By Daniel Green
Special to the American Press

ROSEPINE — When it came time for a winning play, Rosepine head coach Brad Ducote knew exactly who he was going to call on.

And that player was 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback Ethan Frey.

Frey, who accounted for five rushing touchdowns, scored on a 2-point conversion off the quarterback bootleg in the second overtime, lifting Rosepine to a 43-42 win over Red River in a Class 2A regional playoff game on Friday night at McKee-McCain Stadium.

“I visualized this play back in August,” Ducote said. “I knew when Red River scored and kicked the extra point, we would run that play if we scored. And the kids just executed it to perfection.”

With the score knotted at 35-35 going into the second overtime, it took Red River (8-4) three plays to score, getting a 6-yard TD pass from Tre Smith to Antron Williams for the go-ahead TD. Red River opted to kick the PAT with Ryder Hogan, taking a 42-35 lead.

Rosepine took over and immediately got help with a pass interference penalty on Red River. After an incomplete pass, Frey scored from the 5, allowing the Eagles to close within a point.

After a couple of timeouts, Rosepine lined up in its jumbo package with two fullbacks and leading rusher Grant Ducote deep off the ball.

Frey faked the handoff to Ducote and rolled left. Seeing a seam, Frey darted toward the end zone, pushing Rosepine (11-1) to the victory and the first quarterfinals appearance in school history.

“I’m super proud of these guys,” Brad Ducote said. “They deserved to make history and I couldn’t be more proud. Ethan just had a great night and he put us on his back and carried us.”

Frey rushed for 162 yards and five touchdowns, while completing 13 of 18 passes for 116 more yards.

Grant Ducote added 68 yards on 19 carries, while Isaiah Stinson had eight catches for 67 yards.

Smith was 12 of 24 for 134 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for two scores. Running back Stanley Maxie logged 30 carries for 201 yards and a touchdown in the loss.