COUGARS RALLY TO DOWN MCDEVITT, 20-16
September 16- All week long various members of the Harrisburg area media had highlighted the Harrisburg-Bishop McDevitt series, reminding fans that the series usually produces a tight, emotional game with dramatic momentum changes. This year’s edition certainly lived up to its billing, as the Harrisburg Cougars capitalized on McDevitt turnovers in the fourth quarter to earn a hard-fought 20-16 victory over the Crusaders at Severance Field today. McDevitt led from the first quarter to the 5:55 mark of the fourth, but the Crusaders consistently failed to capitalize on Harrisburg turnovers and couldn’t put the game away. The Cougars refused to quit, stopping the McDevitt running game and intercepting 3 Crusader passes to move to 2-1 (2-1 in the Mid Penn Commonwealth Division) while dropping McDevitt to 2-1 (1-1).
Harrisburg watched senior Mike Comasco’s opening kickoff sail out of bounds on this clear, blustery day and began the game’s first possession at the HBG 35. Three plays later the Cougars were punting, unable to move against the fired-up McDevitt defense. The punt rolled dead at the McD 28 and the Crusader offense, led by junior QB Kyle Koncar, took the field. Two incompletions surrounded a 3 yard run by senior Mike Jones, so Comasco was called on to punt back to the Cougars. Harrisburg versatile punt returner, Joshua Potts, fumbled the punt at the HBG 27 but the Cougars recovered at the 14. Three more Harrisburg rushing attempts could only net 3 yards, so Potts punted again. The punt slipped off the side of Potts’ foot and sailed out-of-bounds at the HBG 40 and the Crusaders had excellent field position. They quickly took advantage of it when, after a 5 yard Jones run, Koncar passed to lanky sophomore Salath Williams for a 25 yard gain, to the HBG 10. On the next play Jones took a handoff and circled around left end, following a fine block by senior tackle Ed Mera. Jones broke a tackle at the 2 and dove across the goal line for the game’s first score, with 5:31 left in the first quarter. Comasco’s successful PAT gave McDevitt a 7-0 lead, then the senior kicker registered a touchback on the following kickoff. The Cougars gained a first down before a holding penalty and fine tackles by soph tackle Stefan Belle and senior safety Evan McGovern stalled progress and forced another Potts punt, to the McD 25. McDevitt couldn’t advance on this series, so Comasco came on to boot a 32 yarder that Potts returned to the HBG 48. One play later junior defensive end Terahje Gratkowski and senior linebacker Dante Ushery teamed to sack Harrisburg QB T.J. Armstead for a 14 yard loss as the quarter ended.
After Armstead connected with senior Quincy Roberts for a 6 yard gain Potts dropped back for another punt. This time Potts fumbled the errant snap and McDevitt had great field position again, this time at the HBG 37. Jones ran for 6 tough yards before Koncar was dropped for a 3 yard loss. Koncar missed on a 3rd down pass and Comasco dropped back into punt formation. Instead of punting, though, Comasco took the snap and rolled to his right and threw a pass to McGovern in the flat. McGovern gained the first down yardage and kept going, breaking a tackle and avoiding 2 others as he finished off the 34 yard scoring play. After Comasco missed the PAT McDevitt led, 13-0, with 9:37 left in the half. Comasco then squibbed the subsequent kickoff and saw the ball ricochet off of a Harrisburg lineman and bounce back to Comasco, who recovered at the HBG 46. The Crusaders failed to capitalize, though, after 2 Jones carries netted 9 yards. First a motion penalty and then an incomplete pass doomed the drive and Comasco came on to punt again, this time for 28 yards to the HBG 15. The McDevitt defense stonewalled the Cougar offense yet again on 3 plays, and Potts booted a punt that rolled out-of-bounds at the McD 47. Three plays later Koncar ran a keeper and fumbled and Harrisburg recovered at the McD 41. Roberts ran a key 12 yard reverse to keep the drive alive but, following a delay penalty, the Cougars soon faced a 4th-and-12 at the McD 31. Armstead dropped back to pass and threw a looping pass toward the end zone. Senior cornerback Darryl Hadley of the Crusaders had blanket coverage on the 6’5” Roberts, but Roberts twisted to make a circus catch for the Cougar’s first score. Darryl Franklin converted the PAT and Harrisburg had narrowed the McDevitt lead to 13-7 at the 3:38 mark. The Crusaders again got good field position when soph linebacker Jonathan Duckett returned the short kickoff 7 yards to the McD 42. After 2 incompletions Koncar dropped off a short screen pass over the middle to Jones, who broke a tackle and darted 27 yards to the HBG 31. After a 1 yard run by senior Derrell Holland, Koncar targeted end Julian Harrell and the big senior bulled his way for a 14 yard gain to the HBG 16. Koncar then ran a clever keeper for 10 yards and the Crusaders were faced with a first-and-goal situation at the HBG 6. With Holland and Jones on the sidelines with cramps Head Coach Jeff Weachter decided to try a pass, but Koncar’s fade to Harrell in the left corner of the end zone was short. The Cougars dodged a bullet when Anthony Holmes intercepted, and the home team moved quickly into scoring position on the strength of a 39 yard Armstead-to-Potts hookup. The McDevitt defense rose to the occasion, though, and the Cougars misfired on 3 straight pass plays to turn the ball over on downs. Koncar then took a knee to end the half.
