Oct 14, 2022 5 min read

CLAYSVILLE – If nothing else, coach Ed Dalton and the McGuffey Highlanders know heartbreak on the gridiron.

Last year, McGuffey fell to rival Washington on disputed last-play touchdown when it appeared the play was an illegal forward pass that was not called.

Friday night might have been more painful when Keystone Oaks defeated McGuffey 32-30 on another last-play touchdown, this one on a Nick Buckley to Clinton Robinson, a 30-yard connection.

Dalton and his staff were furious as it appeared that Buckley took a knee on the previous play instead of spiking the ball to the stop the clock. The clock did indeed stop with six seconds remaining when it should have continued to run.

“All I know is that they kneed the ball, they did not spike it,” Dalton said. “The game’s over. He (the ref) gave them a stopped clock and another play. So shame on us for not stopping the play. Shame on us. But that call cannot be missed. Last year, we lose on a play when (Wash High) throws the ball when their quarterback is three yards beyond the line of scrimmage. They (the officials) are responsible for how they perform as well.”

Buckley finished with 14 completions in 20 attempts for 206 yards and three scores.

Dalton added his defense did not properly defend the game’s final play in which Robinson snatched the ball from multiple Highlanders defenders.

“Anything but a touchdown there,” he exclaimed. “Tackle him, interfere with him. Anything but that.”

The Eagles late heroics overshadowed a game effort by the Highlanders as Phillip McCuen rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries. As a team, McGuffey rolled up 268 yards on the ground. Ethan Dietrich finished with three touchdowns but unfortunately for the hosts, it was not enough.

Eagles coach Steve McCormick was notably excited following the contest.

“We talked about bending not breaking and we made the big plays when we needed to,” he added. “We put it in our kids hands at the end and they did what they said they would do.”

McGuffey’s defense made a huge play to start the second half when Logan Smith intercepted a Buckley throw on the Highlander 40. He returned it 13 yards to the Eagles 47 and set up McCuen’s 27 yard scoring run that gave the Highlanders a 17-13 lead midway through the third.

The Eagles responded with a 60-yard drive culminated with a Buckley sneak, giving KO a 20-17 lead late in the third.

McGuffey, however, would not trail for long as McCuen whipped the Highlanders down the field for the go-ahead score early in the fourth. His 27-yard completion to Travis White started the march. Two runs for 29 yards set up Dietrich’s second touchdown run, a four-yarder that gave the Highlanders a 24-20 lead with 11:19 to play.

Keystone Oaks leapfrogged back in front with a 65 yard scoring march that resulted in a clutch Buckley 6 yard scoring strike to DiMajio Locante. The Eagles lead was limited to 26-24 due to the missed extra point attempt by Drew Palmer. McGuffey was left with 5 plus minutes to respond and possibly win the game. Which it appeared they were in position to do exactly that until the Eagles drove 56 yards in 25 seconds to break the Highlanders heart in the end.

The spread-it-out passing Eagles got on the board first after stopping McGuffey on downs midway through the first quarter. Three plays after a change of possession, Buckley floated a swing pass out to Reick who gathered in the ball near the Eagles 45, who then weaved his way through the Highlander defense for a 61 yard touchdown play. Drew Palmer knocked in the extra point to give Keystone Oaks a 7-0 advantage at the 4:29 mark of the opening stanza.

McGuffey then handed Keystone Oaks the ball near midfield on their next drive when Kyle Brookman fumbled. Ben Hrivnak recovered for the Eagles which set up their next scoring march.

Buckley capped the drive with a 21 yard toss to Giovantae Hutchinson, who sprinted past a stunned Highlander secondary to give the visitors a 13-0 lead late in the quarter.

The Highlanders responded with an 11-play, 68 yard drive to get back in the contest on their next possession that spanned the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second. Dietrich climaxed the march with a tough three yard run. Dylan Stewart’s kick was true and McGuffey climbed back into the game cutting the Eagles lead to 13-7 early in the second quarter.

McGuffey found good fortune on defense on the Eagles’ next possession when Robinson dropped a Buckley pass on fourth down to give the Highlanders possession on their 40. The Highlanders eventually moved to inside the five when their momentum was stifled by their own undoing.

On third-and-6 from the Eagles’ 7, McCuen’s swing pass for Brookman fell incomplete. After the play, Robinson and Brookman got tangled up. Brookman appeared to have thrown a punch towards Robinson which resulted in him being ejected from the contest. Dietrich then came on to kick a 38-yard field goal after the 15-yard penalty was marked off, pulling the Highlanders within 13-10 at the half.