Antioch had its hands full with the Pirates, who came into the contest 7-2 and battling for their playoff lives. Pittsburg took an early 7-0 lead on a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kraig Pifer to Justin Britton in the second quarter, then extended that lead to 14 on a 55-yard touchdown run by junior running back Pierre Mitchell less than two minutes into the third quarter.
The Panthers came roaring back in the closing seconds of the quarter, however, as Nick Culcasi bowled through the Pittsburg line to block Joe Lewis' punt, which Mike Nelson recovered at the Pirates' 25-yard line and returned for Antioch's first score of the game.
Antioch tied the game on its next possession when junior running back Tim Thomas found a hole in the left side of the line and exploded through it for a 65-yard touchdown run.
With the score tied at 14 apiece to end regulation, the rivals headed into overtime, each team running a series starting at the opposing 10-yard line.
Pittsburg scored on a 9-yard pass from Pifer to wide receiver Kevin Bowler on its attempt, and Antioch answered right back with a 6-yard pass from backup quarterback Robert Barton to a diving Dylan Zimmerman to once again knot the score at 21.
After Barton scored on a quarterback keeper from the 1-inch line on fourth down, head coach Frank Beede called for his team to attempt the 2-point conversion - a failed run attempt by Josh Garibay.
However, senior Richard Carter made that extra point attempt irrelevant, forcing Pifer to cough the ball up on Pittsburg's first play of the second overtime. Teammates Bryan McQueen and Zach Gonzales pounced on the loose ball to secure the win.
"It was scary," Beede said of the failed two-point conversion attempt. "It was my call to go for it and I thought that we had a decent shot at it. My defense saved me when they forced that fumble to end the game."
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