Oct 14, 2016 4 min read

CLAYSVILLE – Entering Friday’s matchup against South Park, the McGuffey Highlanders had a chance to make the playoffs again after last week’s win against Southmoreland.

The plan was simple for coach Ed Dalton’s Highlanders. If the Highlanders won out, they make the playoffs.

Unfortunately for McGuffey, things didn’t go according to plan.

The Highlanders struggled to move the football at times and lost a key fumble in the fourth quarter as their playoff hopes went up in flames in a 13-7 Interstate Conference loss to visiting South Park.

“It’s a tough one,” Dalton said. “We are just so injured. That’s not an excuse because every team has injuries, but at one point this season, we were down 16 starters. We played well though. We had some mixups in coverage early in the game and didn’t get off the field on third down, but we battled. I thought we were going to win the game.”

Entering the fourth quarter down 13-0, the Highlanders (3-3, 4-4) nearly did rally.

After McGuffey quarterback Marcus Czulewicz scored on a four-yard run to make it a 13-7 game, the Highlanders’ Luke Shingle recovered an Isaiah Mack fumble to set McGuffey up with great field position.

But four plays later, McGuffey’s Spencer Gillispie took a big hit from Cameron Ruggles that forced the ball loose. The Eagles recovered and were able to run out the clock.

“I thought we were wearing them down at that point,” Dalton said. “We started moving the ball and at that point, I really thought we were going to win. That fumble was caused though. We didn’t bobble a handoff on anything. Their guy made a big play.”

South Park (3-2, 3-4) had success moving the ball on the Highlanders defense from the opening kickoff, but managed just seven first-half points.

The Eagles opened with a 14-play drive that resulted in a 37-yard missed field goal by Gary Raymond.

After the Highlanders went three-and-out on their opening possession, the Eagles found the end zone when quarterback Jordan Kmonk scampered 15 yards to give the Eagles a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

Kmonk had success through the air and on the ground, completing 12 of 17 pass attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown. Kmonk also added 93 yards rushing on 20 carries.

“We were very happy with the way we moved the ball on offense,” South Park head coach Marty Rieck said. “Jordan does a great job controlling the offense. He is our commander on the field and I was very happy with his performance tonight.”

McGuffey’s best drive of the first half happened in the second quarter when they marched 11 plays down to the South Park 11-yard line. However, a holding call backed McGuffey up and they came up empty when Teague Nicolella’s 38-yard field goal attempt hit off the left upright.

The Highlanders went into the half down 7-0 and mounted a few second half drives, but the South Park defense held every time.

“All season long our defense has put us in position to win games,” Rieck said. “We have been very confident in that unit all year and holding that McGuffey team to just seven points is an accomplishment.”

The Eagles looked like they put the game away late in the third quarter when they went on a 16-play drive that took 6:43 off the clock, culminating with a five-yard touchdown pass from Kmonk to Aaron Walker, extending the SP lead to 13-0.

But Czulewicz brought the Highlanders back with a nine-play scoring drive to make it a one possession game.

Czulewicz struggled throwing the ball, but finished with 121 yards rushing on 24 carries.

“Marcus did what Marcus does, Dalton said. “If he isn’t the best player in this conference, I don’t know who is.”

With the playoffs not an option, the Highlanders will look to finish on a high note when they play a non-conference game against Chartiers-Houston next week before finishing up with Derry.

“It’s disappointing because we started the year with great depth and high expectations,” Dalton said. “I feel bad for these guys. But the good thing is a lot of young guys are on the field getting valuable experience for the future. It’s no one’s fault. Sometimes, it just isn’t in the cards.”