BROADWAY — It might have been Broadway's homecoming, but it was Alex Owah who took it to the house when it counted most.

Harrisonburg High School's junior tailback broke off a 53-yard touchdown run with 4:05 to go, answering a late Gobblers' fourth-down touchdown and giving the Blue Streaks a 25-19 win and at least a share of the inaugural Massanutten District title.

"I think most people know he's a great back," HHS coach Tim Sarver said of Owah, HHS's workhorse. "We don't want to rely on him too much, but he's our bread and butter. We know that."

Owah finished with 33 carries for 204 yards and three touchdowns for the Streaks (7-1 overall, 2-0 in the district), none bigger than his final one.

And it came on the heels of an equally dramatic score that had put the Gobblers up 19-17 with 7:41 to go. Playing in front of a wet but enthusiastic crowd, BHS was facing a fourth-and-goal at the seven, trailing 17-13.

Broadway coach Frank Sorrells, having already seen his place kicker push an extra point attempt wide right, opted to go for it on fourth down.

"We can't make an extra point, much less a field goal," Sorrells said.

Sophomore quarterback Adam Caplinger hooked up with junior tight end Josh Jameson for a 7-yard touchdown. After Broadway's 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete, the Gobblers led 19-17.

That's when Harrisonburg — not surprisingly — turned things over to Owah. He got the ball on a fourth-and-one with 4:52, crashing for 2 yards and keeping the drive alive.

On his next touch, he burst through a hole and pulled away from the Broadway defense, racing 53 yards to the end zone.

"I give all the credit to my line," Owah said, still wearing his helmet as he walked off the field. "They made a hole, I found it, took it."

Owah then carried the ball in for a 2-point conversion, putting HHS up 25-19 with 4:05 to go.

After a Colton Wenger fumble gave the Streaks the ball again, Broadway's defense forced a punt, giving the Gobblers one last chance to send the homecoming crowd home happy.

Pinned deep in their own territory, BHS almost did it in one play.

Caplinger lofted a perfect deep ball for the speedy Luke Holloran, who beat a double-team to get free behind the Streaks' defense for 69 yards, finally being dragged down by senior defensive back — and 400-meter runner — Ian Brown.

"Ian Brown's got pretty good speed too," Sarver said. "I know Holloran's a fast kid, but Ian's a track star. He showed his moxie."

Sarver wasn't sure what went wrong on the play. He said Harrisonburg had a corner bump Holloran at the line and a safety helping over the top.

"That's one where you wonder and scratch your head," Sarver said. "I don't know what happened."

Sorrells said, if not for a nagging injury, Holloran might have been the homecoming hero.

"He had a sore hip flexor or he would've scored," Sorrells said. "He tried as hard as he could."

But Caplinger couldn't connect with Jameson on a second-down throw to the end zone, or hit Holloran on third or fourth down.

Broadway mounted its comeback bid without the talents of leading rusher Brett Olinger, the two-time defending Group AA 300-meter hurdles champion. The senior scored the Gobblers' first two touchdowns Friday. He put BHS up 7-0 on a 17-yard run that capped the opening drive and pulled the Gobblers within 14-13 with a 20-yard scoring run with 4:15 to go in the second quarter.

Olinger went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with a 15-yard run in the third quarter, but didn't play in the fourth after suffering a slight concussion.

"That slowed us down," Sorrells said, "but our kids fought back. We made some great plays down the stretch."

But Owah made one more.

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