Throughout Friday night's Greater Neuse River 4A Conference battle with Smithfield-Selma, the Clayton Comets' defense rose up with one big play after another.

But with the game, and possibly their season on the line, the Comets came up with their biggest play of the night, in doing so, they marched into the NCHSAA playoffs.

And it came in the most unexpected manner.

With time running out in a 7-7 game and Smithfield-Selma on the march at the Comets' 35-yard-line, Spartans coach Anthony Barbour wanted to hit a big play and get his team in range for a potential game-winning field goal.

Moving highly touted running back Josh Snead to a tight end position, the Spartans lined up on third-and-one to attempt a pass that, if successful, would give place kicker Henry Johnson a better chance to split the uprights.

The Spartans hit that big play. Except it went 76 yards in the other direction, in the arms of Comets linebacker Shaquille Mangum, whose interception and subsequent touchdown return with two seconds to play gave the Comets a 13-7 victory.

Comets coach Gary Fowler, who was gathering his coaches and offensive team together to discuss what they would operate in overtime, credited defensive back turned linebacker Donte Johnson with causing the pick.

"Donte did a good job of jumping Snead on the play," Fowler said. "And Shaquille - he can be a good little athlete - that was a sophomore that made that play.

"Donte has come in and given us something in the last two weeks, playing with one arm and one hand [due to an injury]. He has just lifted us up on defense."

The win, in front of a vocal Senior Night turnout, including members of the 1989 2-A state championship team, sends Clayton, which improved to 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the GNRC, into a first-round meeting at Wake Forest-Rolesville this Friday night in the NCHSAA 4-AA playoffs.

"We've had our share of disappointment and heart-breakers," Fowler said. "I reckon the man upstairs smiled and we got the break we haven't gotten all year.

"We kept ourself in the game all night for that break to happen."

Ironically, the Comets, who have lost four games in the latter moments this year, saw their own run of bad luck begin against WF-R in a 16-14 loss on the last play of that game.

But most, if not all of the bad breaks seemed to go against the Spartans, who saw their season end at 4-7 overall and 3-4 in the GNRC. SSS just missed out on the playoff field.

The Spartans, who finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference with the Comets and East Wake, were relegated to sixth due to tie-breaker procedures.

SSS saw two touchdowns called back because of penalties, and failed to score on their opening drive when Snead was stopped three times inside the three-yard line, the last time at the goal.

The first touchdown to be called back came midway through the second quarter when Comets signal caller Matt Reid's pass bounced off the back of intended receiver Lashond Edouard and into the arms of Marquel Gathers, who returned it 80 yards for an apparent score.

But SSS was called for an illegal block, and took over at its 25, and were unable to move the ball.

The second score to be called back came on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, when Snead, held to 51 yards on 31 carries in the contest, took the handoff and roared 59 yards up the middle, only to see the ball brought back for a procedure call.

"When you get two touchdowns called back, and had a chance to score at the one and not get it in, you aren't gong to win football games," Barbour said. "We didn't play very smart football tonight. We had about 110 yards in scores brought back because of penalties."

Neither team had much success moving the ball: SSS rushed for a paltry 73 yards, while Clayton managed only 79. The passing game was relatively ineffective also, as both teams completed a pair of passes but also surrendered a pair of interceptions.

However Clayton's first score came by the pass - a 39-yard completion from Reid to Matt Crutcher, who made a spectacular grab at the Spartans' four-yard line.

Montrelle Sanders scored three plays later, culminating a 62-yard drive on a one-yard burst with seven seconds left in the half.

The Spartans answered with a nine-play, 24-yard drive that started late in the third quarter and was set up by Carlos Ryan's 45-yard punt return. Snead rushed for 14 yards on the drive, Ryals grabbed a seven-yard pass and Driver got a key first down at the one with a two-yard fourth-down plunge.

But the Spartans utilized Gathers for the final yard and the score with 10:14 left in the game.

"Except for that, I think our defense did one heck of a job tonight," Fowler said. "This crowd here could have disintegrated early in the season because of how we lost close games - but it's a credit to our coaches who held these kids together, and to these kids for staying together. It was good to see a bunch of kids smile after what they've been through this season."