Nov 4, 2016 3 min read

HOUSTON – What began as a night of excitement as Chartiers-Houston football played its first home playoff game in 16 years turned to heartbreak and left head coach Terry Fetsko stunned and almost speechless.

A blocked punt returned for a touchdown in the waning moments proved to be the difference as Laurel knocked off eighth-seeded Chartiers-Houston, 10-6, Friday night in a WPIAL Class AA first-round playoff game.

“Other than that first drive and the last punt, we were in control of the game,” said Fetsko. “It got away from us. It’s one of those ones that you sit there and scratch your head and say ‘Why?'”

The fateful sequence came as the Bucs (7-4) were clinging to a 6-3 lead. But their inability to generate offense in the second half – they had just one first down after halftime – ultimately ended their season. After three straight running plays failed to move the chains, and after Laurel (8-3) used all its timeouts, A.J. Meyers went back to punt.

The Spartans had gotten pressure on the Bucs all game and even got a partial block on a punt earlier, but this time they brought the house and got to Meyers en masse, easily blocking the kick. Spencer Jones picked up the loose ball and was in the clear for a 25-yard return that put Laurel ahead with 2:22 to play.

“Unbelievable,” said Laurel head coach Brian Cooper. “We were so close so many times. It was a great opportunity to create something there. To be able to scoop and score off of it obviously just added to it. We were just hoping to give our offense one more chance.”

Charters-Houston’s final drive was an abbreviated one, as T.J. Johnston’s long pass down the sideline was intercepted by Jordan Dantico, who was also Laurel’s top receiver. But the biggest catch he made was that one, and the Spartans were finally able to churn out a couple first downs and kill the clock. Laurel had just three first downs in the second half.

It had been a game of missed opportunities up to that point for both sides. Laurel missed two field goals after opening the game with a 22-yarder for the game’s first points, capping a drive that lasted 18 plays and 9:23.

In fact, Chartiers-Houston didn’t run an offensive play until the second quarter. After the field goal, the Spartans recovered a pooch kickoff, and their possessionlasted the remainder of the first quarter.

“Honestly, we were fortunate to have won the game with as many mistakes that we had offensively,” said Cooper. “I just felt like we had the opportunities to score and one of them had to go.”

When the Bucs got the ball on offense, it was a mixed bag of results.

They also missed a field goal and were stopped on a fourth down inside the 15, but went into halftime up 6-3 after Johnston connected on a couple big pass plays to set up a first and goal at the 1.

Still, it took the Bucs four plays to punch it into the end zone with 5 seconds left in the half when Johnston powered his way over the goal line on fourth down.

“It just wasn’t meant to be today,” said Fetsko. “I’m real proud of them. They fought hard. The whole senior corps is going to be missed dramatically.”

Jones led all players with 91 yards rushing on 17 carries, with 38 coming on one play on Laurel’s final drive.

Johnston threw for 134 yards, completing five of 13 passes.