AUBURN, Ala. – What will they call it? “The Grand Stand,” or maybe “The Last Yard?” Or for the really dramatic, “The Near-Death Experience.”

Whatever they call it, that defensive series may be what the fans of Daphne football remember most about the 2010 6A state championship win over Hoover on Friday at Jordan-Hare Stadium on the Auburn University campus.

The Buccaneers, the defending Class 6A state champions, came within 20 yards of the Daphne Trojans' goal line three times and three times they failed to score.

On two earlier drives a Hoover score would have extended the Bucs' 6-0 lead which had lasted until early in the fourth quarter when a Daphne touchdown and extra point gave the Trojans the 7-6 lead. But the final and most crucial stand of the season came later with 75 seconds to go and 36 inches between heartbreak and heaven.

With just over a minute to play, The No.1 defense in the state stood face-to-face with the No. 1 offense, each side just three feet from going 15-0 or 14-1.

First-and-goal at the one, the Trojans said, “No,” – Eric Lee led the stop. Second and goal at the one, the Trojans said, “No,” Ryan Anderson led the stop. A penalty put the Bucs five yards back. Third and goal at the six and the Trojans said, “No,” again as Hoover quarterback Ryan Carter's pass was batted down at the line – Chris Hill on the swat.

But the Bucs were still within striking distance for kicker Larsen Real. Fourth and goal at the six and the Trojans said, “Yes, Yes, Yes” as the 22-yard field goal attempt hooked and missed and Daphne took over on downs, still needing a first down to preserve possession and the 7-6 lead.

On third-and-9 at the DHS 21 with 51 seconds left, junior tailback T.J. Yeldon burst through for a big gain, the first down and the Trojans ran out the clock for the 2010 title.

“What a remarkable stand by our defense,” said DHS coach Glenn Vickery. “We preach all of the time to never give up. Sometimes you preach it and the kids come through. I just can't be any prouder for this group of kids. They have fought all year and tonight you saw their intensity level. We knew we had to play well defensively. The key was our defense never quit. Defense kept us in it. Hoover is big up front (Defensively) and that challenged us on offense. We knew Hoover was so well balanced. We knew they were the kind of team that could throw several things at you offensively.”

Field position favored the Bucs early on and through most of the third quarter. But a long third-quarter Daphne drive deep into HHS territory turned the field-position advantage. The drive ended at the HHS six, but was followed by a sack and two tackles by DHS to force a Hoover punt from its own 5 for the first play of the final period.

Israel Lamprakes returned it for DHS to the Bucs' 33, but a procedure flag moved it back to the HHS 38. Then, after two conservative plays on third-and-2 at the 25, DHS quarterback Russ Mosley handed off to Tyrell Holloway who sprinted left off tackle for 24 yards to the Hoover one.

T.J. Yeldon then scored on a 1-yard slant behind the right side of the Daphne line to tie the game 6-6 with 10:57 to go. Brandon Roberts then kicked what would be the title-winning extra point to make it 7-6 Daphne.

After alternating possessions, the Bucs put their longest and most threatening drive of the night together – All the way to the Daphne 1 – where the Trojans made their final stand. In fact, it's more like the Daphne 19 since defensive coordinator Bart Sessions implemented a rotating corps and frequent-flyer substitution strategy.

Trojan senior linebacker Michael Pierce was named the game's Most Valuable Player and finished with 10 tackles to lead the defense.

Pierce, with a Most Valuable Smile as well, was happy to accept the award but valued the win more.

“It's a great feeling to be the MVP,” he said. “I was just praying for us to win. The win. That's all I wanted. But, I accept the MVP. I praise God and thank my teammates for everything. I couldn't have gotten it without them. Hoover's a great team and we knew it would be tough, but we got it done. Russ and them on the offense got it done, too. That's what it takes. Both sides, offense, defense.”

Though the Bucs penetrated the DHS red-zone three times, Hoover's only points came in the first quarter off a 47-yard play-action TD pass from Ryan Carter to Reginald Johnson. But the extra-point kick was wide right and Hoover had the lead 6-0.

Allowing Johnson to get behind them was the only obvious mistake the Daphne defenders made all night. After 14 games, the Trojans were averaging 9.5 points per game while the Bucs were holding opponents to no more than 10.1.

“Other than a couple of busted coverages and a couple of missed tackles, we did really well to hold them down to only six points,” Pierce said.

