The game, and the season, hung in the balance when Becker coach Dwight Lundeen thought it was time to break out a new play.

Trailing by a touchdown with a minute to go and sitting at the Orono 5-yard line, the call came for Dive Right, Grace Pass. A halfback pass that the Bulldogs had practiced maybe a handful of times, all last week.

Just enough to be perfect. Running back Milan Kent lobbed a pass to Alex Meidt for a touchdown with 51 seconds left. Beau Pauly then rumbled for a two-point conversion, giving defending Class 4A champion Becker a thrilling 22-21 victory on Saturday in the Class 4A, Section 4 championship game.

“I was confident when the play was called. My first thought was, ‘Touchdown,’ ” Kent said. “But I honestly thought I overthrew him.’’

It was a fitting ending to a game that many felt could have been a state championship game. Becker, 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, somehow was seeded No. 2 in the section. Orono (9-1) was the top seed, largely because of a tougher schedule.

Orono had seven-point leads three times, getting all three touchdowns from senior receiver/wingback Blake Leischow. His final score, a 30-yard reception from quarterback Hank Seward with 1:58 left, gave the Spartans a 21-14 lead. But they failed to hold it.

“That’s a tough team over there,” Becker senior lineman Casey Vesledahl said. “But we’ve got 20, 21 seniors on this team. There was no way we were going to lose.”

Becker went 63 yards in 1:07 on the game-winning drive on a mix of short passes and runs by quarterback Andrew Stanger.

“They knew we were going to sit back and they took what they could in front of us,” Orono senior running back/linebacker David McCuskey. “It hurts now. It’ll hurt a lot more in the morning.”

JIM PAULSEN

Alex Meidt caught a five-yard pass from halfback Milan Kent with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Beau Pauly followed with a two-point conversion run, lifting defending Class 4A champion Becker to a 22-21 come-from-behind victory over Orono in the Section 4 championship game.

The host Spartans (9-1) had taken a 21-14 lead on a Blake Leischow’s third touchdown of the game, a 30-yard reception with 1:58 left. But Becker moved 63 yards in a little over a minute, setting up the game-winning touchdown.

Orono moved the Becker 22 in the closing seconds, but a 40-yard field goal attempt fell just short.

Check back later for more on the game.