Timely Plays Lifts Jefferson Over Wheeling Park In First Round Matchup
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SHENANDOAH JUNCTION - It's an age-old adage of football- indeed sports in general- "a handful of plays can change the game."
If ever there was an example of that, it was Friday's first-round playoff matchup between No. 7 Jefferson (9-2) and No. 10 Wheeling Park (7-3).
In a 21-14 win for Jefferson, three plays completely and suddenly shaped the postseason matchup between the Cougars and Patriots.
The first of the trifecta came early, on the Cougars' first offensive possession. Runningback Tay'Shaun Roper took a handoff to the outside, and broke tackles at each level of the defense on his way for a 91-yard touchdown run that put the Cougars on the board first.
Roper was playing without the latter of Jefferson's two-headed runningback monster, Rodrigo Delgado, who was lost for the season after suffering an injury last week. Roper finished with 105 yards rushing.
The second and third plays came in the fourth quarter. Tied 7-7 early in the frame, Jefferson had the ball in Patriots territory, and quarterback Dylan Harich dropped back to pass, only to find receiver Demarius Wallace streaking down the sideline with no one covering him. Harich hit Wallace for a 36-yard touchdown pitch. 14-7 Cougars.
The final game-shaping play came with just under four minutes left in the game, and this time it was Roper once again, though on defense. The unquestionable MVP of the game for Jefferson jumped a curl route at the 50-yard line, taking an interception all the way for a pick-six which pulled the Cougars ahead 21-7 with little time left.
Outside of the two touchdown plays offensively, Jefferson only mustered 99 yards of offense on 22 plays, but the Patriots' otherwise immaculate defensive showing cannot be considered outside of the two scores which made all the difference Friday.
"I said before the game that we were very similar," Wheeling Park head coach Chris Daugherty said. "We were kind of trading punches and going back and forth, defenses were making stops, we were playing to a 7-7 tie at the half.
"Ultimately for us it came down to three plays. I thought our defense played very well except we gave up a big long run, had a broken coverage and gave up a pass, and we threw a pick-six. If we could have those three plays back it's a totally different game, but that's football and that's how it goes. I think we actually played good football tonight except for three plays."
As for Wheeling Park, they controlled the clock all game, at one point taking up nine minutes in the second quarter on a touchdown drive ending in a four-yard score for running back Amare Johnson which tied the game 7-7 late in the period.
Once down 21-7 with three minutes and change to work with though, the methodical style which Park had approached the game with had to be discarded for a more up-tempo approach.
"We're always trying to evaluate and call plays based on how the defense is lined up, but at the end of the game we had to get in a situation where we called plays fast," Daugherty said. "I call it calling plays blind. We're always in a 'check with me' offense, but when you get down, you've got to get away from that and just start calling plays."
Despite the change in style, Wheeling Park rose to the occasion, quarterback Aiden Davis making plays with his legs on runs of 14, 15 and nine yards, and completing passes to Jameson Maynard and Amare Johnson all the way down the the Cougars' two yard-line, where Johnson finished the drive with a two-yard dive.
However, with just over a minute to play, and only one timeout left, Park had to try for an onside kick.
Aidan Forget, who had masterfully pinned Jefferson at their own four yard-line on a punt earlier in the game, sent an onside kick which took a dramatic hop over the first line of Jefferson players, seemingly giving the Patriots a shot at a recovery. Cougars quarterback Dylan Harich, playing on the hands team, put the game away though, securing the ball and allowing Jefferson to secure the victory and advance past the first round of the WVSSAC State Playoffs.
For Park, Davis finished with 23 completions on 35 attempts for 190 yards. Johnson finished with 46 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Davis ran for 40 yards himself.
Johnson also caught eight balls out of the backfield for 35 yards, Jameson Maynard stayed busy with seven catches for 51 yards, Mykel Davis had four receptions for 60 yards and Brennan Wack had four catches for 44 yards.
Maynard also had a third-down sack on defense.
While Park ran more plays and gained more yards than their opponents, it was three plays from the Cougars which made up for any other shortcomings.
"Our kids played every game to the very end, they played tonight to the very end, and they played classy," Daugherty said. "There was no cheap stuff, there was no dumb stuff, there was no talking. Even at the end, sometimes kids' emotions can overwhelm them in a playoff game where they lose and they don't handle themselves quite the way we'd want them to, but that didn't happen. I'm really proud of the season and I'm really proud of the kids."
Jefferson advances to face No. 2 Huntington, who bested No. 15 Morgantown 59-13 Friday.