Bay View outlasts South for wild victory

Kwame Bailey caught two touchdown passes and made an interception in overtime that shut down Milwaukee South's potential tying effort, lifting Bay View to a wild 38-32 Milwaukee City Conference football victory at South Stadium on Sept. 21.

The Redcats took an 18-7 lead before South rattled off 25 unanswered points to take a 32-18 lead after three quarters. Bay View rallied for the necessary two scores, starting with Bailey catching a pass from Montrell Davidson for a 25-yard score, and the pair connecting on the ensuing conversion.

Daryll Wynn rolled in from 9 yards away on a later drive, and the Redcats appeared to take the lead on the point after.

"We made the extra point at first, but they had blown the whistle for offsides by (South)," Bay View coach Gary Griffin said. "They blew the whistle before we snapped the ball. We were in kickoff formation and everything before they finally conferred and brought it back.

"They caught it, made us re-kick it and we moved forward and should have probably gone for two. To get a good snap and hold twice in a row in the City (Conference) is kind of tough."

The second attempt at the PAT failed, leaving the two teams even. Lenier Johnson, who joined Wynn in finishing with more than 100 yards rushing, scored from 10 yards out on the first play of overtime, but the Redcats were unsuccessful on the 2-point try, giving South a chance to win the game on its end.

Bailey picked off the game's final pass on fourth down, however, and the Redcats (2-3 overall, 2-1 in the City Conference) emerged with their second straight win.

"We scored on the first drive and I thought we were going to beat them, 100-0," Griffin admitted. "They had 27 kids out there, we had 50 and we were flying around. I don't know if we get complacent, but we're working on it every week.

"We're going to figure it out. (South) played hard and played with heart."

Griffin credited Teon Banks with double-digit tackles in the first half, during which Bay View built its lead on a Johnson touchdown run and a Colin Alexander fumble return for touchdown in addition to Bailey's first touchdown catch. But South scored 19 points in the third quarter to force Bay View into a corner.

"We called timeout going into the fourth quarter and I told the guys we were going to win this," Griffin said.