C-H handles mistake-prone McGuffey
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Freed by Spencer Thomas’ block, Buccaneer Jordan Irson sprints across midfield, pursued by McGuffey’s Tristan McAdoo in the first quarter Friday night at Buccaneer Stadium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston’s Jordan Irson lifts the ball he just carried across the goal line in the third quarter to give the Buccaneers the margin of victory in Friday’s game against McGuffey.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Chartiers-Houston’s Jordan Irson hangs on to make the tackle that stops Highlander Jeremiah Johnson from reaching the end zone on a first half run Friday night at Buccaneer Stadium.
Chartiers-Houston’s Colton Craig pulls in a Terry Fetsko pass, setting up the Buccaneers’ first touchdown Friday night against McGuffey at Buccaneer Stadium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer- Reporter
HOUSTON – Two years ago, Chartiers-Houston went 7-3 and missed the playoffs.
Last year, the 2A Century Conference only took two teams to the postseason because of the pandemic.
Maybe Chartiers-Houston coach Terry Fetsko was due for some good fortune.
Lady Luck was sweet on the Bucs on Senior Night.
With McGuffey committing 11 penalties total – nine in the first half – and turning the ball over five times – three on downs – the Buccaneers took advantage and won a sloppy but entertaining game, 13-7, over the Highlanders.
“It’s almost like a heavyweight fight,” Fetsko said, “and we were able to throw a couple more punches than them, and we were able to come out on top.”
It might not have been a high school football version of Wilder-Fury III, but it will do in Houston.
With McGuffey coming into the night 3-0 in conference play and Chartiers-Houston 3-1, whoever won would punch their ticket to the playoffs. The Bucs prevailed and will be dancing in the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2016.
“It just feels so good,” said senior Jordan Irson, who finished the night with 85 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. “We’ve worked so hard for four years. The seniors, we worked so hard. We busted our butts every single play. We busted our butts in practice. It just feels good for it to pay off.”
It was a great night to be a Buccaneer. For McGuffey, it was the worst.
The Highlanders weathered their penalty troubles to lead 7-6 at halftime, overcoming a kickoff that featured three – yes, three – penalties on the same play.
Thanks to a regift from Char-Houston’s defense – a facemask penalty turned what would have been a sack by Nathan Gooch into a Highlanders first down – McGuffey drew first blood. Jeremiah Johnson made his way for a 36-yard run to the Chartiers-Houston 5, and Kyle Brookman finished the job with a 5-yard score off a toss.
It looked like the Highlanders would head into halftime up seven, but with 50 seconds left, McGuffey fumbled, and Char-Houston recovered it at the Highlanders’ 24. Two plays and a roughing-the-passer penalty later, Chartiers-Houston capitalized on Irson’s first score, this from 5 yards.
“I don’t know what to say,” McGuffey coach Ed Dalton said. “Yeah, I mean, you can’t make those kinds of mistakes. We’ve made those kinds of turnover mistakes the whole season. In the loss to Southmoreland, we had eight fumbles. We’re going to have to watch the film and coach it better.”
The extra point was no good, however, and because of that, McGuffey held the lead into halftime.
McGuffey’s miscues didn’t end when the first half did. With roughly seven-and-a-half minutes to play in the third quarter, a muffed punt turned sack led to Chartiers-Houston taking over at the McGuffey 20. The Bucs again took advantage of the short field, and again it was Irson who punched it in, this time from 1-yard. It was now 13-7.
“The punt was huge,” Dalton said. “Sometimes that’s on you as a coach. He should have thrown at least an incomplete pass.”
The Buccaneers like to run the ball by committee, but on this Friday, it was clear who the man was: Irson.
“When we need plays, and we need someone to lean on, he’s been that guy,” Fetsko said. “He’s small (5-10, 165) but he’s really physical, has great vision, and he did a tremendous job tonight.”
Chartiers-Houston’s defense took it from there. A Jake Mele interception ended McGuffey’s second-to-last possession, and a stop on 4th-and-3 with little more than 30 seconds left put the ballgame to bed.
Chartiers-Houston closes the season next week against Waynesburg Central. McGuffey has two games left, hosting Beth-Center before ending the season at Washington.
The Highlanders still have a shot at playoff football, but the Buccaneers will officially be in attendance thanks to Friday’s events.
“To come back this year and to go through some of the things we have and all things have over the last year, too, and get to this point, I’m just so proud of our players and coaches,” Fetsko said. “It just means a lot.”