Note: Parts of this story were pulled from the Plain Dealer article written about this game by Bill Nichols

While the rest of the John Carroll campus was enjoying Labor Day weekend, the Blue Streak football team traveled to Buffalo, New York to open its 1989 season.

There were many expectations placed on this squad, as it was coming off a 7-2 season, a near miss at an NCAA playoff berth, and would be embarking on a new journey in a new conference.

There was also the addition of quarterback Larry Wanke.

The Benedictine High School grad by way of the University of Pittsburgh would make his John Carroll debut against the University of Buffalo, and in thrilling fashion, the Blue Streaks prevailed on this day, 20-15.

As Bill Nichols wrote, "Larry Wanke entered John Carroll in January, but yesterday it was when he found a home with the Blue Streaks."

That was because Wanke's 45-yard touchdown pass with 2:07 remaining in the contest were the winning points.

"It was a heckuva game,' said JCU coach Tony DeCarlo. "We beat a quality football team ... I saw more character out there today than I've seen in the past."

Wanke's first pass as a Blue Streak was a touchdown. After Buffalo mishandled a punt at the end of its opening series, JCU needed just one play - a 27-yard strike from Wanke to Hank Durica - to put points on the board. Steve Graeca's extra point made the score 7-0.

Both teams scored in the second quarter. Buffalo pulled to within one point on a one-yard run by Ray Hobson (the extra point was missed), but the Blue Streaks answered with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Wanke to Durica, taking a 14-6 lead into the break.

Buffalo, which was coached by former JCU mentor Bill Dando and would soon by making the transition to Division I, began to take charge in the second half. A 36-yard Tony Dates field goal in the third cut the Blue Streaks' lead to 14-9, and then a blocked punt late in the fourth quarter set up the Bulls' go ahead score. Frank Reilly found Bryant lee Taylor for a 7-yard pass with 2:18 to play.

John Carroll got great field position on the ensuing kickoff, and on the very next play, Wanke found Naim for the winning play.

"Wow, I am so happy for him," said DeCarlo of Naim, who was playing the game with a cast to protect a broken finger. "He has hung with it for nearly four years and to make a big play like that."

Still, it was not over as Buffalo had time to answer. The Bulls were able to move the ball down to the John Carroll 16-yard line in the waning seconds, but Keith Farber intercepted a pass at the goal line as time ran out.

Defensively, JCU yielded just 15 points on the day and forced three turnovers. Dave Rastoka led the way with 18 tackles, while Tom Mylott and John Tompkins each had 13.

"This game was different" said Wanke of his Division III debut. "They came at us early with a lot of blitzes and we didn't adjust. That was the difference for a while. It was confusing int he first half, but we corrected the problem in the second half. This was a character check. This football was as good as I expected."

The player on the end of the remarkable winning play was asked by Nichols if the cast was a problem.

"It didn't bother me much," said Naim. "Now it doesn't bother me at all. This is the greatest feeling I could have."

The Blue Streaks rode that feeling to a 9-2 season, an Ohio Athletic Conference title and its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance. The 1989 team is being inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame in October of 2019.