They’ve done it again.

Facing a deficit for the fourth time this season, the Clark Cougars found enough magic to pull off another miracle.

After overcoming three deficits in Saturday’s 32-31 District 28-5A overtime victory over O’Connor might rank as the Cougars’ comeback of all comebacks.

At least for the time being.

Clark still has three league games remaining, including Friday’s matchup with co-leader Warren at Gustafson Stadium. The way things are going, it’s probably safe to say the Cougars (7-0, 5-0) won’t let things get boring. “These kids never quit,” Clark coach Lloyd Alexander said. “Being in this situation before helped us. You have to learn from every situation. These kids are doing that.”

Although Clark had been there before, this situation was more tense.

Quarterback Hayden Greenbauer’s two-point conversion run sealed the victory, but there were a lot more obstacles to overcome before the heroic finish.

O’Connor jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first half behind the offensive combination of quarterback Jarek Lancaster and Jerreal Minor, plus a 42-yard field goal from Ben Tijerina. Despite the rough start, Clark went into halftime confident after Webb Williams’ 26-yard field goal cut the deficit to 17-3. After all, the Cougars were in the same situation when they rallied from 17 points down for a 24-17 victory over Alamo Heights the second week of the season.

When Clark tied the score at 17-17, the Cougars put themselves in another hole in the fourth period. After stopping an O’Connor drive, the Cougars fumbled on their next series, giving the Panthers another opportunity.

O’Connor made it count with Lancaster’s 5-yard touchdown run with 6:06 remaining for a 24-17 lead.

That’s when Clark’s true miracle comeback began. Jock Tilghman had provided much of the production with his 206 rushing yards and a 26-yard touchdown run.  He came through with key runs on Clark’s final drive, but, with time running out and no timeouts, the Cougars had to do something quickly.

Greebauer found the perfect solution with 25 seconds remaining, hurling a 25-yard pass to wide receiver Joe Vasquez, who made a one-handed grab in the end zone to send the game into overtime.

“At first I didn’t know if (Vasquez) caught it, because I couldn’t see it all the way,” Greenbauer said. “Then I saw the crowd going wild.“

What made it more special for Vasquez was the touchdown reception was his first.

“It was a great throw by Hayden, and the line gave him a lot of time to throw,” Vasquez said.

Even that dramatic ending wasn’t enough to seal the victory, because O’Connor kept putting the heat on the Cougars.

Lancaster’s 11-yard touchdown gave the Panthers a 31-24 lead, and Clark countered with Greenbauer’s 1-yard plunge, making the score 31-30.

Then came the big decision for Clark to either send the game into another OT period or go for the win.

The Cougars went for the win and it turned out to be the right call. Greenbauer took the snap and sprinted to his right into the end zone for the victory.