GENESEE – Junior Marley Pearce stopped Genesee QB Jackson Banks' two-point conversion attempt in overtime to give Wallace a 68-66 win in the 1A State Playoffs.  

Wallace QB Cooper Miller passed for 394 yards, ran for 100 yards, and had 34 receiving yards while accounting for nine touchdowns, six through the air, two on the ground, and one receiving on a night when the Miners needed every drop of magic the sophomore had.  

Midway through the final frame, the Miners found themselves down two scores with time ticking. Miller connected with junior Henry Larson on a 30-yard score, then recovered an onside kick to set up Miller’s first rushing score with just under two minutes left.  

"I haven't had a feeling like that in a long time," Wallace coach Jared Young said. "These boys came from down in the depths.” 

Genesee would drive down and score again, going up eight with 31 seconds remaining.  

Miller would connect with Larson again, this time on a 39-yard catch to set up Gus Scott's six-yard score with 12 seconds left. Miller and Scott would also link up for the conversion to tie the game at 60.  

In overtime, Miller took the first play to the house, then hit Scott for the conversion.  

Genesee's offense was a blend of deep shots and option plays that had Wallace on their heels all night long.

"We needed a few plays to go our way, and they showed up," Young said. "Hats off to Genesee, they're a great team and ran the option really well tonight."  

The Miners’ talented receiving trio of Larson, Lennox Radford, and Scott caught 22 passes, Larson grabbing 11 of them for 222 yards and three touchdowns, giving him 22 catches for 547 yards and five scores in Wallace’s two postseason games.  

“Midway through the fourth quarter, I was like, “man, at least it was a good game,” Miller said. “But then we recovered some onside kicks, and my guys were making plays. Even when they’re not open, I know if I can get it to them, they can go up and get it.”  

Pearce, currently ranked third in Idaho 8-man in total tackles, has played on an injured ankle for the past month, but he’s been a vacuum for the Miners on defense. After he reaggravated the injury early on Friday, Young had to mix up his coverages to give his defensive leader a few extra reps off.  

“He got hurt early and we had to change what we were doing,” Young said. “But when we needed some plays, Marley made some.” 

Pearce finished with a season-low six tackles but has 122 for the season.  

Wallace will play Tri-Valley on Saturday, at 1 p.m. (MST) at Cambridge Jr./Sr. High School.  

Wallace        16    16    0    28    8    —    68  

Genesee    6    24    8    22    6    —    66  

First quarter  

Gen — Cameron Holmes 3 run (conversion failed)  

Wall — Henry Larson 50 pass from Cooper Miller (Miller run)  

Wall — Lennox Radford 5 pass from Miller (Larson pass from Miller)  

Second quarter   

Gen — Noah Bollman 4 run (conversion successful)  

Gen — Bollman 29 pass from Jackson Banks (conversion successful)  

Wall — L. Radford 34 pass from Miller (conversion successful)  

Gen — Bollman 55 pass from Banks (conversion successful)  

Wall — Larson 16 pass from Miller (conversion successful)  

Third quarter  

Gen — Bollman 10 pass from Holmes (conversion successful)  

Fourth quarter  

Gen — Holmes 8 run (conversion successful)  

Wall — Miller 35 pass from Radford (conversion failed)  

Gen — Bollman 9 run (conversion failed)  

Wall — Larson 30 pass from Miller (conversion successful)  

Wall — Miller 3 run (conversion failed)  

Gen — Banks 1 run (conversion successful)  

Wall — Gus Scott 6 pass from Miller (conversion successful)  

Overtime  

Wall — Miller 10 run (conversion successful)  

Gen — Bollman 10 run (conversion failed) 

    Miner Henry Larson steps through a tackle after making one of his 11 catches against Genesee.