Beaver Falls rallies in second half to top McGuffey
CLAYSVILLE – After scoring a touchdown with nine seconds remaining in the first half McGuffey went into halftime with momentum.
The Highlanders didn’t carry it over with them to the second half, however.
A Beaver Falls team, that maybe wasn’t as seeded as high as it normally is, relied on its pedigree of six WPIAL championships and turned the tables in the second half to scratch out a playoff win.
The No. 9 Tigers did not allow the No.8 Highlanders to achieve a first down on their first four possessions of the second half and scored four touchdowns to secure a 28-7 victory in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A football playoffs Friday night.
The Tigers (7-3) advanced to play No. 1 Bishop Canevin next Friday.
“I told the guys after the game that Beaver Falls is back,” Tigers coach Jim Mooney said. “I want to go see what we can do next week. We know we have a tough squad coming, but we’ll enjoy this one for 12 hours.”
After going winless the last two seasons, McGuffey enjoyed a renaissance season, which finished at 7-4.
Highlanders quarterback Dante Gadani threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Denny Furmanek in the final 10 seconds of the first half, which gave them a 7-0 lead at the break.
They couldn’t recapture that high in the final two quarters.
“We had a lot of energy at halftime and we knew we were getting the ball, but they came out and shut us down,” Highlanders coach Nate Parry said. “The next drive, the same thing happened. It was just tough to move the ball on them.”
After forcing a three-and-out on McGuffey’s first possession, Beaver Falls’ offense found a rhythm to take the lead.
The Tigers took over at the McGuffey 48 and marched down the field in 11 plays, which culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by Xavier Clark.
Beaver Falls went for two and quarterback Rodney Slappy threw a pass to Anthony Dawkins in the back of the end zone to make it 8-7 Tigers with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter.
McGuffey failed to get a first down following the Tigers’ touchdown and punted into the end zone, which gave Beaver Falls the ball at the 20.
The Tigers drove all the way to the red zone, but Gage Clayton stuffed Slappy on a fourth down at the 7-yard line to end the threat.
The Highlanders were unable to gain any momentum off it, however, and went three-and-out and punted with 4:17 remaining.
“Our defensive line is awesome,” Mooney said. “Our front seven is tough. They beat me up in practice all the time offensively. We have a couple Grizzly bears inside and some length on the ends.”
That’s when Beaver Falls struck again.
Slappy threw a pass down the sideline that Braelon Williams hauled in for a touchdown to make it 14-7.
“That was a freshman to freshman connection, which is cool,” Mooney said. “That was a huge play for us.”
McGuffey had to start its next drive on its own six and fumbled on the first play and Beaver Falls recovered.
Clark scored on a 3-yard run to increase the lead to 20-7.
Derrick Beck returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the final 30 seconds to close the scoring.
McGuffey attempted only four passes in the first half and completed one, but it was a big one.
Gadani threw a pass to the flat to a wide open Denny Furmanek, who caught it and walked into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.
Jack Gallick’s extra point made it 7-0 and the Highlanders at the half.
The touchdown was set up by a turnover.
A botched pitch play by Beaver Falls led to a fumble and Wyatt Hildreth recovered the ball at the Tigers’ 33-yard line with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
A 10-yard run on a third-down option play by Furmanek set up the Highlanders with a first and goal with less than 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
After a spike and an incompletion, Gadani threw the touchdown to Furmanek.
It was a lightning-quick first half because both teams featured a power run game.
There were seven passes between the two teams and only six total drives and a kneel down in the first two quarters.
McGuffey squandered good field position prior to getting on the board before halftime.
Tigers punter Jawannd Williams tried to run around the right side on a fourth down play, but was stuffed by McGuffey.
That gave the Highlanders the ball at the Tigers’ 38, but they ended up turning the ball over on downs.
Led by the running of Xavier Clark, Beaver Falls drove to the McGuffey 36 on the opening possession of the game, but the drive stalled and the Tigers punted.
McGuffey took over at its own five and in 11 plays moved down to the Beaver Falls 21, but Gallick’s field goal attempt on fourth down fell just short of the crossbar.
Though McGuffey fell short of a playoff win, it was a successful season, which saw it end a 20-game losing streak.
“I’m extremely proud of them,” Parry said. “This group has gone through more adversity than most kids their age and for them to come back, turn things around, have a winning season and get a home playoff game, it shows a lot about their character.”