POCATELLO — After a lifetime of dreaming of this moment, plus months of offseason workouts, two-a-days in August, an eight-game regular season and four state playoff games, the Declo Hornets’ state title hopes hinged on one simple bounce of the ball.

Declo trailed 21-20 with 7:57 remaining, but the Hornets had all the momentum. Declo forced Parma to punt — the first punt of the game for either team. However,the dreaded turf goblin at Holt Arena caused the ball to take an unfortunate bounce off a Declo player’s foot, and Parma pounced on the loose ball at Declo’s 13-yard line.

The Panthers scored one play later to steal momentum and went on to win the Class 2A state championship, 36-20.

“To win a title, you’ve got to be strong, stay healthy and all of those things, but you’ve got to be lucky, too,” said Parma coach Greg Asbury. “If (Declo) goes down and scores again, I thought they would have won the game, to be honest with you. We got a lucky bounce of the ball.”

After trailing 21-6 early in the third quarter, Declo came storming back. Jeremy Jenkins threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to McCoy Stoker to make it 21-12. Then, Logan Knopp intercepted quarterback Trevor Kramer on Parma’s next possession to set up Declo’s 15-play, 73-yard scoring drive that culminated in Jenkins’ 1-yard TD sneak to make it a one-point game.

“In football at every level, heart and character has a lot to do with your belief in whether or not you think you can get it done,” said Declo coach Kelly Kidd. “When it was 21-20, the Hornets believed they were going to win the football game. One crazy bounce of the football changed the mentality of our whole team and gave (Parma) the momentum back.”

Blame for the muffed punt cannot be pinned on the player whose foot the ball touched. He was wisely moving away from the ball on the play, but it took a bad hop.

After the muffed punt and Parma’s quick score, Declo turned the ball over on downs for the fourth time. Parma then extended its lead and put the game away on Kramer’s 5-yard touchdown run.

As a rematch of the 2008 title game, in which Parma beat Declo 29-28, the sequel played out eerily similar. Each team had most of the same cast of characters. Just like 2008, Parma again led by a touchdown at halftime and Declo made a second-half comeback. But while the Hornets would have liked nothing more to rewrite the ending, the final plot unfolded the same. Just like 2008, the game came down to a botched special teams play.

“There were a few little things that we could have done to make it a better outcome for us,” said Declo senior lineman Drew Matsen. “But we played solid all game. Parma is just a good football team. We figured that the team that made the most mistakes would lose. I think that happened.”

Kramer, Tyler Ford, and Lance Johnson combined for 227 yards rushing in Parma’s option offense.

“That option causes teenage kids all sorts of dilemmas,” Kidd said. “We made some adjustments at halftime and they worked out well and we gave ourselves a chance to win the game.”

Kidd praised Parma’s ability to run the ball against Declo’s defense, especially studs Sage Warner and Mark Knobbe.

“I’m not sure how they did it, but they neutralized two of the best kids in the state and made them non-factors in the game,” Kidd said. “We didn’t do a good enough job of freeing up those two kids so that they could make the plays that they usually make.”

Asbury said the Panthers’ rushing success came from a new wrinkle installed just this week.

“We ran an inside dive on them, which we haven’t run all year. It came to me on Wednesday at practice,” Asbury said. “We thought it might work, and it did. I thought, you know, this might work, and it did. For a kid with a broken ankle, (Knobbe) played his butt off.”

While Parma’s option gave Declo trouble, it was Kramer’s arm that caused the most damage. The junior completed 9 of 14 passes for 206 yards.

“The difference in the game in my mind was the fact that we were able to throw the ball over their heads a few times,” Asbury said.

Declo turned the ball over on downs to end its first two drives of the night after the Hornets drove to Parma’s 5 and 26 yard lines, respectively.

After Declo’s first turnover on downs, Parma drove 95 yards in 13 plays, highlighted by Kramer’s 35-yard pass over the top to Devin Erickson, and Johnson ran for the 9-yard touchdown to give Parma an early 7-0 lead.

Declo got on the board in the second quarter when Jenkins raced 49 yards for a TD.

Another long pass from Kramer to Erickson over the top set up Parma’s next score, which Johnson punched in from a yard out, giving Parma a 14-6 halftime advantage.

“It’s devastating,” Kidd said. “We knew the game would hinge on a turnover or a special teams play. That turned the tide of the game. It took the heart right out of us.”

Next year Parma (11-0) moves up to Class 3A, leaving the 2A ranks as back-to-back state champs and with a 22-game winning streak. Declo finished its season 11-1 and with its second state title game appearance in school history.

“We feel proud to do that,” Matsen said. “Yeah, we lost, but we accomplished something that no other Declo team has. We won 11 straight games. We were hoping for a 12th, but you always have trials and tribulations.”

Parma 36, Declo 20

Parma 7 7 7 15 — 36

Declo 0 6 6 8 — 20

First quarter

Parma — Lance Johnson 9 run (Devin Erickson kick) 2:19

Second quarter

Declo — Jeremy Jenkins 49 run (kick failed) 2:59

P — Johnson 1 run (Erickson kick) 0:59

Third quarter

P —Tyler Ford 56 pass from Trevor Kramer (Erickson kick) 10:36

D — McCoy Stoker 64 pass from Jenkins (pass failed) 8:54

Fourth quarter

D—Jenkins 1 run (Larsen Webb pass from Jenkins) 9:44

P — Ford 14 run (Johnson run) 7:57

P — Kramer 5 run (Erickson kick) 3:43

Individual stats

Rushing—Parma: Miller 3-7, Johnson 12-80, Ford 14-95, Kramer 4-52, Urabazzo 1-0, Erickson 1-4, Jacobo 1-1, Griener 1-3. Declo: Jenkins 9-38, Briggs 12-31, Webb 12-53, Stoker 3-54, Peterson 1-3.

Passing— Parma: Kramer 9-14-206-1-1. Declo: Jenkins 10-25-168-1-0.

Receiving—Parma: Erickson 3-105, Riley 3-35, Ford 1-56, Jacobo 1-5, Griener 1-5. Declo: Peterson 4-42, Webb 2-35, Stoker 2-66, Knopp 2-25