Rarely is a punt the biggest play of a football game, but Brandon Davis’ 33-yard punt with seven minutes remaining in tonight’s game at Dr. M.E. Thompson Field may have been just that.

With Coalfield and Oneida mired in a defensive battle on a slippery field, the Yellow Jackets chose to punt midway through the fourth quarter rather than go for a first down from the Oneida 34-yard-line. The result was Davis’ punt being downed at the Indians’ one-yard-line, helping the ‘Jackets flip the all-important field position. Minutes later, Davis would score a touchdown from one yard out, allowing Coalfield to escape with a 7-0 win and its fifth consecutive victory in Region 2-A’s biggest rivalry.

Davis finished with 148 yards on 29 carries. The Indians’ defense, however, was able to keep the all-state-caliber back in check after a 44-yard run by Davis on the second play from scrimmage, and forced three turnovers.

“We couldn’t have played with more effort,” Coach Jim Burchfield said following the game. “There were some breakdowns here and there, but it was not due to lack of effort. Coalfield has a good ball team. They’re not ranked sixth in the state for nothing. They played so hard and they have a lot of talent. We, for the most part, were able to handle them.”

Oneida, meanwhile, was limited to 98 yards of total offense by an equally hard-nosed defensive effort by Coalfield. The Indians best opportunity to score came late in the third quarter, when Sam Hughett recovered a Davis fumble at the ‘Jackets’ nine-yard-line. But three plays netted no yards for the Indians, and a 32-yard field goal attempt just missed to the right.

After some initial success on the ground in the first half, Oneida was limited to just 28 yards in the second half.

“They started stacking it up on us,” Burchfield said. “No excuses, but on a dry night, when they start stacking the box so bad, that gives us more chances to throw the ball. Tonight, it was hard for the quarterback to come away from center and throw the ball.”

The Yellow Jackets started the game with the ball and immediately found themselves in Oneida territory after a 44-yard run by Davis advanced the ball to the Oneida 26-yard-line. There, the Indians’ defense stiffened. On fourth-and-long, however, quarterback Johnny Hill completed a 10-yard pass for a first down at the Indians’ 13-yard-line.

Again, Oneida’s defense stiffened, and on third-and-six, a Davis fumble was scooped up by Zach Lambert, who appeared to be headed for the opposite endzone before he lost his footing on the wet field.

Still, Oneida had possession at the ‘Jackets’ 27-yard-line, and wasted little time in entering Coalfield territory after two carries by Adam Jeffers, who led Oneida with 47 yards rushing on 16 carries, and a personal foul penalty against Coalfield.

There the drive stalled, but a 39-yard punt by Lambert pinned Coalfield at its five-yard-line.

The two teams exchanged punts for the remainder of the first quarter, before Oneida got an opportunity to advance the ball early in the second period.

After a 52-yard punt by Coalfield was downed at the Indians’ 18-yard line, Coty Younce completed a 22-yard pass to Brad Christiansen to give the Indians one of the game’s 11 first downs. But the Indians would fail to pick up another first down on the drive, and a punt gave the Yellow Jackets possession at their own 23-yard-line.

After a 15-yard run by Davis and a pass interference penalty against Oneida, Coalfield marched the ball inside the Indians’ 25-yard-line. There, Oneida’s defense again stiffened, forcing the ball over on downs at the 17-yard-line with 2:50 remaining in the half. Oneida would pick up one additional first down before the intermission.

The Indians began the second half with possession at their own 26-yard-line, and put together a pair of first downs behind running by Jeffers, Torrey Slaven and Jonathan Lewallen to advance the ball into Coalfield territory. But the drive ended when William Armes recovered an Oneida fumble at the ‘Jackets’ 45-yard-line.

One play later, Allen Hughett fell on another Davis fumble at the Indians’ 34-yard-line to give possession back to Oneida.

After an exchange of punts, the Indians backed Coalfield up to the 22-yard-line with a 41-yard punt by Lambert. Two false start penalties against the Yellow Jackets moved the ball back to the 12-yard-line, where disaster appeared to strike when a Davis fumble was recovered by Sam Hughett at the nine-yard-line with 1:38 remaining in the quarter.

But Oneida failed to move the football, and a 32-yard field goal attempt was wide right, leaving the game in a scoreless tie.

After picking up one first down, Coalfield backed Oneida up to its own 18-yard-line with a 49-yard punt. Although the Yellow Jackets were not scoring points, field position was beginning to swing in their favor.

A three-and-out by Oneida resulted in a short punt that was returned to the Indians’ 35-yard-line by Coalfield with 8:50 remaining. A three-and-out left Coalfield with an option: Attempt a fourth-down play from the 32-yard-line, or punt the ball. The ‘Jackets chose the latter, and the decision paid off when Davis’ punt was downed at the Indians’ one-yard-line.

Three plays later, Christiansen punted the ball out of his own endzone, and Coalfield returned the punt from the 45-yard-line to the 34-yard-line, its best starting position of the night.

A pair of runs set up a first-and-goal at the 10-yard-line. Two plays later, Davis crossed the goal line by mere inches on third down to score the winning touchdown for the Yellow Jackets.

Oneida’s last attempt ended on a three-and-out and punt by the Indians. On third-and-four for Coalfield, an 11-yard run by Davis gave the Yellow Jackets a first down and allowed them to run out the clock on the region win.