May 3, 2020 5 min read

We kick off Comeback Week in “When Sports Were Played” with a stunning finish when the Washington and Jeannette football teams met in a battle of unbeatens on Sept. 28, 2012.

There have been many memorable football games played at venerable Wash High Stadium. Because of Washington’s winning tradition and long-standing flair for the dramatic, it’s open for debate as to which game had the most unlikely and improbable finish in the stadium’s 75-year history. What happened there Friday night is solidly in the discussion.

With 30 seconds remaining in a tense Interstate Conference game, Jeannette was nursing a 15-12 lead over Washington and all the Jayhawks had to do to secure a victory and move their record to 5-0 was punt the ball back to the Prexies, who were out of timeouts, and defend a Hail Mary pass or two.

Before the punt at midfield, during a timeout, Jeannette coach Roy Hall pondered faking the punt. Across the field, Jaylin Kelly, Wash High’s standout linebacker, walked up to teammate Daron Whitaker and made a request.

“Block the punt,” Kelly said to Whitaker. “You’re a playmaker. Make a big play.”

When Jeannette opted to punt, and he split the gap on the Jayhawks’ forward wall, the 5-7, 168-pound Whitaker remembered what his teammate said. Whitaker charged Jeannette punter Michael Wise, hit the kicker’s personal protector, jumped and deflected the punt.

The ball sailed into the air toward the line of scrimmage, where it was scooped up on one bounce by Shai McKenzie, who returned the football 47 yards down the sideline for a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining. It gave Wash High an improbable and stunning 18-15 victory in a battle of unbeaten teams.

“We’ve had a couple of miracles here, but nothing this dramatic in such a big game,” Wash High coach Mike Bosnic said. “We got lucky at the end.”

Whitaker says luck had nothing to do with it. He had almost blocked a punt on Jeannette’s previous possession. That kick was shanked and traveled only six yards. It gave Wash High (5-0, 5-0) terrific field position at the Jayhawks’ 35-yard line, but four plays lost three yards and the Prexies turned the ball over on downs.

Jeannette appeared to have the game won when, with 2:37 remaining, Wash High’s defense jumped offside on third-and-two, giving Jeannette its initial first down of the second half.

But the Jayhawks (4-1, 4-1) couldn’t run out the clock and Hall called a timeout with 30 seconds left.

“Special teams are a third of the game,” Hall said. “We called punt solid and wanted to block everybody to the inside. We even considered going for the fake. They got the break at the end, and they won the game. I’m making no excuses.”

Wash High called for an all-out rush of 10 players, but two Prexies opted to peel back to help on a potential return. Eight proved to be enough rushers as Whitaker broke through.

“I wanted one more chance to block one,” Whitaker said. “I got my right hand on the ball and saw it go into the air. I thought a lineman had picked up the ball, so I started to block. When I saw Shai had it, I knew he was going to score.”

McKenzie covered the final 20 yards with his right arm extended above his head, giving the No. 1 hand signal.

“There was only one guy between me and the goal line,” McKenzie said. “He missed the tackle when I picked up the ball.”

It was one of the few times McKenzie had the ball in the open field. The WPIAL’s leading rusher, McKenzie was gang-tackled most of the night and battled cramps in both legs that caused him to leave the game several times. Still, McKenzie managed 104 tough yards on 24 carries and two rushing touchdowns.

McKenzie opened the scoring with a four-yard run in the first quarter, and his nine-yard jaunt around right end with 7:23 remaining pulled WHS to within 15-12.

“Jeannette took Shai away offensively,” Bosnic said. “We also made a lot of mistakes, but I give our guys credit; we were able to overcome them.”

For the second consecutive week, Wash High committed 11 penalties. One wiped away a 70-yard TD by McKenzie in the fourth quarter, but the Prexies still managed to score on the drive.

Jeannette took an 8-6 lead in the closing seconds of the first quarter when Seth Miller returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown. Miller appeared to be stopped at the Prexies’ 30 but broke out of a scrum and raced to the end zone.

One play after Wash High’s defense was penalized 23 yards for a personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct, Jeannette’s Anthony Canady ran eight yards for a touchdown that gave the Jayhawks a 15-6 lead late in the first half.

The Jayhawks’ offense, however, stalled in the second half, going more than 22 minutes without a first down.

“We didn’t run our regular offense,” Hall said. “Maybe we got too conservative. I take responsibility for that.”