Blocked punt turns the tide as Clairton edges Wash High
Even though it was only a one-touchdown lead, Washington was seemingly in control of Friday night’s showdown with Clairton.
The Prexies hadn’t allowed Clairton to cross midfield and looked dominant on defense.
In a game that close, however, one play can change the momentum and Clairton’s Ty’Ron Armstrong did just that.
Armstrong blocked a punt, which gave the Bears the ball at the Washington 14 with 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter
The Bears converted the turnover into points and it was enough to walk out of Wash High Stadium with a win.
Quintin Napper scored on a three-yard run and followed that by running in a two-point conversion to give Clairton the lead and the Bears went on to defeat Wash High 8-7 in a nonconference football game between two top teams in Class A.
Despite holding Clairton to 91 yards of total offense, the Prexies fell short.
Clairton hadn’t had a snap in Washington territory before the blocked punt.
“That was the biggest play of the game,” Clairton coach Wayne Wade said. “It was a defensive game and that play gave us the field position we needed. After that blocked punt our kids believed that it was our game.”
The Prexies got their own shot of momentum when they forced a fumble and recovered at their own 44.
But they failed to capitalize.
The Prexies got down to the Clairton 28, but an incomplete pass by quarterback Travon Moye on fourth down turned the ball over on downs.
It was one of several drives that stalled for the Prexies.
“They’re aggressive and they put a lot of guys up on you,” Wash High coach Mike Bosnic said of Clairton. “We need to do a better job of not letting them cross us. Unfortunately we could’ve done a lot better tonight and we will going forward.”
Once Clairton took over it ran the ball a dozen plays in a row to erase eight minutes off the clock.
Washington got the ball back with a little over a minute remaining, but a fourth down pass at the 39 fell incomplete and the game ended.
Washington led 7-0 at halftime thanks to an impressive defensive effort.
The Prexies held Clairton to minus-4 yards in the first quarter on two possessions.
After a three-and-out on its first possession Washington put together a methodical drive that ended in the first half’s lone touchdown.
The Prexies moved 75 yards in 14 plays, which ended with a three-yard touchdown run by Blaise Naraskivitch with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter.
A horse collar and a face mask penalty by Clairton helped keep the drive going, but the Prexies were strong on the ground and a couple passes from Trevon Moye to Ja’Quay Heyman helped set up the score.
Clairton was without four-star recruit Brandon Murphy because of injury.
The Bears’ offense struggled without Murphy.
They finally achieved a first down midway through the second quarter and moved the ball near midfield.
But the drive was stopped when the Wash High defense stuffed Bears running back Jaece Booker on a fourth-and-1 at the Clairton 42.
The Prexies failed to take advantage of the good field position, however.
After driving down to the Clairton 24, a fumble and false start made it a fourth-and-long for Washington and an incomplete pass led to a turnover on downs.
Clairton went three-and-out and finished the half with only two first downs.
Washington outgained Clairton 93-23 in the first half.
It may be the first of two meetings between the teams. Wade expects to see Wash High again down the road.
“That’s a great football team over there,” Wade said of Wash High. “Coach Mike (Bosnic) does a great job. That’s why they have the tradition they have.”