Brodie Flannery was the toast of St Kevin's College when he scored a last-gasp try to give his team a 28-25 win over South Otago High School in Balclutha on Saturday.
It put St Kevin's in the top spot in the middle four of the Highlanders First XV competition.
St Kevin's finished top of the round robin competition with 11 points and will play Gore in the middle four final in Oamaru next weekend.
Flannery was switched from fullback to halfback when he broke through the defence from 60m out. Four phases later, he burst down the short side to score the winning try.
St Kevin's led 14-13 at halftime but South Otago came storming back in the second spell and two tries by wing Gavin Stark gave his side a 25-14 lead, with just 10 minutes left.
South Otago was on top at this stage, with halfback Dion Shaw and flanker Shane Calder having strong games. But St Kevin's never conceded the game and two converted tries in the last 10 minutes gave the Oamaru school the narrow win.
The other St Kevin's tries were scored by winger Nick Plaza, centre Gaston Bazan and prop Sionne Palaa. Midfield back Tim O'Malley kicked four conversions and flanker Jacob Coughlan impressed.
Gore High School scored five tries at home when it beat Dunstan High School 35-5.
Centre Hayden Stephens and first five-eighth Jarvis Wallace both scored two tries.
Tyson Crown had his kicking boots on and landed four goals to score 10 points. The other players to impress in the Gore team were prop Damon Matheson and dynamic openside flanker Tyler Halsmore.
Otago Boys' High School remained unbeaten when it scored nine tries to beat Waitaki Boys' High School 53-3 at Littlebourne.
Winger Corey Miller bagged two tries and midfield back Aleki Morris scored his 33rd try of the season. In all games this winter, Otago Boys' has scored 175 tries.
Morris, who has started in every game, formed an attacking midfield combination with Sio Tomkinson. The best of the Otago Boys' forwards were prop Jermaine Ainsley and No 8 Alex Fitzgerald.
Otago Boys' finished top of the competition and will play Waitaki Boys' again next week in the Highlanders First XV final in Dunedin.
In the other top four game, Southland Boys' High School beat King's High School 22-15 in Invercargill.
John McGlashan College topped the bottom four when it beat Kavanagh College 10-0, with midfield backs Chris O'Connell and Markis Schaaf scoring the tries.
Menzies College beat James Hargest High School 55-0 and will play McGlashan in the bottom four final in Dunedin.
First XV
Playoff points
Top four: Otago Boys' 15, Waitaki Boys' 9, Southland Boys' 6, Kings 2.
Middle four: St Kevin's 11, Gore 10, Dunstan 8, South Otago 2.
Bottom four: John McGlashan 14, Menzies 10, Kavanagh 5, James Hargest 0.
