When a game ends it can usually fall into a handful of categories – like a “classic” or “upset.”

Or maybe a “clunker.”  “Barn burners” are always exciting. Every once in a while, there’s the “one to remember.”

The matchup between Crismon and Eastmark may have come with a new way to describe how the game will ultimately be remembered.

This was a “And then” game.

So many things transpired over the course of the game – especially the fourth quarter - that anyone trying to recap Eastmark’s last second 24-22 win Friday over Crismon might do so by saying “And then” about 37 times.

For example, Isaiah Helmkamp played soccer for 13 years and then decided to try football. Not only that, in his first game he was standing on the field with 21 seconds left and his team down by a point.

And then he drilled a 30-yard field goal to give the Firebirds the win to open the season.

“I tried to look at it as a normal field goal. I do it every day in practice,” Helmkamp said. “Not that big of deal. With the game on the line it's that much more exciting. I tuned everything out and treated it like a penalty kick."

And then the Eastmark sideline went nuts celebrating.

“What a way to win,” Eastmark second-year coach Jason Lyons said. “You take a kid that’s never really played before and he comes through. That’s amazing, but I tell you what, he is player and could play safety for us. He’s fast and likes contact, but kicking was his specialty tonight.”

And then Crismon coach Scott Hare had to talk to his players in the opposite end zone to make sure they didn’t dwell on the bad when there was so much good.

“Most teams would have played hard and given it up,” Hare said about the goal-line stand. "Then we drive 99 yards and convert the 2-pointer. This loss means nothing.

"I actually don't mind losing early in the season because you learn about your guys. There were way too many good things. This should make us hungry not disappointed."

There are some things to pick apart about some of the breakdowns the Rattlers had – special teams, personal fouls, coming up short on several fourth down tries - that cost them the game but there was plenty of good.

After Eastmark scored twice in less than two minutes of game clock to take a 21-14 lead, the Crismon defense had to come up with a stop or a turnover in the fourth quarter to have a chance.

Instead Eastmark drove down into the Crismon 10 – 1st and goal from 6. It was looking bleak for the Rattlers.

And then it looked like Crismon took control.

The Cobra defense held the Firebirds out of the end zone and off the scoreboard when it forced a 4th and goal from the 1.

A field goal makes it a two-score game. Eastmark decided to go for it by putting the ball in the hands of Dayne Silver.

The touted 6-foot-5 sophomore quarterback came around the edge – he had the option of running but also had a receiver running toward the back pylon. When the defender decided to crash on Silver, the quarterback threw the ball with zip instead of touch to fire it incomplete.

“That was on me,” Silver said. “I need to make better decisions. We could have put it away right there. I’ll go back and look at film and get better.”

And then after the incompletion Crismon had a chance to tie it by going 99-yards with just over 5 minutes left in the game. The chance of scoring in those situations has a very low probability, especially after the Rattlers came up short on a third-and-13 on their 37 but were bailed out by a personal foul call on Eastmark.

It extended the drive with a fresh set of downs.

And then Crismon’s physicality took over a little bit against a tired Eastmark defense before Asher Vance stepped into the picture.

The junior wide receiver caught a 22-yard pass from Braxton Thill with 1 minute and 17 seconds left. Vance twisted in the air, caught the ball at its high point and managed to get one foot in to close within 21-20.

Crismon's Asher Vance hauls in the go-ahead touchdown pass, but the lead didn't last long. (Photo by Corey Cross, Special to AzPreps365)

And then anyone who knows Hare’s gambling style knew he was going for the win and not the tie. The 2-point converstion play call was a play that the Rattlers never even ran in practice as Gracen Ruiz snagged the ball out of the air for a 22-21 lead.

It seemed like it was going to be enough as the 3A Rattlers (1-1) overcame several self-destructive plays on special teams -  two bad snaps on punts and fumbled kickoff - to carve out of a late lead.

And then Max Cano changed all of that.

He caught a short route where he hunkered down in a hole against the defense, turned up field, made a few players miss and weaved his way down to the field. A few plays later, coaches were either debating whether to drain the clock a little longer or run one more play, but Silver spiked the ball on third down.

“He’s growing,” Lyons said. “He just made it a little more dramatic and set the stage for Isaiah.”

And then Helmkamp stepped on the field.

After the ball sailed through the uprights, this clash could be considered a “classic” or “one to remember.” Or even a “barnburner.”

“This is a great way to begin the season,” Lyons said. “It was back-and-forth, and we came out on top. We’ll head back to locker room, celebrate and get back at it Saturday morning with recovery on the field, watch film and then talk about the game.

And then?

"We're gonna have breakfast," he said. "Some sausage patties, scrambled eggs, potoatoes and some kind of toast. And then it's on to Walden Grove."