Take the words of Crown Point sophomore Trevor Gibbs.

Then apply them to his football career.

“I never thought I’d be here right now,” he said. “But we did it.”

Or apply those words to everything that transpired during a Class 6A semistate game at Crown Point on Friday night, and they work just as well.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Gibbs made two touchdown catches in the first half to ignite the offense before a dramatic second half — which included a pair of overtime periods — ended with the Bulldogs on top of Westfield 38-31 and headed to their first state championship game.

Crown Point (13-0), which was ranked No. 4 by The Associated Press and No. 5 by the coaches in the final polls, built a 17-0 halftime lead over No. 5/6 Westfield (11-2) on the strength of those TDs by Gibbs, who started his career at linebacker before adding tight end in the middle of his freshman season.

He overcame an early drop to finish with 72 yards on six receptions.

“I just knew I had to come back better,” he said. “Our coaches have always told us to have short memories and to make sure you get after it on the next play.”

Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said the team has confidence in Gibbs every time his number is called.

“We have no problem going to him because he makes incredible catches,” Buzea said. “He’s a big-time player.”

But as Gibbs tried explaining what happened at the end of this game, he just laughed and shook his head in disbelief once again.

“I saw the ball get tipped out of the end zone, and then I just went crazy,” he said.

Gibbs was playing linebacker at the time, helping Crown Point’s defense hold Westfield on fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line. Senior defensive back Jacob Jones tipped the pass away, securing the Bulldogs’ win.

Jones held up that right hand as he spoke, showing off the swollen middle finger — an injury he suffered earlier in the game — that broke up the pass.

“I knew I could get up there to that ball, so I had to do everything I could,” he said. “It was the last play, so I put it all on the line. And after I tipped that ball, everything went blank.”

Buzea wasn’t surprised to see Jones factoring into the game’s decisive play. Jones scored on a 75-yard TD pass in a 34-33 win against Penn in the regional championship game.

“He’s a playmaker on both sides of the ball,” Buzea said. “He’s going to find the ball. That’s just what he does.”

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That final play was hurried due to a fierce pass rush by senior linebacker Will Clark, who hit Westfield quarterback Jackson Gilbert just as the ball was released.

“I was just saying, “Please don’t catch it! Please don’t catch it!’” Clark said.

Like so many of his teammates, Clark struggled to find the words to convey what he was feeling after a second straight last-second win by the Bulldogs, who led 24-10 in the fourth quarter before Westfield rallied. Crown Point junior quarterback Noah Ehrlich scored on a 3-yard run in the second OT.

“I’m still trying to process what happened,” he said. “I felt the same way last week. The whole team just played their butts off.”

Slowly, the words did come to Clark, though.

“It’s the best season in Crown Point history, and it’s crazy that I get to be a part of it,” he said.

Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.