Sep 2, 2016 4 min read

CLAYSVILLE – Team speed is often the equalizer in matchups of what appear to be even teams.

Unfortunately for McGuffey, the Highlanders appeared to be a step slow all evening as Quaker Valley rolled into town and took home a 19-0 non-conference win Friday night.

McGuffey’s apparent size advantage in the trenches was nullified by a swarming Quakers defense that held the Highlanders to 154 total yards of offense.

“We just didn’t have any explosive plays at all,” Highlanders coach Ed Dalton said. “We could not sustain any momentum whatsoever.”

Quaker Valley (1-0) was led on offense by their quarterback Amos Luptak, who carried the ball 15 times for 102 yards. He also completed six passes for 60 yards.

“He’s a real good athlete,” Dalton said. “We could not get contain. There were times we were there to stop him, but we could not make the big play when we really needed it.”

The Highlanders (1-1) did get a spark from their defense when Christian Clutter recovered a Luptak fumble on the McGuffey 35 at the beginning of the second half. McGuffey used the shift in momentum to drive to the Quakers 24. On fourth and 8, Clutter was stopped short of the mark, giving the ball back to Quaker Valley.

McGuffey’s defense again attempted to change the momentum on the next possession when Teague Nicolella intercepted a Luptak pass at the Quaker Valley 40. But Quaker Valley’s defense was up to the task stopping a Marcus Czulewicz fourth-down run short of the first down late in the third.

The Quakers put the game away at that point, going 65 yards to score on a 5-yard run by Andrew Seymour to make it 19-0.

McGuffey’s last gasp to score ended when Quaker defensive back Ethan Moore intercepted Czulewicz’s heave at the goal line late in the game.

Czulewicz was McGuffey’s lone consistent ground gainer as he churned out 75 yards on 18 carries. But the absence of running mate Adam Townsend was felt. Townsend was injured in last week’s contest against Frazier and did not play Friday night.

“We were a bit shorthanded,” Dalton lamented. “But the next guy has got to step up and play. They handled us up front tonight, I can tell you that. We couldn’t run it, we couldn’t throw it, we couldn’t do anything. We could not sustain any momentum. I don’t think we had a drive that we really had a chance to score. I guess we have to go back to the drawing board.”

Connor Romestan added 41 yards on six carries. However, the Highlanders’ passing game never got off the ground as they were held to 38 yards in the air.

The Quakers parlayed a Jordan Taylor interception of a Czulewicz pass late in the first quarter for the game’s first score. From the McGuffey 5, Luptak rolled right and found Isaiah McNair in the corner of the end zone. Luptak tacked on the point after, giving the visitors a 7-0 first quarter lead.

After forcing a McGuffey punt, Quaker Valley marched 73 yards for its second score. Luptok climaxed the drive on second-and-25 when he found receiver Jordan Martin for a 28-yard scoring pass. Luptok’s kick hit the right upright, leaving the Quaker advantage at 13-0 midway through the second quarter.

McGuffey’s offense, which put up 38 points in a win over Frazier last week, continued to sputter in the first half. Czulewicz was stopped short of a first down on a fourth-and-three run on the game’s first possession at Quaker 24. Two possessions later, the Highlanders appeared to have a first down after a Czulewicz 16-yard-run on third down on their own 44, but the official ruled the signal-caller was down before making the mark. On fourth down with under a yard to go, Romestan appeared to make the first down with a five-yard-gain, but the run was wiped out by a holding penalty, forcing McGuffey to punt towards the end of the first half.

“We have a long way to go,” Dalton said. “A lot of football left to be played. We just have to get better next week. That’s all.”