Fullerton hauls in Little’s TD pass to complete game-winning drive as Hornets pull off upset

GREENFIELD, Ill. — There was no way Tyce Fullerton was dropping this pass, not with what was at stake.

Fullerton hauled in what turned out to be the game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass from Brown County quarterback Vince Little with three minutes left in the Hornets’ 18-16 upset of fifth-seeded Greenfield-Northwestern in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs at Fleur de Lis Field.

“I knew he was going to catch it,” said Hornets coach Tom Little, whose team will face Casey Westfield at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday in a second-round game at the Brown County field. “We’ve seen Tyce drop some balls in practice, but he doesn’t seem to drop anything in the games. He’s made some great one-handed catches and things like that, so I knew if it was close, that’s the guy we wanted to get the ball.”

Fullerton delayed his corner route just enough to find open space in the Tigers’ defense, and Vince Little delivered the ball on the money to Fullerton.

“I knew their linebacker or defensive end was going to jump me, so I tried to act like it was a run and delay it,” Fullerton said. “I had to try to get him off me. Vince made a heck of a throw. He was about a hand away from it getting deflected, but I was able to catch it. If it didn’t get deflected, I knew I had it.”

When Vince Little saw the Tigers’ coverage before the play, he had a feeling something special was about to happen.

“They were in Cover 3, so I knew I was going to have a zone to throw that corner,” Vince Little said. “I just had to get away from the line so the defensive line couldn’t tackle me, and I knew Tyce would be there, so I just gave him a chance and he made a play.”

Matt Boylen ran a hitch route on the same side of the field, and he thought the ball was coming to him. He was satisfied just as well that Fullerton caught it 10 yards behind him in the end zone, though.

“Usually the hitch is there, and it was, but I looked and saw Vince throw it back there to Tyce and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s perfect,’” Boylen said. “I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that he was going to catch it.”

Fullerton’s touchdown was made possible by two fourth-down conversions on the Hornets’ 13-play, 73-yard drive. 

The first of those conversions did not have a promising origin.

With the Hornets facing fourth and 6 from their own 41-yard line, the Hornets lined up in punt formation in an attempt to draw the Tigers offsides. When the Tigers didn’t bite, Brown County coach Tom Little called a timeout and sent the offense onto the field, but some of the Hornets’ offensive linemen didn’t hear the call to go for it.

“We did mess that one up,” Tom Little said. “We called the offense, but not everybody heard it. Luckily our kids were quick enough, ran in and got set up.”

Boylen was admittedly discombobulated.

“I get out the field, they call a screen to me, and we’re like, ‘Where’s our line? Half of our line is missing,’” said Boylen, who was lined up wide to the left.

When the offensive linemen sprinted onto the field and the Hornets got aligned, Little threw a screen pass to Boylen. The elusive Boylen broke a tackle and tiptoed the sideline for a game-saving first down.

Amidst the chaos and confusion before the play, Boylen didn’t even hear Vince Little’s cadence.

“I didn’t even really see them snapping the ball. I didn’t see anything,” Boylen said. “I literally lined up, looked at the official to make sure I was on the line, turned, the ball was there, and the next thing I knew I got a first down. That’s all I really remember.”

Tom Little never panicked.

“We felt like he was going to make that,” Tom Little said. “He’s so shifty that he can make people miss, so as long as he gets his hands on the ball, he’s going to be able to get those extra yards. He’s a fullback by trade, so we knew if somebody comes in to make the tackle, we know he’s got a good chance of breaking it.”

Five plays after Boylen’s catch and run, the Hornets found themselves in need of another fourth down conversion to keep the drive and their season alive. On fourth and 1 from the Tigers’ 25-yard line, Fullerton powered his way for a 16-yard run to set up his touchdown reception.

The Tigers got the ball back at their own 31-yard line with 2:55 to go. They converted a fourth-and-6 play when quarterback Talon Albrecht connected with Garrett Costello on an 11-yard completion to the Tigers 46-yard line.

Two incomplete passes and a sack by Kanye Mitchell later, the Tigers faced fourth and 11. Defensive back Carter Havens broke up Albrecht’s pass intended for Avery Lamb and dashing the Tigers’ hopes of a game-winning drive.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Do I cry? Do I go back to the sideline?’ I didn’t know what to do,” Boylen said. “I let a little tear drop, interacted with the crowd, gave all the coaches hugs. It was just a whole rush of emotion.”

With 41 seconds left, all Vince Little had to do was kneel down once, and the Hornets were on to the second round where they will face Casey-Westfield. Because Brown County played on the road in the first round, they will host the second-round game.

“To create camaraderie with your brothers, win a football game and bring it home to Brown County next week, that’s the best feeling in the world,” Boylen said.

The Hornets exacted two measures of revenge by beating the Tigers on Saturday. Brown County lost 6-0 to Greenfield-Northwestern at Fleur de Lis Field in Week One, and today marked five years to the day since the Hornets lost to the Tigers 22-21 in the first round of the 2019 playoffs. That game was decided on a holding penalty on the Hornets in their own end zone, which resulted in a safety and two points for the Tigers.

“It was a tough one,” Tom Little said. “It came up on my snapchat memories on the way here.”

Vince Little and Tyce Fullerton worked as ball boys for that game, so they remember it well.

“That one definitely hurt,” Vince Little said. “You can’t fix what happened then, but it makes me feel better that we got them this time.”

With their touchdown connection on Saturday, Fullerton and Little helped erase the bitter taste that game left in the Hornets’ mouths.

“That was on my mind,” Fullerton said. “I knew we had to get this one for those guys, and we did, so hopefully they’re proud of this one.”