Miracle at the Meadowlands: South Carolina style

Aynor's Luke McCracken returns a fumble on the game's final play for a game-winning touchdown to stun Conway

Aynor's Luke McCracken, who is team's quarterback and a linebacker on defense, scored a defensive touchdown on the game's final play, Friday, to lift the Blue Jackets to a stunning, 39-35, win over Conway. / Luke McCracken Hudl

Long before today's current high school football players were born, Herman Edwards, who would later go on to become an NFL head coach, was the author of one of the most famous plays in NFL history - The Miracle at the Meadowlands.

In a 1978 game at New Jersey's old Meadowlands Stadium, Edwards, then a defensive back with the Philadelphia Eagles, crashed through the line and scooped a fumble by then New York Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik, as he attempted to hand off the football on what would have been the game's final play and a 17-12 New York victory.

All Pisarcik had to do was take a knee and the game would have ended. Instead, Edwards' alert play produced a 19-17 victory for Philadelphia.

Fast forward to 2024 and something similar occurred Friday night in the Aynor vs. Conway game.

After rallying from a 35-17 deficit in the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter, Aynor still trailed 35-33 after kicking the ball to Conway with 2:14 remaining. The Blue Jackets were also out of timeouts and seemingly out of luck.

Conway took a knee on the first three snaps of the series and snapped the ball on fourth down with 0.2 seconds still on the clock. The final time quickly evaporated but the play would not be dead and the game over until the Tigers' quarterback Noah Legg touched his knee to turf. That never happened.

Instead, assuming the game was over, Legg rolled the ball towards an official. Aynor's Luke McCracken alertly recognized the ball was live, scooped it up and ran it into the end zone for the game winning touchdown, lifting the Blue Jackets' to a 39-35 victory.

Moments earlier, McCracken rushed for a touchdown on offense to pull his team within two points.

“Aynor is a special place. I love it. This is my home,” Aynor head coach Jason Allen said to My Horry News. “It was our dream to come back and bring some respect to the diamond… Who would have thought that 15-20 years ago, that we would even be in a game with Conway, much less having a chance to win.”

We may never know what people thought 15-20 years ago about an Aynor-Conway football game, but certainly know that Friday's contest between the two South Carolina teams will be remembered and talked about for the next 15-20 years and more.