He was in-bounds. That much was clear on the replay, if not to the referees.

Junior quarterback Colton Bailey connected with junior receiver Patrick Phongsat in the end zone early in the fourth quarter Saturday, but the referees ruled him out-of-bounds. It seemed like the play that could keep the Panthers from clinching a state championship, the kind of play that the team, reporters and fans would analyze and discuss for days as they wondered what could have been.

It wasn’t.

Senior Carlos Montalvo-Corrales nailed a 43-yard field goal, and that would prove to be enough as the Panthers held on to a 29-27 victory, claiming the school’s first football state championship and snapping Dillon’s state championship win streak.

“It’s just awesome,” head football coach Mark Hodge told reporters after the game. “You know, you want to be a champion, you want to beat the champion.”

More information and pictures to come.