McDevitt’s first series of the second half was halted by a Koncar sack and Comasco was back to punt again, booting a 32 yard kick to the HBG 38. Harrisburg turned to running back Cameron Artis, and the former McDevitt player responded with 16 yards on 2 carries. On the next play, though, Artis was fighting for extra yardage when he fumbled, and McGovern alertly pounced on the loose ball at the McD 41. After a motion penalty and another incomplete pass, Koncar floated a high pass along the right sideline. Jones made a leaping catch and valiantly battled his way down the sideline to the HBG 15 for a 49 yard gain. McDevitt then tried to move the ball on the ground. First Koncar kept for 3 yards and then Holland fought for 4 more, to the HBG 8. Jones then fought his way for 2 tough yards, but was still a yard short of the first down. Weachter decided to go for the sure three points and Comasco came on to calmly drill a 22 yard field goal that stretched the Crusader lead to 16-7, with 6:45 left in the third quarter. Harrisburg returned to running Artis following the kickoff. The tough senior broke off a 28 yard run, to the McD 48, and the Cougars were threatening. After 2 more Artis runs gained 7 yards, McGovern broke through the huge Harrisburg offensive line to drop Artis for a 1 yard loss. Facing a 4th –and-4 at the McD 42, Harrisburg Coach George Chaump elected to try a pass, but junior safety Pat Vargo spoiled that plan by sacking Armstead for an 8 yard loss and McDevitt took over at midfield. The Crusaders responded with another 3-and-out, and Comasco punted to the HBG 30. Armstead then fumbled a long snap for a 7 yard loss and, following an incompletion, scrambled for a 14 yard gain as the third quarter ended.
Harrisburg opened the fourth quarter by gambling on a fourth-and 2 play at the HBG 38, but McGovern broke up the pass attempt and McDevitt took over. With the loud McDevitt crowd urging the offense to take advantage of another drive started in Harrisburg territory, the Crusader offense laid another egg and failed to gain a yard. Comasco pooched an 18 yard punt to give Cougars the ball at the HBG 20. An 18 yard Artis gain gave the Cougars some breathing room, but Artis fumbled on his next carry and Ushery recovered at the HBG 46. On the next play Koncar watched as his pass attempt was batted straight up and caught by Crusader tackle Jordan Knox, who was quickly tackled for a 10 yard loss. Jones then burst over left tackle for a 15 yard gain, but Koncar’s next pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Comasco then punted a beauty, the ball rolling dead at the HBG 6. With the McDevitt faithful stealing anxious glances toward the slowly moving clock, Armstead fired off 3 quick incompletions and Potts booted a 38yard punt to the HBG 44. McDevitt was now determined to take time off of the clock and the Cougars crowded the line of scrimmage. First Jones and then Koncar ran plays for no gain before the play that was the turning point of the game. Koncar ran a keeper to his right and found his way blocked by the aggressive Harrisburg defense. Reversing his field, Koncar circled back to his left, where linebacker Sharif Blake was waiting for him. Blake tackled Koncar and stripped the ball free. Blake then gathered up the bouncing pigskin as the crowd roared in surprise. Blake weaved his way 44 yards for a touchdown, and then taunted the trailing McDevitt players, which cost the Cougars 15 yards on the following PAT attempt. Franklin’s kick was far short, and the score was now 16-13, McDevitt, with 5:55 left in the game. Jones returned Potts’ kickoff 16 yards, to the McD 31, and McDevitt was promptly hit with a motion penalty. Jones ran for 5 and then lost 5 before a screen pass to Jones went for no gain. Comasco dropped back for his 8th punt of the game and kicked a high, unreturnable punt to the HBG 42. After an illegal substitution penalty, McDevitt was flagged for an interference penalty, advancing the ball to the McD 48. Then, after another incomplete pass, Armstead hit Roberts on a short crossing pattern. Roberts loped down the right sideline before Holland caught him at the McD 6. Artis dove for a 4 yard gain before little-used halfback Stephon Baltimore followed his blockers for a 2 yard touchdown. After Franklin’s accurate kick, the Cougars had the lead, 20-16, with 2:56 left. Comasco returned the kickoff 13 yards, to the McD 32 before Koncar was picked off by Matt Davis at the HBG 48. The