The power of football bringing people together on Friday nights in communities across the country is something that's tough to explain to outsiders.
That was on full display at Uvalde HS (TX), where the football team had their first home game of the year since the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary school which took place back in May just over two miles away from the field.
The shooting took the life of 19 kids and two staff members, and the night began with a 21-second moment of silence to honor those individuals.
The Uvalde team, and community, then kicked off with a heavy heart against CC Winn HS (TX) in tight contest that went back and forth all game.
With 36 seconds left, and the game tied at 28, Uvalde senior Jonathan Jimenez dodged a handful of tacklers before breaking out for a 51-yard run where he reversed field deep into Winn territory, milking nearly 20 seconds off the clock on the scamper.
With 12 seconds left, senior receiver Devon Franklin made an impressive one-handed grab heading to the corner of the end zone to give Uvalde the lead and they would hold on to win.
The win was a big one for the community, and also mean that with a 2-0 start, they've already equaled their win total from the 2021 season.
It's also worth noting that in an emotional twist, the Uvalde team scored 21 points on the road in their first win of the year.
Tough to view these two back-to-back occurrences in the team's first two games of the year as mere coincidences, right?
This is absolute goosebumps stuff:
— William Joy (@WilliamJoy) September 3, 2022
Uvalde High School won its first home game tonight 34-28.
It happened thanks to a miraculous 51-yard run with 36 seconds to go.
And then a go-ahead, one-handed TD catch with 12 seconds left.
Have to love sports.#txhsfb @wfaa pic.twitter.com/AXSs1zakUu