Yeldon led in rushing with 49 yards on 13 carries and Holloway added 36 yards on 13 carries. Mosley was 17-of-28 passing for 187 yards but threw three interceptions. Lamprakes had four receptions for 66 yards, Justin Jackson two for 48, Yeldon caught five for 42, Johnathan McGaster two for 18 and Holloway four for 13.

Mosley also kept two drives alive on the ground picking up first-down yardage, one run was good for 12 yards. He totaled 18 yards rushing.

“When we face adversity, we have to bounce back,” Mosley said. “The measure of our team is not how well we play when everything is going our way, it's how we play when things aren't going our way.”

And often, things were not going their way. But Mosley, who threw five touchdown passes in the semifinals against Davidson, said confidence in each other and the coaching staff kept them focused.

“I made some mistakes out there,” he said. “Three interceptions. But I always knew I could count on everyone else to step up. We don't get down on each other, we lift each other. We kept going. We relied on our confidence in each other all year and we didn't stop tonight. Coach (Brian) Campbell called some great plays, the offensive line was just great. We were able to run enough and pass enough to keep our balance and throw them out of theirs some. But our defense was just amazing out there. They kept getting the ball back for us and holding them and kept them from scoring again. We couldn't have won it without them."

Yeldon had a 45-yard TD run called back in the first half that would have tied the game earlier. But the junior, now with two-plus years of starts including several as a freshman stayed focused to the task.

“It was kind of hard to run tonight because they clogged the holes,” he said. Yeldon's tying TD was scored out of the Wildcat set with him taking the snap. “I was just trying to hold onto the ball,” he said. “I knew I could get in the end zone.”

Daphne won the toss and deferred to the second half allowing the Trojan defense to introduce itself to the Bucs' offense right away.

On the first drive, Daphne's Kevin Wilson said hello to Hoover running back and Auburn commitment Justin MacArthur and forced a fumble which Cartels Young recovered for Daphne at the DHS 16-yard line.

McArthur had 46 yards on 23 carries and Carter was 13-of-23 passing for 222 yards to a covey of top-rated, speedy receivers like Jaylon Dennison who caught eight for 124 yards. But the Trojans never seemed too rattled, even after Yeldon's 45-yard TD and an interception at the DHS four by Kyndal Minniefield were nullified by penalties.

“That's one of the thing about this team that I'm so proud of,” Vickery said. “Maturity. A lot of kids couldn't handle that much stuff going against them. But they're just so level headed and they have been in similar situations, especially our seniors. But T. J. is just a junior, yet he acts and thinks like a senior. A lot of that has to do with experience, but it's just been a trait, an inner confidence, they've had all year.

“We teach confidence. We teach them to think, 'Playoffs' from the beginning,” Vickery added. “That's Daphne football. We got off to a good start in the summer going in 7-on-7 tournament play. Late in the summer, we brought in a new defensive coordinator in Bart Sessions and the kids really responded and rallied around him. And the success we had on defense early was a confidence builder as well.”

Real also missed on field goal attempts of 48-yards and 36-yards. Roberts missed a 44-yard attempt in the first half. Roberts punted three times for a 33-yard average. The Trojans faked a punt in the first half and went for it on another fourth down in the fourth quarter but came up about four inches short.

That drive turned the ball over to Hoover at their own 6 but it set up the scoring drive for DHS. For the first time in the game, Daphne had the long, positive field position.

“We feel like in that package, percentage-wise, we’ve got a good play,” Vickery said of the fourth-down call inside the Hoover 10 instead of another field-goal attempt. “We have a lot of confidence in Brandon, especially from that distance, but our percentages have been high on (short-distance situation) it and we felt we could make it.”

The play was a Yeldon run out of the Wildcat needing three yards. Vickery said the chances were about 95 percent in their favor. Yeldon appeared to reach the five, but the ball was spotted just outside the six, a few inches short.

“Field position is the most important thing in football,” Vickery said. “Our defense really set us up. And then you’ve got to take advantage of those things.”

The tough Daphne defense then forced the punt by Hoover after three and out which Lamprakes took back to the HHS 33 to set up the DHS scoring, go-ahead drive.

Daphne is now 2-3 in their five 6A championship meetings against Hoover during the past 10 years. The last time they met was 2005 with HHS taking the win. The Trojans won their first 6A state title over the Bucs in 2001.