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Catholic Memorial wins Team Of The Week honors

Posted at 6:36 PM, Nov 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-03 19:37:41-04

The Crusaders pulled off an epic comeback against Wisconsin Lutheran topped off by a 51-yard field goal. Good enough to earn them our Team of the Week.

Catholic Memorial hasn't lost a game all season and they sure weren't going to lose in level two of the playoffs even if that meant their kicker Eric Fridl had to hit a 51-yard field goal with one second left.

“Right when I kicked it, I knew I caught it real flush,” Fridl described of the memorable kick. "I was confident that it was going in and I knew it right away… I saw it go through and I just kind of took off running. I really didn't know where I was running, but I ran towards the student section and then turned around and my whole team was chasing me, so I kind of just saw the first guy and jumped into his arms and then a dog pile started… I would say that was just about the most exciting feeling ever. I mean everyone always dreams about something and I've always dreamed about that opportunity."

“Seeing him make that field goal, I mean a 51-yarder, is not short, so that's a heck of a kick,” said best friend and teammate Max Cooper.

And if a 51-yarder isn't big enough, the Crusaders came back from down 14 in the final five minutes.

Ben Nimz connected with Cooper for two touchdowns to tie it up and set up the game-winning field goal against Wisconsin Lutheran.

“Our team realized we have to score or we're going to be gone and we're not going to be practicing next week,” said the senior wide receiver. “So it really clicked in our heads that this could be the last game that we have for the rest of our season.”

It was a frantic finish but a win, and a memorable one at that.

“This is my 43rd year of coaching, and I’ve coached in 400 something games and we've had some big finishes over the years, but this goes down as the biggest ever,” said Head Coach Bill Young.

Congratulations, Crusaders on being named Today’s TMJ4 Football Frenzy Team of the Week!