Vinnie Julio's last-second tackle on the goal line saved Hereford from defeat, hoisting the Bulls to victory at three-time Baltimore County champion Perry Hall.

From the recollection of Hereford junior linebacker, Vinnie Julio, "there were five or six seconds left."

"It was third-and-goal at our 3-yard line for Perry Hall, we were up, 28-25, and they had the ball, ready to go, driving for the win," said Julio, a first-year varsity starter.

"Before the play even started, I already had it in my head that there was no way we were losing this game," said the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Julio. "I was thinking to myself, 'they can't win this game,
there's no way they're going to win this game. I'm not going home if they win this game.'"

Julio went home a winner on Friday night, thanks to his effort on the next play, which ended with Gators' quarterback Mike Lang being slowed by Lonnie Liggins, and, eventually dropped by Julio on the Bulls' 1-yard line.

As Lang made his move toward the goal line, Liggins got one his shoulders on the quarterback's thighs to start him falling forward. Julio was there to make the insurance tackle, preventing Lang from scoring the go-ahead TD.

The heroics of Liggins and Julio, coupled with the Gators' inadvertant spike of the ball on fourth down, gave Hereford possession, and, with it, a thrilling, 28-25, Baltimore County 4A-3A League victory at three-time defending division champion Perry Hall (3-1 overall, 2-1 league).

"The quarterback went out on a waggle on the side toward their sideline. It was like a bootleg, but he couldn't find an open receiver," Julio recalled. "So he tucked the ball and ran, and then, he tried to dive over the goal line. But when he dove, I  dove at him and wound up taking him down at the 1-yard line."

Quarterback Tyler Brown rushed for 134 yards and a TD; Lonnie Liggins had 93 yards and a TD;
and Eric Hemmeter, 82 yards and two scores as Hereford secured its 14th straight victory against
the county.

The Bulls also ended a nine-game county league winning streak by the Gators, including those over
the Bulls, by 27-7, and, 10-7, respectively on Sept. 9 2004, and, Sept. 8, 2006.

Also, Adam Yates was good on all four extra points in a win that was the first for Hereford (4-0 overall, 3-0 league) over Perry Hall in three meetings over as many seasons.

"We're certainly glad to finally be able to beat them. I'm very proud of our team for overcoming the
many mistakes that we made tonight," said Bulls' coach Steve Turnbaugh. "I honestly think we have the makings of a good football team. To beat a team like Perry Hall, make mistakes, and still hold on and win, that's perserverance."

In a game that featured three lead changes, Perry Hall took a 7-0 first-quarter lead after second-team All-Metro tight end-receiver-linebacker, Dave Stinebaugh, took a reverse handoff 22 yards for a touchdown, and Brett Ullman made his first of two extra point kicks.

Ullman's 23-yard field goal had the Gators up, 10-0, early in the second quarter, but the Bulls took their first lead, 14-10, on scoring runs by Brown and Hemmeter, respectively, of 56 and 8 yards.

The Gators regained a 17-14 lead, however, heading into the fourth, thanks to Lang's 26-yard pass to Steinbaugh.

And after Julio teamed with Josh Asper to block Ullman's field goal attempt, Liggins and Hemmeter stretched the Bulls' lead to 28-17 with 3:15 to play on consecutive fourth-quarter scoring runs of 3 and 1 yard.

But the Gators weren't done.

Lang brought the Gators within the final margiin after connecting with Devon Rainey and Stinebaugh, respectively, on a 15-yard scoring pass and a two-point conversion catch.

The Gators then recovered the onside kick, setting up the game-ending sequence, and culminating a night Julio won't soon forget.

"I've never made a takle like this in my life. I can't put into words how this feels. But I will say it's
probably the greatest feeling I've ever felt," Julion said. "I had a tackle for lost yardage I blocked a
field goal. The way I was playing, It's just unexplainable. To have one of the best games of my life,
in a game like this, nothing will ever happen this good to me again unless we win states. This is something I'll never forget."

Perry Hall entered the night having won 30 of their past 31 games against county rivals dating to a 19-13 loss to Parkville on Sept. 23, 2004. The Gators had won 21 straight league games before losing, 37-36, in overtime at Franklin last season.

"It's one of the most exciting games I've ever been a part of. We gave it our best shot," said Steinbaugh, whose Gators still have an Oct. 27 game at unbeaten league rival Parkville, a team Hereford plays host to on Oct. 12.

"I told our guys that if we were going to lose, this is the kind of game you want to lose in," Steinbaugh said. "But it's still a long season, and there are a lot of things that can happen to help us maybe win the title down the road."



Hereford 28,   Perry Hall 25


Hereford         0              7                7                   14                28

Perry Hall       7               3                7                   7                  25


P- Steinbaugh 22 run (Ullman kick)
P- Ullman 23 FG
H- Brown 56 run (Yates kick)
H- Hemmeter 8 run (Yates kick)
H- Steinbaugh 26 pass from Lang (Ullman kick)
H- Liggins 3 run (Yates kick)
H- Hemmeter 1 run (Yates kick)
P- Rainey 15 pass from Lang (Stieinbaugh pass from Lang)