With 2:43 left to go in their Homecoming game against Liberty, one point and 73 yards separated Mercer Island from the Patriots.

Senior wide receiver Griffin Kane was in at quarterback, taking over for Blake Swanson, who left the game in the second quarter with a right leg injury. Mercer Island’s other two QBs on the depth chart were already unavailable due to injuries, bumping Kane up to backup QB for Friday’s game.

So how does the saying go? Next man up?

The Mercer Island senior stepped in as signal-caller for the game’s remaining three quarters and didn’t disappoint. With Liberty ahead 21-20, Kane marched Mercer Island 71 yards on the team’s final drive to Liberty’s two-yard line. He finished the drive two plays later, rushing two yards into the end zone to rally the Islanders past the Patriots for a 26-21 Homecoming win Friday night at Islander Stadium.

Not bad for a guy who, until this week, wasn’t listed as a quarterback.

“I couldn’t be more proud of my team right now,” Kane said, visibly emotional after the game. “We’re down on numbers, everybody contributed, it was a great win.”

Mercer Island came face-to-face with its quarterback predicament in the opening minute of the second quarter. Swanson was taken down after scrambling for a 29-yard gain in a 7-7 game. Unable to put weight on his right leg, he had to be helped off the field.

Kane took over under center, and seven plays later, found Jackson Caputo on a 38-yard touchdown pass to give Mercer Island a 13-7 lead.

“Griffin just plays. You look at him in terms of his fundamentals and his skills, and it’s not pretty, but he gets the job done,” Mercer Island coach Brett Ogata said. “He was a gamer tonight. He really stepped up and made huge plays for us.”

The Patriots (3-2, 1-2) responded with a nine-play, 69-yard drive, culminating with Liberty’s Austin Regis hauling in a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nate Solly. Liberty connected on the PAT to take a 14-13 lead at the break.

The Patriots extended their advantage on their first possession of the second half. Mercer Island appeared to force Liberty to punt, but Solly successfully executed the fake, rushing for a first down to the Mercer Island 46-yard line. Four plays later, Solly found Torey Anderson on a 16-yard touchdown pass to put the Patriots ahead 21-13.

Mercer Island (2-3, 1-2) cut the deficit on its ensuing drive. Kane converted on fourth-and-7 with a 28-yard pass to Mitchell Mandt to put the Islanders at the Liberty 4-yard line. Jordano Mark broke into the end zone on the next play to make it a one-point game heading into the final period.

The Islanders recovered a Patriot fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter, but were unable to capitalize. Liberty forced Mercer Island to punt on their next possession, but the Islander defense subsequently forced the Patriots into a three-and-out, giving the Mercer Island offense one more chance with just under three minutes left in the game.

Kane went to the air, beginning the final drive with a 27-yard pass to Eric Kim to put the Islanders in Patriot territory. Five plays later, it was Kane to Kim again, this time with a 31-yard strike to put the Islanders at the Liberty 2-yard line with 45 seconds remaining.

“I had confidence in Griffin. He knows what I like to do and I’m comfortable with him,” Kim said. “He really put the ball up there for me and did a good job.”

Kane finished the game completing 10-14 passes for 148 yards, throwing for a touchdown as well as rushing for the game-winner.

Though the Islander players were excited to earn their first league win and appear to be through the toughest portion of their schedule, Ogata acknowledged nothing would come easy the rest of the way for a squad as banged up as his.

“The injury bug has our number this year,” he said. “We got some more injuries tonight, I don’t know how bad they are. Hopefully we can weather the storm and keep playing.”

Mercer Island will take on Interlake at 7 p.m. next Friday, Oct. 9 at Interlake High School.