Head coach Tom Langworthy’s crew scored three touchdowns in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, capped by senior Luis Diaz’s 33-yard pick-6 with 34 seconds remaining, to send Jamestown to a stunning, improbable 33-26 victory over the Legends in a Class AA showdown.

“It took every second of the clock, and it wasn’t looking good for a while,” Langworthy said postgame, “but I told our guys after the game that the lesson you can learn from this is you never quit. You never give up. You have to play a full 48 minutes. I was really proud of our guys … that they could really turn it on and make some plays.”

Any thought that Jamestown (2-1, 1-0) would leave Strider Field with a victory, however, appeared to be a pipe dream when the Legends (2-1, 1-1) — leading 26-13 — used a nearly eight-minute drive to set up a second-and-goal at the Red & Green 3-yard line with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

A touchdown appeared almost certain.

Jamestown’s Luis Diaz intercepts a Lancaster pass and returns it for the go-ahead touchdown late in the Red & Green’s 33-26 win over Lancaster on Friday at Strider Field in Jamestown P-J photo by Tim Frank

And, then?

It wasn’t.

Lancaster quarterback Matt King — who ran for two touchdowns and passed for another — was unable to pull in a high snap while in the shotgun formation and Jamestown freshman Alaric Richards scooped it up and returned it 55 yards to the Lancaster 30. Eight plays later, senior Chase Bonta, who finished with 158 yards on 34 carries and four touchdowns, bulled his way into the end zone from the 1 and senior Evan Maloney booted one of his three successful point-after kicks to cut the deficit to 26-20 with 1:44 left in the game.

The Legends recovered the Red & Green’s onsides kick, taking possession at their own 45. But three offensive plays netted minus-1 yard, forcing the visitors to punt.

Enter Jericho Thagard.

Fielding the ball on the bounce near the home sideline, the speedy senior sprinted all the way across the field and up the far sideline. He wasn’t brought down until he had scampered 79 yards to the Lancaster 1-yard line. Bonta scored on the next play to tie the game 26-all. With a chance to take the lead, however, Maloney’s PAT was wide right.

With only 53 seconds remaining, overtime seemed likely.

And, then?

It wasn’t.

After the ensuing kickoff, Lancaster had a first down at its own 34-yard line. On the first play, King looked to pass, but his throw was over the head of his intended receiver and the ball landed in the waiting arms of Diaz, who sprinted 33 yards to the end zone.

“I was right there,” he said. “Easy pickings.”

Added Langworthy: “If you’re going to go in a dark alley, you want (Diaz) with you. Actually, before that play, he was in pain, he was cramping. We actually thought about putting in another linebacker, but all of a sudden (we told him), ‘We need you out there,’ and the next play he intercepts and goes for a touchdown.”

Maloney’s extra-point try was good this time and Jamestown led — incredibly — 33-26 with 34 seconds left.

The comeback for the ages was complete.

“Not many teams beat them,” Langworthy said of the Legends. “(Last year) we lost a close game to them in the regular season and we lost a game (in the Section VI Class AA championship game) by seven points. … I thought this would be an emotional night and it’s certainly an emotional win. … It’s a great reminder. You have to finish.”

NOTES: Bonta’s other TD runs of 11 and 3 yards came in the second quarter. … Also in the second quarter, Lancaster’s Daniel Ahearn had a 2-yard touchdown plunge and King connected with Everett Fix on an 8-yard TD pass. Christian Schlesinger’s two successful PATs were the difference at halftime as the Legends took a 14-13 lead into the locker room. … Lancaster boosted its lead to 26-13 in the third quarter when King scored on runs of 15 and 2 yards. … Until last night, Jamestown hadn’t beaten the Legends since a 41-14 victory at Lancaster in Week Three of the 2014 season, which was the last time the Red & Green claimed a state title. … Richards finished with 69 yards rushing on 12 carries. … Defensively, Jamestown was led by Diaz (11 tackles), Bonta (10 tackles) and senior Asziah Watson (10 tackles). … The Red & Green is back in action a week from today when it travels to Orchard Park. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Lancaster 0 14 12 0 — 26

Jamestown 0 13 0 20 — 33

Jam–Bonta 11 run (Maloney kick)

Lan–Ahearn 2 run (Schlesinger kick)

Jam–Bonta 2 run (kick blocked)

Lan–Fix 8 pass from King (Schlesinger kick)

Lan–King 15 run (run failed)

Lan–King 2 run (kick failed)

Jam–Bonta 1 run (Maloney kick)

Jam–Bonta 1 run (kick failed)

Jam–Diaz 33 interception return (Maloney kick)