Having already seen two earlier PAT tries blocked, West York coach Ron Miller made a decision that will undoubtedly go down as one of the best in Bulldog history.
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Conversely, it will be remembered as the one that devastated an upstart Conestoga Valley team with visions of knocking off the defending champs, on their home turf, well within its reach.
Trailing by a point, after scoring a touchdown in the second overtime, Miller decided to go for a two-point conversion and the win.
When Alex George dove across the goal line, he validated Miller's decision and made a winner out of West York, 35-34, in a Class AAA quarterfinal game Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.
The victory puts the third-seeded Bulldogs (11-1) in a semifinal clash next Friday night at No. 2 seed Susquehanna Township (11-1), which held off Cocalico, 50-32, in another quarterfinal game.
The loss ends a remarkable run by the Buckskins (7-5), who emerged as the surprise team of the Lancaster-Lebanon League after back-to-back 1-9 seasons.
"This senior class did an outstanding job," said first-year CV coach Tom Nichols. "They came in being picked to finish last in the section. They worked hard, they played with heart and they never gave up. They're responsible for bringing CV back."
Kevin Kelley, the L-L League's top rusher, is one of those seniors and finished off his remarkable Buckskin career this night by rushing for 242 yards on 41 carries, upping his season total to 2,327 yards.
"It hurts," said Kelley. "It hurts a lot. I've been playing with some of these dudes for a long time."
Kelley's touchdown (his 26th of the season) with 2:44 left in the third quarter put the Bucks ahead 20-6, but they could not hold off a Bulldog charge.
George, West York's quarterback, answered Kelley's TD with a 31-yard scoring pass 48 seconds later. Delton Harris' PAT try was blocked, making it a 20-12 game with 1:56 left in the third.
Following a CV punt, George hooked up with Dan Gay for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 11:07 left in the game. The same duo connected on the two-point conversion, knotting the score.
Both teams failed to convert on turnovers down the stretch and CV's final drive stalled at the Bulldog 33, forcing overtime.
In the first OT, the Bucks defense appeared to stop the Bulldogs when a fourth-down pass turned into a jump ball between the receiver and defender and fell incomplete in the end zone. West York, however, got new life when CV was whistled for pass interference.
Two plays later, Corey Harris scored from four yards out. The PAT try, this time, was good and the Bulldogs led 27-20.
CV, which outgained West York 401-311, answered with an eight-yard TD pass from Alex Dienner to Joel Leicy.
The Bucks had the ball to start the second OT and scored on another eight-yard Dienner TD pass, this time to Stefan Sensenig. Robbie Cardina, who kicked two field goals in the first half, booted the PAT and the Bucks led 34-27.
West York responded with a one-yard TD run by Harris, making it 34-33 and setting up the final play.
"Alex and Corey came up to me and said 'Coach, we can't let this in the kicker's hands. If we lose, at least we're going to go down on our terms,' and I agreed with them,'" said Miller.
The give was to George, who dove into the end zone to end the game and CV's season.
"We had a great run," said Kelley. "We went a lot farther than people thought we would. I'm happy for that, but we should have won that game and everybody knows it. Everybody watching this game, they know it."
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