It was fun they had to earn the hard way, from what they did on offense to Mike Jackson breaking up a fourth-down pass to seal it. They stretched the definition of “bend but don’t break” to its literal breaking point, and yet, somehow, it worked.
“The guys just kept battling; the defense gave us another opportunity. And I was just so proud of the way that we finished,” Canales said. “It’s something that we talk about; it’s just finding a way to finish, and sometimes it takes the whole time. Just proud of the guys, really fired up and excited for that.
“It was just a great job of the guys just having that finish mentality, and I think the discipline of it is you don’t pass judgment on the outcome of a game based on what happens early on. And it was back and forth a little bit there. But for the guys to be able to play our calls, to execute the way we want them to execute and make plays when it came to them, the guys have got to be proud of that. I can’t be more fired up for a group that has had to just fight and scratch and find a way to play defense.”
But perhaps the best thing for Canales is that his players are beginning to sound like him, especially the leaders, the guys other players look to in difficult situations. The message is gaining traction.
Hubbard was exhausted, and bloodied, and relieved, and grateful. All at the same time. And as he talked about it, you could tell that it meant something more because of the way it came about.
“Coach Canales has kind of harped on us since day one; just keep trusting the process and build this identity regardless of what happens,” Hubbard said. “And we showed our best today and kind of what we’ve been trying to build here. So to see it come to light is a good feeling. . . .
“I think that’s how you want to finish the game, obviously a victory formation, but just knowing that, with the game on the line, defense getting a great stop early on and then afterward, they put it on us to get it in there and everyone showed up and did their part. It was definitely a great feeling. Just got to keep building off of the next.”