Finally, the ball bounced Odessa High's way.
CJ Washington picked it up, and stepped, stumbled but then planted a foot and dove.
He pushed the ball past the goal line.
And with that, 706 days of agony washed away, as the Bronchos jumped for joy, ran into each other's arms and cheered into the August night — 1-0.
Washington picked up a loose fumble after a high snap on a Lubbock Monterey attempted punt, and scooped and scored with six seconds left in the game to lift Odessa High to a 28-24 victory over Lubbock Monterey on Thursday at Lowrey Field, and give the Bronchos their first win since 2015.
The Bronchos trailed most of the game, but scored a touchdown with less than two minutes to play to make a 3-point game, and then, in the final moments, when the Bronchos needed a miracle, they found one.
One that freed them from a long, long curse.
"I know how hard these kids worked," Odessa High head coach Danny Servance said moments after the win, his cheeks stained with tears. "You know what we went through last year.
"These kids deserve to win, and they did it tonight, and it was incredible."
Odessa High trailed 24-7 early in the fourth quarter, but the Bronchos kept battling. Odessa High junior quarterback Trey Smith scored on a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:52 left to make it a 3-point game at 24-21.
Even then, host Monterey seemed in control on the ensuing drive, when the Plainsmen ran down the clock, then set themselves back to punt from their 30-yard line with just 12 seconds left to burn.
But that's when the snap sailed over the Plainsmen punter's head. Bronchos senior Tony Carrasco hit the punter as he reached for it to free the ball. Fellow senior Washington scooped it up at the 6-yard line, then stepped up and over the punter to tumble his way into the end zone and send the Bronchos into jubilation.
Monterey's last-gasp heave in the final moments was intercepted by Odessa High senior Aaron Ochoa, and Odessa High won its first game under Servance, and its first since Sept. 25, 2015.
"It don't even feel real," Washington said, his eyes welling as he stood outside a raucous Bronchos locker room. "I can't believe it happened.
"Finally. Finally. It's been a long time. It's been 15 games since we won a game, man. I just praise God."
The Plainsmen scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to go up 24-7 with 11:50 to go, when quarterback Brylon Lawson-Young hit Trey Manahan for a 54-yard touchdown, putting the chance at an opening victory in doubt for Odessa High.
But the Bronchos battled back. On the ensuing drive, Smith hit senior receiver Zay Brown on a quick screen, and Brown cut inside, found blocks and ran for a 30-yard touchdown to cap an 8-play, 75-yard bounce-back drive for Odessa High.
That made it a 10-point game at 24-14.
Odessa High stumbled on its next chance. The Bronchos recovered a loose kickoff to take over at the Monterey 35, but only went backwards from there and ended up punting to Monterey with 6:48 left.
But that's when the Bronchos came up with one more stop, forcing a punt on a three-and-out.
Smith ripped off a 24-yard run on the next snap to bring Odessa High to the Monterey 23-yard line. Junior running back Josh Lara ran for eight yards, then, after a loss, picked up five yards on a third-and-four play to move the chains. Then senior receiver Jacob Munoz pulled down a five-yard completion inside the 10, and with a Monterey penalty, the ball moved to the 3.
Lara dove inside for a yard to set up Smith's 2-yard touchdown.
The Bronchos didn't recover their onside kick attempt which went sailing out of bounds — but they continued to fight.
Odessa High pushed Monterey backwards on three plays, then, with 12 seconds left, gave itself a chance.
Thursday night, a chance is all the Bronchos needed.
"Last year, nothing went our way, but it did today — and I'm so happy," Ochoa said.
Odessa High took an early lead in the first quarter, when Lara bounced outside around right tackle to score a 5-yard touchdown.
The junior played brilliant in his first varsity start, especially on that opening series of the game.
Lara took nine carries on that opening drive, accounting for 65 yards on the 12-play, 79-yard drive.
Faced with a fourth-and-3 at the Monterey 45 amid that opening series, Lara was grabbed in the backfield, before he tossed that defender aside and pushed ahead for a gain of eight and a first down.
But Lara's touchdown marked Odessa High's last score until the fourth quarter.
Monterey bounced back to add a field goal early in the second quarter, then pulled ahead on a Demontrareis Lacy touchdown run on a drive kickstarted by a 37-yard connection from Lawson-Young to Manahan.
After stopping the Odessa High offense, Monterey got the ball back again with less than two minutes until the half with designs on expanding its lead — but senior Ochoa pulled down a pick to keep it a 3-point game going into the half at 10-7.
The third quarter is when Monterey seemed to set the tone, though. Odessa High opened the second half with a 15-play drive into the Monterey red zone, but on fourth-and-goal from the 7, the Plainsmen came up with a big stop.
That set up a brisk 8-play, 86-yard scoring drive for Monterey in just about two and a half minutes, in which the Plainsmen never faced a third down. Lacy capped it with a seven-yard touchdown.
And after an Odessa High three-and-out, Monterey pulled away even further on the first play of the fourth quarter, when the Plainsmen hit that 54-yard touchdown to go up by 17.
But Odessa High didn't go away.
"Anybody down 24-7 could've given up, but our kids are resilient, and that's all they know how to do, is fight," Servance said. "And I'm very proud of them."
Lara finished with 151 yards on 33 carries in an impressive first start.
Meanwhile, Smith finished with zero turnovers at quarterback, firing a solid 12-of-15 for 126 yards.
He connected with Munoz for 23 yards then with Brown for 11 yards before he hit Brown on that 30-yard touchdown screen pass.
That drive helped keep Odessa High in the game for that dramatic late-game comeback.
"I haven't had that in a minute," Brown said of the celebration that ensued.
"I'm taking it all in right now though."
The same went for Servance, all his assistant coaches, and each of the Bronchos on that sideline erupting when Washington scooped and scored.
That moment was a long time coming for Odessa High.
"I'm jumping up and down inside, before he even crosses the goal line," Servance said, rewinding that moment. "I thought he was going to stumble and fall, and he just reached out.
"I'm telling you, that's the heart that these kids have. And it's just amazing."
Now, the Bronchos have the victory to match.
"I love my teammates," Washington said. "I told them at halftime, 'I love y'all. And I'm going to give it my all til the last play.'
"Look what happened."
