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In the first round of the 1978 Class 2A state playoffs, the Plainview Bears and the Bridgeport Tigers matched each other touchdown for touchdown in a classic. Ironically the game came down to a field goal as the Bears defeated the Tigers 30-28 to advance to the second round.           Bridgeport jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the fans had a chance to get comfortable in their seats. Brian Stewart raced 63 yards for a touchdown and the Tigers led with 10:43 left in the first quarter.           Following a Bridgeport fumble at their 32-yard line, the Bears took seven plays to tie the game on a 4-yard run by Keith Williams with 2:33 to go in the first. Plainview carried a 14-7 lead into halftime after Mickey Willingham ran 12 yards for the Bears second score with 6:35 left in the second period. The drive covered 34 yards and took only four plays.           Bridgeport tied the game on their first possession of the second half. Donald Lawson raced 31 yards for the score and Gerald Schrimsher booted the game-tying kick with 6:27 left in the third.           The Tigers fumbled again on their next possession and Plainview capitalized when Scott McFall ran four yards for the touchdown. The extra point attempt failed but the Bears led 20-14 with 1:47 remaining in the third quarter.           Bridgeport put together a 46-yard, seven-play drive to knot the game at 20-20. Brian Stewart got the score on a one-yard run but the extra point was blocked. Not to be outdone, the Bears came back to march 51 yards and scored on Mickey Willingham's 1-yard run with 3:54 left in the game. Plainview led 27-20 after the point after was good.           The Tigers roared back and marched  down the field in eight plays to take the lead on a Brian Stewart 18-yard pass to Gerald Schrimsher. The two-point pass play completed the comeback and the Tigers led 28-27 with just 1:22 remaining in the game.           Following the ensuing kickoff, the Bears put together a drive behind the running of McFall who had runs of 18 and 15 yards in the drive to get in field goal position at the Tiger's 16-yard line with 22 seconds left.           After one incomplete pass, the Bears set up for the game-winning field goal by Keith Williams. The 32-yard kick sailed true and the Bears could celebrate a hard-fought 30-28 victory over Bridgeport with just 15 seconds to play.           The playoff win was the first for Plainview in the school's history. They did lose to Hazlewood the next week but nothing could take away from the win over Bridgeport. Plainview .......................................   7   7   6 10 -30 Bridgeport .....................................   7   0   7 14 -28   Bridgeport - Brian Stewart 63-yard run (Gerald Schrimsher kick) 10:43 Plainview - Keith Williams 4-yard run (Williams kick) 2:33 Plainview - Mickey Willingham 12-yard run (Williams kick) 6:35 Bridgeport - Donald Lawson 31-yard run (Gerald Schrimsher kick) 6:27 Plainview - Scott McFall 4-yard run (kick failed) 1:47 Bridgeport - Brian Stewart 1-yard run (kick blocked) Plainview - Mickey Willingham 1-yard run (Williams kick) 3:54 Bridgeport - Brian Stewart 18-yard pass to Gerald Schrimsher (two-point pass good) 1:22 Plainview - Keith Williams 32-yard field goal 0:15
Plainview 1978 8/25 34 Section . . . . . . . . . . . 0 9/1 42 Sylvania . . . . . . . . . . 14 9/8 47 Ider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 9/15 10 Geraldine . . . . . . . . . 0 9/22 15 Crossville . . . . . . . . 0 9/29 17 Collinsville . . . . . . 6 10/6 14 Sardis . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 10/13 33 Valley Head . . . . . . . 6 10/20 39 Fyffe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 10/27 15 Douglas . . . . . . . . . . . 0 11/10 30 Bridgeport * . . . . . . 28 11/17 0 Hazlewood * . . . . . . . 23 296 11-1 115 * Playoff game	Bridgeport 1978 8/25 27 North Sand Mountain . . 13 9/1 21 Madison County . . . . . 12 9/8 25 Pisgah . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9/22 26 Marion County TN . . . 7 9/29 27 Section . . . . . . . . . . . 18 10/6 40 South Pittsburg TN . . 20 10/13 20 Whitwell TN . . . . . . . 23 10/20 14 Grundy County TN . . . 34 10/27 21 Bledsoe TN . . . . . . . . 27 11/3 14 Stevenson . . . . . . . . . 3 11/10 28 Plainview * . . . . . . . 30 263 7-4 195 * Playoff game

  The Memorable Games, a series on the important and memorable games in high school football history

David Parker
  AHSFHS.org
  dparker@ahsfhs.org

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