Washington toes line, wins with late TD
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter
Tayshawn Levy (2) and Carlos Harper (1) celebrate their 41-34 victory over McGuffey at Wash High Stadium Friday night.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter
Taviare Vereen, all alone at the 3 yard line, pulls in a Davoun Fuse pass and scores as the Prexies pull ahead of McGuffey at the end of the second quarter Friday night at Wash High Stadium.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter
Washington’s Zxavian Willis crosses the goal ilne with the Davoun Fuse pass that put the Prexies ahead of the Highlanders at the end of the October 29 game against McGuffet at Wash High Stadium.
Stretch run
Washington’s Davoun Fuse reaches over the goal line for a touchdown from the one-yard line in the fourth quarter of the Prexies’ game against rival McGuffey at Wash High Stadium.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
McGuffey’s Christian Cipoletti makes a 33-yard touchdown catch last Friday night against Washington. The Highlanders begin the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs tonight at Laurel. Thirteen area teams will be in action tonight. Belle Vernon, the top seed in Class 4A, has the night off because of a first-round bye.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Washington's Travis Crutcher hauls in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Davoun Fuse, eluding McGuffey's Ethan Janivich for the Prexies' second touchdown in the first quarter Friday night at Wash High Stadium.
Often times, neighborhood rivalry games produce the best drama in high school football.
Friday night’s Class 2A Century Conference clash between McGuffey and Washington at Wash High Stadium was exhibit A of that football philosophy.
In a game that had everything, the Prexies rose from the dead and scored with three seconds remaining to pull out a wild 41-34 win. With the victory, Washington wins the Century Conference outright and earned its 43rd consecutive home win.
McGuffey (4-2, 5-5) scored on a Kyle Brookman two-yard touchdown plunge with 20.5 seconds left to pull the Highlanders to within 33-32. Highlanders coach Ed Dalton chose going for it all, a two-point conversion. His call came up aces when Ethan Dietrich pushed in for the conversion to give McGuffey a 34-33 lead and an apparent win.
But the Prexies, led by the indomitable quarterback Davoun Fuse, refused to lose. Taking possession at their own 45, Fuse ran to the Highlanders’ 29. With nine seconds remaining, Fuse scrambled right and fired a bullet to Zxavian Willis for the game winner. Fuse found Crutcher for the sundae-topping two-point conversion.
“We practice that two-minute drill all year,” Prexies coach Mike Bosnic noted. “I had confidence we could make it happen even with 20 seconds left.”
Fuse finished with 13 completions in 18 attempts for 252 yards and four touchdown passes along with a short touchdown run. Tayshawn Levy rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries.
McGuffey was paced by Philip McCune’s 127 yards on 12 carries.
Washington, which had played only one game in a month’s span due to COVID cancellations, showed the resiliency of a champion throughout as McGuffey continued to challenge all night long.
“I can’t say enough about our grit,” Bosnic noted.
Dalton said the game-winning score should not have been allowed either by his team or the officials.
“He (Fuse) was three yards offsides,” Dalton lamented. “But that is no excuse for us to cover it that bad.”
Dalton added he was pleased with his team’s supreme effort on the evening, even though they came up a hair short.
“This is the team I thought we’d have back in August,” he said.
Undaunted by Washington’s long home-game winning streak, the Highlanders took the second-half kickoff and promptly took the lead when Dietrich plowed in from the 2. McCuen was the catalyst when he sprinted 56 yards on third-and-7 from the McGuffey 33. The two-point play failed, leaving the Highlander lead at 20-19 with 9:04 left in the third and the track meet was on.
Washington responded with a 66 yard Tayshawn Levy run to the Highlanders’ 1 on the Prexies’ ensuing possession. Fuse bounced into the end zone on the next play. His two point pass however fell incomplete as Washington see-sawed back in front 25-20 midway through the third.
McGuffey drove to the Washington 30 on their ensuing drive and faced a fourth and 16. It was here the Prexies defense stood tall as Fuse sacked McCuen for a 12 yard loss and a huge shift in momentum with 3:35 left in the third frame.
Washington had a 24 yard Carlos Harper touchdown pass nullified by a hold on their next drive. A Levy run that netted minus-18 yards after a questionable pitch back from Fuse. Adding insult to injury, Washington was flagged for an illegal crackback block, which put the Prexies in an untenable 2nd-and-48 from their 39.
After assuming possession following Washington’s failed fourth down attempt, McCuen found Christian Ciopeletti for a 33 yard touchdown on fourth-and-25 with 9:02 left in the fourth, giving the Highlanders a 26-25 lead.
“We make it hard on ourselves for sure sometimes,” Bosnic said in reference to his teams lapses especially on defense.
The host Prexies though showed their mettle with a 64-yard drive that was climaxed with a three-yard Fuse touchdown run. Fuse caught a two-point pass to give Washington a 33-26 lead with 5:12 left.
Washington lit up the scoreboard first with a three-play, 57 yard march that was capped by a 24 yard Fuse to Willis scoring connection. Nick Blanchette knocked home the extra-point to give the Prexies a 7-0 advantage 62 seconds in the contest.
The Prexies faced a longer road on their next drive after a booming McGuffey punt left Washington on their own 10. But the high-powered Prexies simply fueled up the machine and motored 90 yards to another score as Fuse lofted a 23 yard touchdown pass to Crutcher. Blanchette’s kick was blocked by Highlander Logan Smith, leaving the Prexies lead at 13-0 midway through the opening frame.
After absorbing two sizeable punches from the Prexies that left them a bit wobbled, McGuffey rose up and threw a shot of their own when they marched 68 yards on their second drive of the game. Kyle Brookman carried it in from the 2 to cap the march. Brookman lugged the ball four times for 30 yards on the drive. Ethan Dietrich booted home the extra point, slicing the Washington lead to 13-7 at the end of the first.
McGuffey’s defense also flexed their muscles after getting run over for two early scores as the Highlanders forced two turnovers on downs deep in their own territory. The second gave the Highlanders energy as Brookman busted out a 23 yard run to the McGuffey 46. The next play saw McCuen hit a wide-open Ethan Janovich who was dragged down at the Prexies 1 by Mario Griffin. Janovich suffered a lower-leg injury as he was tackled awkwardly on the play.
Jeremiah Johnson finished the drive with a 1-yard plunge. Dietrich’s extra point was good as McGuffey pulled in front 14-13 with 2:17 left in the half.
Washington snatched momentum back with 1:06 remaining in the half with a 49 yard Fuse to Taviaire Vereen touchdown connection. Fuse’s two-point pass attempt was intercepted, leaving the Prexies lead at 19-14.