What's in a name?

Though there's no blood relation between head Warrior football coach Tony Lombardi and Packer legend Vince, they're kindred spirits I'm convinced after tonight's thrilling Iowa high school class 4A playoff football victory over the crosstown Cougars.

Trailing by 14 late in the game, down 3-0 in turnovers, with the starting quarterback long-since injured, the Warriors staged a spectacular comeback to narrow the gap to one point with the extra point try coming and less than two minutes on the clock. The fans around me were aghast when it appeared the Warriors would go for the two-point conversion and the win rather than play for overtime.

I pointed to the scoreboard, which showed something like 1:53 remaining and three timeouts at our disposal. I thought it was the right call, however risky, given the circumstances. I'm sure Vince would have agreed.

The Warriors had to burn a timeout because the offense wasn't expecting the two-point try and then failed to convert on a poor play selection. "They'll be talking about this at the coffee shop tomorrow," I said as if I were in Dillon, Texas.

My fan-mates chuckled, as if there actually were such a coffee shop and they had any clue about the reference. Dillon this is not, although I was taken back early on when a mom criticized the play calling with a piercing "this ain't Linn-Mar, coach."

The ensuing on-side kick attempt resulted in an illegal touch -- my favorite penalty -- and Cougar ball at our 48. After allowing a quick first down, the defense stiffened and forced a punt. Judicious use of timeouts and poor clock management by the Cougars -- whose quarterback threw the ball out of bounds instead of taking a knee on third and nine -- gave us the ball with just under a minute left and 70 yards to go.

On the sideline, kickers began alternating warm-up attempts (which tells you something about the coach's decision to go for two). The backup quarterback moved the team down field and threw his fifth touchdown pass of the night with seven seconds remaining.

"I wanted to win the game," Lombardi said of the two-point attempt. Vince would approve. I know I did.