The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Navy team that day:
They were down by twenty points, with but one quarter left to play.
So when Kaipo’s body failed him, and his hamstring, it went lame,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

The crowd had started to disperse the last time Temple scored.
There were Owls fans talking trash upon the GoMids message board.
With the game all but decided, the silver lining on this crap:
If nothing else at least we would see Ricky take some snaps.

Against Pittsburgh and SMU, Dobbs made some solid plays,
Inspiring fans to lift him up with hyperbolic praise.
“He can run, and he can throw! He’s talented! He’s unique!
The quarterback of the future? No! The quarterback of next week!”

Kaipo, though he was injured, was still a wily vet;
It wasn’t time for Ricky Dobbs to play full time just yet.
When the Hawaiian coudn’t run at full speed with the ball,
That was the sign, the coaches knew, and Ricky got the call.

So all eyes were on Number Four as he stepped on the field,
But things weren’t any different, and still the offense reeled.
His first few plays made fans think that he should’ve called in sick;
First he was stuffed behind the line, and then he threw a pick.

He watched the ball descend and saw the Temple safety grab it;
One more time, Coach Niumatalolo said DAG NABBIT.
But the savvy mentor didn’t just engage in pointless chiding;
Instead he calmly told his signal caller to keep fighting.

The next drive went much better as young Ricky found his groove.
A swing pass to Kettani, and the team was on the move.
His cannon arm was evident as Ricky closed the deal;
Then came the call from Bob Socci: “Touchdown, T.J. Thiel!”

With twenty-seven points, the Owls still maintained a lead,
But it was obvious that the touchdown drive had planted a seed.
The defense held their next time out, and Temple didn’t score,
So Ricky led the offense onto the gridiron once more.

Time was of the essence, so the QB went to work:
A bullet pass to Tyree Barnes, and the stadium went berzerk.
Another strike to Bobby Doyle! Navy’s knocking on the door!
A couple runs by Ricky, and it’s third and goal from the four.

He ran hard, but on third down, Kettani couldn’t punch it in.
They had to score on the next play to have any chance to win.
Both teams lined up, but Ricky didn’t see there was a glitch.
He snapped the ball. The coaches thought, “OH NO! SON OF A BISCUIT!”

It didn’t take long for Ricky to discover his mistake;
The Temple linemen hit him like he just stole their cheesesteak.
But with the strength of Atlas, our hero, undeterred,
Flipped the ball to Eric for a touchdown, Navy’s third.

While it felt like a miracle, the comeback still wasn’t complete;
If the defense couldn’t stop the Owls, then Navy would be beat.
Two forty-five left on the clock to stop the opposition;
The defense knew they had to play like they were on a mission.

It looked like they had failed when they let Temple move the chains;
The Owls could take a knee and run the time off that remained.
But Al Golden, in his genius, decided to keep running,
Setting up a play that would be nothing short of stunning.

Ross Pospisil released the ball from the running back’s grip,
Clint Sovie made a heads-up play, and recovered the strip.
Sprinting up the field, the swift linebacker didn’t plod.
He ran untouched to the end zone! Said Feinstein: “OH MY GOD!”

Coach Niumatalolo simply never gave up hope;
And now the Navy coach knew he had Temple on the ropes.
With overtime about to start, would the team finish the task?
“Dobbs, do the impossible! Is that too much to ask?”

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
But I doubt it’s shining brighter than how Ricky played that night:
For those who left too early, the next morning they would see
That Temple still had twenty-seven; Navy, thirty-three.