Syracuse • It was only the first game of Week 2 of the prep football season, but you might end up going the rest of the year without having a comeback more improbable than the one Syracuse pulled Thursday.
And how it happened, with a Titans sophomore stealing the show, was even more unlikely.
Syracuse defeated Jordan 24-21 with the go-ahead touchdown taking place on a field-goal attempt by the visiting Beetdiggers.
Jordan tried to seal the win by attempting a pass from the field-goal formation with the holder throwing to the kicker out on the flank.
But in the way was sophomore Ty Burke, who grabbed the interception then rambled 79 yards for pay dirt with 2 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the game.
“To be honest with you, I lined up in the wrong spot. They snapped the ball and the kicker took off,” said Burke, who added that he didn’t know where he was supposed to be on the play defensively. “The kicker came at me, and I said, ‘Oh, here it comes.’ It went right to my hands and I started running right after that.”
SYRACUSE 24, JORDAN 21 <br>• Syracuse sophomore Ty Burke scores on a 77-yard touchdown run, catches a 32-yard scoring pass and take back an interception 79 yard for another TD. <br>• Burke also snags the game-clinching interception with 1:30 left in the game to stop Jordan's final drive. <br>• The visiting Beetdiggers get 252 yards passing and 104 yards rushing from senior quarterback Crew Wakley.
That play capped a Syracuse (1-1) comeback from a 21-10 deficit after Jordan (1-1) scored on a 1-yard run by Jake Shaver with 11:52 remaining.
The Beetdiggers, held scoreless in the first half, got two touchdown runs by senior quarterback Crew Wakley, including a 66-yard romp in the third quarter.
Burke also scored on a 77-yard jaunt in the third quarter, his first touch of the ballgame.
The field-goal-fake pick six turned out to the fourth time he got his hands on the ball.
“We definitely take responsibility for that. We just wanted to get that comfortable lead,” Jordan coach Kaleo Teriipaia said about the 31-yard field-goal attempt. “We practiced that, but it was never a tight spiral. It was a loft.
“If I can get my offense and defense to click at the same time, we’ll be unstoppable. We just need to click on all cylinders.”
By the way, Burke’s third touch of the game was a 32-yard touchdown pass from Ty Metcalfe with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter. That was on a fourth-and-24 play that felt like a last-gasp for the Titans, and made the score 21-17.
And Burke finally got the clincher when he intercepted Wakley with 1:30 left to play and gave the Titans the ball at their own 38.
“To be honest, it wasn’t looking very good,” Syracuse coach Mike Knight said. “We knew [Burke] was going to be a special kid for us, and he has been.
“He’s our kid. He’s a Titan kid, and that’s what we love about him.”