game looked to be over when Armstead slipped past a bevy of McDevitt tacklers for a 28 yard gain, to the McD 20, but Harrisburg-McDevitt games rarely end in such a quiet way and this game was no different. Instead of taking a knee and running out the clock, Chaump had Armstead run a keeper and McGovern wrapped him up and pried the ball loose. Sophomore tackle Steve Mosey pounced on the ball and McDevitt had new life with 1:11 left to play in regulation. Koncar threw an incompletion and then passed to Harrell for a 2 yard gain. Jones then ran a draw on third down and battled for 24 yards to the McD 35. Jones rumbled for 5 more before Koncar was hit while attempting a pass and Potts and Harrisburg’s third interception of the game. This time Armstead did take a knee and the wild game was over.
Next Saturday, September 22nd, the Crusaders welcome the undefeated (3-0) Cumberland Valley Eagles to McDevitt Field. Game time is 10:30 AM.
QUOTES
Head Coach Jeff Weachter
It’s really tough but we had our opportunities to put them away and we didn’t. We had an opportunity to score when we threw the interception at the goal line but the Harrisburg kid made a great play. We wanted to go with our goal line package that we had practiced all week but Jones and Holland were cramping and Jameel Poteat wasn’t available to us this week. But Harrisburg is a good team and they fought hard. At the end there we were just trying to run the clock by running the ball, but that shows you how the intensity of this series can affect the game. We just tried to do a little bit too much and unfortunately we fumbled, but we have to come back. We’re a good football team, they’re a good football team and we just have to rebound from the loss. We struggled blocking their big front. We couldn’t get anything going consistently in the running game, and when that happens they start backing off. We had the short throws but they have such great athletes that they started knocking the passes down. It took away a lot of the things that we wanted to do. It’s not easy blocking that front. We have to bounce back. As I told the team, I don’t like losing, especially to Harrisburg, but I feel a lot better now than I did after we lost to them last year. We’re a good team; we’ll bounce back.
Assistant Coach Pat Berry
It’s definitely disappointing. Our kids played hard, though, and that’s all you can ask for a big game like this. You knew it was going to come down to the end. We should be used to being on the field a lot and I thought we hung in there pretty well. I think our linebackers, Duckett, Dietz and Ushery, along with Pat Vargo, played a great game. Will it be hard to get up for next week? No way. We play Cumberland Valley.
LB Jonathan Duckett
Our defense played very well. We caused the fumbles, we got the ball back, we had a couple of drive that we had to stop and we did that. Our overall game was good but we need to work on some other stuff. It doesn’t really matter how long we’re on the field as long as we do our job. Now we have to keep our heads up and play well so we can meet these guys again in the playoffs. Next week we have to wake up and play like we normally do.
S/KR/RB Evan McGovern
Harrisburg played great defense. They held our offense and we really couldn’t do much about it. We put the fake punt in about last week or so, sent the wing guy out on a route and it was wide open. I think we’re going to bounce back next week. We want to get revenge against Harrisburg in the playoffs but we have to play hard to get there.
S Pat Vargo
We tried as hard as we could and the offense tried their best. We were fighting and fighting but we couldn’t take advantage of our breaks. Our defense was holding them all of the time and our offense was trying the best they could, that’s for sure. On Harrisburg’s first touchdown Darryl Hadley was right there but Roberts has so much height that he had the advantage. I think that we’re going to do real well next week; we’re going to bounce back.
WR/CB/P/K/KR Mike Comasco
You never want to lose to anyone, especially Harrisburg, and especially the way we lost. We made a lot of mental mistakes but we still had an opportunity to win at the end, but we let it slip away. On the fake punt, well, we’d been planning on doing it for a little bit and we were in the right position to do it. We utilized it and it worked out well. I think we’ll regroup; we should do pretty well next week as long as we come together in practice this week.