The magic – and nightmare - of a toe tap.
 
After giving up a halftime lead in the championship game of City of Scottsdale Adult Football League, the Grand Canyon University Men's Flag Football Team's final scoring drive of the game ended with a missed two-point conversion that left them on the downside of a 13-12 decision Tuesday night at Vista del Camino Park in Scottsdale. The loss ended the Cinderella run of the 4^th-seeded Lopes in the City of Scottsdale Playoffs as they finished the fall campaign with an overall record of 5-5 and a 3-4 regular season mark.
 
"Reaching the championship after these last two seasons felt great," said Lopes' Head Coach Eric Liebman. "I couldn't be prouder of how this team developed."
 
The final comeback drive had all the earmarks of a Hollywood script for a team that didn't form in time to avoid an opening-season forfeit nor losing three of its first four games. The team rallied, though, to win two of its final three regular season contests to move into the top half of the league heading into the postseason. That momentum immediately carried into last week's quarterfinals with a dominating 18-0 win – the Lopes' first shutout of the fall. The victory sent the Lopes into Tuesday's semifinal round as the 4^th-seeded underdog, but that became irrelevant when they were notified just hours prior to kickoff that the #1 seed wasn't showing up, and the Lopes got a forfeit win and a pass to the title game.
 
In the title game, the Lopes picked up where they left off a week ago, using stifling defense to hold the 2^nd-seeded team at bay for the first half (including two interceptions by GCU's Trevor Poplawski). The Lopes took a 6-0 edge into the break – thanks to a 60-yard touchdown strike from Brody Maeda to Joel Kroeger. The Lopes' opponents caught fire in the second half, taking a 13-6 lead on a pair of TDs and one made extra point. GCU took the ball for its last gasp and marched down the field. Maeda found Payton Curry in the end zone with nine seconds left in regulation to bring the Lopes within a point, but the decision to go for the win instead of the tie went awry when a catch in the end zone on the two-point conversion was ruled to be out of bounds, handing the Lopes 2^nd place.
 
"As disappointing as it is to lose a championship game, I know we left it all on the field and battled to the best of our ability," said Liebman. "Losing on a controversial call is never fun, but it's part of the game. We didn't go down without a fight. This season has set a great standard for the future of this program. Returning guys will know what to expect when it comes to playing in this league, and we'll be able to pass on our knowledge to future players."