McGuffey playoff hopes are dashed by late TD
101912_PHO_mcguff_002 - sports - jim mcnutt McGuffey's Brent Blacharczyk (44), leaps for the football just out of his reach allowing Keystone Oak's Dale Klobuchir (25) to intercept in the 2nd quarter. McGuffey High School football team hosted Keyston Oaks at McGuffey fielsd next to the high school Friday night.
101912_PHO_mcguff_001 - sports - jim mcnutt - McGuffey's James Duchi (23) breaks open for big yardage as Keystone Oak's Doug White (22) closes in for the tackle in the 2nd quarter. McGuffey High School's football team hosted Keystone Oaks at McGuffey field next to the high school Friday night.
101912_PHO_mcguff_005 - sports - jim mcnutt - Frustrated, McGuffey's players sit on the bench while their coach gives them instructions close to the end of the 2nd quarter. From left: Anthony Musolino (60, Nick Matheny (75) and Ryan Ward, (53) McGuffey High School's football team hosted Keystone Oaks at McGuffey field next to the high school Friday night.
CLAYSVILLE – Before anyone on McGuffey’s football team could even begin considering the numerous playoff possibilities that the final week of the high school season might present, the Highlanders had to win Friday night’s Century Conference game against winless Keystone Oaks.That little chore turned into a monumental problem.In one of the more surprising upsets of the season, Keystone Oaks chalked up its first win and ripped up the playoff hopes of McGuffey with a 28-21 win.The loss ends the chances that McGuffey (2-5, 3-5) could finish fourth in the conference. This see-saw game tilted to Keystone Oaks when the Golden Eagles drove 54 yards in five plays for the game-winning touchdown, a 13-yard pass from Kobe Phillippi to Cory Sevacko with 11 seconds remaining.”It was a terrible game, just terrible,” said a disappointed McGuffey head coach Ed Dalton. “It was very frustrating.”For Matt Taylor, the former Burgettstown head coach who took the job at KO (1-6, 1-7) this season, it was a win worth waiting for.”I couldn’t be more proud,” said Taylor. “They battled hard after getting beat up the first few weeks. We did a good job finishing the game this week.”As has been the case for most of the season, the Highlanders got off to a slow start, falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, which also was the halftime deficit.”We came out so flat,” said Dalton. “I don’t understand why.”McGuffey had opportunities to score earlier in the game, but three costly turnovers dashed those hopes. Fullback Cody Haines fumbled the ball away at the Keystone Oaks 43 with 1:38 left in the first quarter, quarterback Nathan Whipkey was intercepted on a fourth-down pass by Sevacko at the KO five-yard line with 1:21 left in the half, and fullback Brent Blacharczyk lost a fumble at the Golden Eagles’ two-yard line.”I’m so frustrated,” said Dalton. “I wanted to have a chance (to make the playoffs) next week.”McGuffey roared back in the second half, scoring twice, but still trailed, 14-13, because Braydon Griffiths blocked the extra-point attempt by Shawn Sanders with 9:54 to play.Keystone Oaks put together an awesome 12-play, 74-yard drive that ate 7:01 of the fourth quarter clock and took a 21-13 lead when Dale Klobuchar, who rushed for 150 yards on 33 carries, scored from 11 yards out with 2:53 left.McGuffey stormed right back to tie it, using a 34-yard kickoff return by Jake Seabright to set up a 52-yard, eight-play drive that was keyed by Whipkey’s first completion, a 26-yarder to Dylan Fuller.Four players later, Whipkey slipped over from the three and Blacharczyk bulled over for the two-point conversion to tie the game, 21-21. But there was still 1:03 to play.”We gashed them, and they gashed us,” Dalton said. “That’s the way it went the whole game.”The key play in the final KO drive was a pass interference call on McGuffey that gave the Golden Eagles the ball at the Highlanders’ 13. Sevacko made the game-winning catch on the next play.James Duchi rushed for 120 yards on 25 carries and went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. McGuffey rushed for 267 yards.”We didn’t do one thing different than we did in the first half,” Dalton said. “Not one thing. We’ve got to come out of the gate better.”