ARIMO — When wide receiver Josh Jensen knelt to gather in the low toss from quarterback Griffin Green to complete a two-point conversion against Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon at Marsh Valley, it may not have only have saved a season, but quite possibly kept the career of Malad's first-year head coach Coda Tchida alive as well.

    The reception completed a comeback which led to an 8-7 "victory" in a Kansas City Playoff to break a three-way tie in the 2A Fifth District with Aberdeen and Soda Springs. Previously, these decisions were made with a simple three-way coin flip, but coaches and players wanted a chance to determine their collective fates on the gridiron.

    The "games," similar to overtime contests in college, feature the team that wins a coin toss on offense from the defense's 40 yard line. From there, it is played as a regulation game, with the team trying to score. The opponent is then give a change to tie or go-ahead.

    The Dragons, who won only two games in 2012, finished 3-1 in district during the regular and thus came in second behind West Side in the league. The triumph in Saturday’s event gives Malad a postseason spot at the Dome in Boise next Saturday against Salmon (time to be determined). Meanwhile, with a record of 2-2 in the playoff, the Aberdeen Tigers earned a trip to Declo on Friday at 7 p.m.

    "We overcame so much this season," said Tchida of his squad, which finished with a 2-6 record over all and a 2-2 mark, good enough for second in the district. "Three coaches in three years, injuries and some really tough losses had us down for a while, but around conference play time, we began to buy into the system and our game plan. It's hard for a first-year person to get people to believe in his system, but these kids really understand. I think we are playing our best right now."

    Soda Springs, on the other hand, which rushed out to six straight wins and finished at 6-2 (1-3), was the unfortunate loser in the playoff. It was the opposite of 2011, when the Cardinals knocked Aberdeen out of the postseason in this same KC exhibition.

    "It's tough to go in the locker room and see these seniors crying, but we really lost this chance when Malad beat us last week," Soda Springs rookie head coach Brent Erickson said. "We needed to take care of things in the regular season. Today, we fumbled a couple of times and that really hurt us, but we have a great group that will be ready for 2013."

    In Malad's three "wins," defense played a huge role, as well, with junior cornerback Keith Synder grabbing two interceptions and another teammate recovering a fumble versus Soda.

    "Our coaches really stressed that defense would win these games," Snyder said. "On both plays, I had a really good look at the ball. We really pulled together at the right time."

    Jensen, who also grabbed a wobbly pass from Green to score against the Cardinals in an earlier set, was low-key, but happy nevertheless. This feels great," he said. "We're going to the Dome. It's what we've fought for all year. We had a tough season, but this makes up for it. We are really happy right now."

    As for the Tigers, defense was the key for their success, too, as senior middle linebacker Rodrigo Bravo scooped up a fumble against Soda to seal the 8-0 "win" in the fifth go-around. He also rumbled in from the 20 for the only score in his role as fullback.

    "He's a big-time player for us," head coach Cory Hollingsworth said. "His recovery there was just another key play he's made for us all season long. Last year, we were the odd man out, but now we're in. In such a small conference every game counts. We're pretty happy right now."