Lance Austin: Revisiting the Miracle on Techwood Drive
Lance Austin. Chances are you can associate that name with one play: the blocked field goal returned for a Georgia Tech touchdown against Florida State. But Austin’s story began long before that moment, leading back to his time in Barnesville, GA.
Barnesville is about as close to the middle of Georgia, geographically, as you can get. Located in Lamar County, the city has a population of about 7,000 people and is home to the Trojans of Lamar County Comprehensive High School. The Trojans haven’t been too good, historically, with only four ten-win seasons since 1970. Three of those seasons, however, came during the playing days of Lance Austin and his twin Lawrence. The Austin twins were both rated as three-star cornerbacks, and they both combined for seven interceptions and 139 tackles in their senior year. The brothers committed to Georgia Tech together in June of 2013.
Fast-forward to the beginning of the 2015 season and neither player’s career showed any signs of dominance. The twins combined for 21 total tackles and one interception in their freshman year at Tech. The Yellow Jackets, however, were on fire. They had just won 11 games in 2014 and opened the 2015 season with two wins by over 50 points. That hot streak ended quickly though, as Tech lost their next 5 games in a row. With a 2-5 record, the Yellow Jackets had to host 9th-ranked Florida State, just one season removed from a national championship win over Auburn.
As expected, Florida State jumped out to an early 13-3 lead. Tech clawed back, making it 16-10 in the third quarter. Still, Lance Austin didn’t see much of the field. He had only played in five games this season and only gained credit for three stops. Austin was mostly relegated to special teams duties, but injuries to cornerback D.J. White and backup Step Durham allowed him to sneak into the spotlight.
With just six seconds remaining in the game and the score tied at 16-16, the Seminoles lined up for a 56-yard field goal to win it. Austin, playing his usual special teams snaps, hung back as the ball was snapped. Roberto Aguayo’s kick found the hand of Tech’s Patrick Gamble, and the pigskin ricocheted down to the Tech 22-yard line. Yellow Jacket coaches frantically motioned for everyone to avoid touching the ball. Lance didn’t get the message. Thank God he didn’t.
I’ll let ESPN commentator Mark Jones take it over from here:
“Blocked! Snuffed! Rubbed out! Erased! And Georgia Tech with an opportunity…Austin, still on his feet…One man! You can’t believe what just happened! What a time to be alive!”
Written by:Dhruv Mohan
