-goal from the Oakridge one-yard-line, MCC’s Joe Waller muscled his way into the end zone to tie the score. Waller found the end zone again on the two-point conversion run, lifting the Crusaders to a thrilling 30-28 win over the Eagles.

“Coming out (of the timeout) I knew I had to get it,” Waller said of the clutch TD. “I’ve got to lead by example as a senior. When they look to me for a win, I have to be there for them and show them what to do. That’s what I tried to do at the end of the game.”

Crusader coach Steve Czerwon said he’s proud of the resiliency that his team showed to rally for the win. He added that they changed the play call on fourth down to go to Waller following a timeout.

“We had a different play called, then they took a time out,” he said. “We saw the way they were aligned and we changed the play and went with Joe off tackle. We’ve got a lot of trust in him. He’s a four-year starter here at Catholic. A lot of trust, and he made the play when it counted.”

The winning touchdown drive covered 77 yards and about 2:30 of game time. The scoreboard was out of order, so the teams were informed of the remaining time by the referees after each play.

The TD was set up by a crucial blocked field goal attempt by the Crusader defense with 2:49 to play. Oakridge led by six and opted to try a field goal of about 30 yards on fourth-and-six. MCC got a good rush up the middle and blocked the kick, with Jaden Johnson getting a hand on the ball.

“No question, that was the key to the game,” Czerwon said. “If they make that field goal, all of a sudden it’s a nine-point game and you pretty much don’t have a chance at that point. A lot of credit for them coming through the middle and making the block.”

Oakridge coach Cary Harger said he didn’t have second thoughts on opting for the field goal attempt, because it would have put Oakridge up two scores if it worked, and the Eagles were facing a long fourth down.

“At that point, being up (six), you (try to) get the three points,” he said. “It was fourth-and-six, fourth-and-five, so we felt we were within good range to go after it.”

The Oakridge coach added that the game will serve as a good tune-up for the type of games his team will see in the playoffs.

“It’s a playoff atmosphere, that’s huge,” Harger said. “That mentality is huge the last two weeks to get us into that mentality, expecting the big games, expecting the pressure, expecting the crowds.”

Muskegon Catholic finished the regular season at 8-1 with a Lakes 8 championship. Oakridge will enter the playoffs at 7-2 as a co-champion of the West Michigan Conference. Both teams will find out their first round playoff matchups Sunday evening.

Oakridge got on the board first with a 15-yard touchdown run by quarterback Matt Danicek. The score put the Eagles up 7-0 with 6:01 left in the first quarter.

On the next play from scrimmage, MCC answered with a 65-yard TD run by Waller. Quarterback Elliot Riegler ran in the conversion to put the Crusaders up 8-7 with 5:41 left in the first.

The Crusaders extended the lead to 16-7 with 7:09 to play in the second quarter on a one-yard run by Riegler, with Waller scoring on the two-point try.

Oakridge got closer on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 17-yard TD by Corey Vanderputte. A blocked extra point left the score 16-13 in favor of MCC.

The Crusaders went three-and-out on the next drive and punted the ball. Oakridge took over at its own 10-yard-line with just 1:27 remaining in the half.

The Eagles then marched 90 yards in seven plays to score with just 10 seconds left on a trick play. Brenden Raymond took a handoff heading for the edge of the field before stopping and firing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Lorenzo Garcia. Vanderputte ran in the conversion, putting Oakridge up 21-16 at halftime.

The Eagles extended their lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. Danicek found Trever Jones on a screen pass, and Jones ran 37 yards for the score. The point after gave Oakridge a 28-16 lead with 9:21 to play in the quarter.

The Crusaders pulled within one score on a 31-yard touchdown run by Nick Powell early in the fourth to make it 28-22. Oakridge’s next drive took 14 plays and ran several minutes, but ended in the blocked field goal.

MCC took over at the 23-yard-line. Riegler completed a pair of passes and had three runs, one of which drew a 15-yard late hit penalty, to get MCC within the 10-yard-line. Oakridge stopped MCC at the one-yard-line on first, second and third down, but Waller’s TD on fourth propelled MCC to the win.

Waller led MCC with 101 yards on 11 carries. Riegler added 60 yards on 13 runs and completed 7 of 12 passes for 121 yards. Dane Rutz had four catches for 67 yards.

Sam Kartes led the Crusader defense with 10 tackles, followed by David Hill with 10.

Danicek ran for 95 yards on 13 carries and threw for 65 yards on 5-for-11 passing. Vanderputte finished with 93 yards on 19 rushes. Garcia had 55 yards on four catches.

Vanderputte led the Oakridge defense with six tackles.