Forced into hoping to play the role of spoiler after an 0-4 start in Class 4A, Region 8 play, St. John Paul II did just that Thursday night in Madison at Discovery Middle School, rallying to stun playoff hopeful New Hope 27-20.

Trailing 20-6 after three quarters, the Falcons (2-5, 1-4) got three straight touchdown passes from Paul Andrzejewski to Cody Johnson in the final period to pick up their first region win. New Hope, 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the region and tied for the final playoff spot, was dealt a blow to its playoff hopes. The Indians will likely need to win their last two region games to have a shot at the postseason.

After entering halftime tied 6-6, New Hope scored on its first two times with the ball in the third quarter. Quarterback Wyatt Bolden ran for his second score of the game followed by Danny Fuell going in from a yard out to make it 20-6.

But suddenly, a JPII offense that had been held in check to that point came alive in the fourth quarter. Starting on the New Hope 44 to open the fourth quarter, Andrzejewski hit Tyler Sottolano for 40 yards, then hooked up with Johnson from 4 yards out on the next play to trim New Hope’s lead to 20-13.

A three-and-out from the Falcons defense after a failed onside kick attempt gave the Falcons the ball back on their 18 and four plays later, Andrzejewski found a wide-open Johnson behind the Indians’ defense for a 70-yard score, tying the game at 20 with just under eight minutes to go.

“We’ve been trying to get the ball to Cody the past couple games, and things didn’t work out for us,” St. John Paul II coach Padraic Heiliger said. “We saw it open up tonight and Paul had some great throws. We’ve been working on those routes, and it paid off.”

Andrzejewski finished the game 17-of-24 for 282 yards with the three touchdowns, while Johnson hauled in 7 passes for 74 yards. Sottolano was the game’s leading receiver with 115 yards on five grabs.

Another three-and-out from the Falcon defense put the home team at its own 42, and just under three minutes later Johnson was wide open in the end zone from 4 yards out for the go-ahead score.

New Hope’s last shot to tie or win the game was aided by a Falcons defense that committed three 15-yard penalties on the ensuing drive, helping the Indians reach the JPII 15, but on fourth down Luke Songy stepped in front of a pass attempt to ice the game.

The game looked like it might have been a shootout to start, with the Falcons getting 61 rushing yards on the game’s first two plays before a Steven Taylor field goal from 38 yards opened the scoring. New Hope took advantage of starting at the Falcon 32 and Bolden ran in from 21 yards away to make it 6-3.

The score remained 6-3 until just over a minute remained in the second quarter, when JPII capped a 23-play drive that consumed 10:40 and a Taylor field goal from 20 yards made it 6-6 at the break.

Star of the game: Andrzejewski, who overcame a first-half interception and 95 yards at halftime, threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the second half. The three touchdown passes all came in the fourth quarter.

Play of the game: Down 20-13, Andrzejewski hit a wide-open Johnson behind the New Hope defense for a 70-yard score, tying the game at 20 and giving the Falcons momentum after trailing by two scores entering the fourth quarter.

Stat sheet: St. John Paul II – 368-201, the total offensive edge for JPII in the win. At the half, the Falcons had controlled play with a 179-68 edge, running 16 more plays in the first half. Despite all that, it was 6-6 at the break. New Hope – 132 yards of total offense for Bolden, who rushed for a pair of scores, and completed 9-of-14 passes.

By the numbers: 10:40 – The length of the scoring drive from JPII in the second quarter that went from its 18 to the New Hope 2, before settling for a field goal. 6 – The number of points New Hope scored in the first half despite three drives starting in JPII territory.

Coachspeak: “They’ve always had the ability to stay in the game, but it’s been hard on them, just the low numbers, they get tired. We’ve been talking about it all season, finishing no matter what the score is, and they did it today. They came together as a team, they focused, executed and did it.” – St. John Paul II head coach Paddy Heiliger

“The defense did great through three quarters. We just gave up two balls that gave them short fields and kind of changed the dynamics of it. I was really proud of the effort through the first three quarters, I think the second quarter they had a 23-play drive and got 3 points from it. They did a great job, but we’re a real young team and we’ve got to learn to finish and finish those games off. We had a real good third quarter, but we just didn’t finish it off tonight.” – New Hope head coach Tyler Johnson

What’s next: New Hope will host region leader Randolph. St. John Paul II will travel to 1-6 DAR looking to make it two wins in a row.