An inadvertent whistle helped Mechanicsburg’s football team pull off a dramatic 14-7 win over state-ranked West Liberty-Salem on Friday in Ohio Heritage Conference action.
Mechanicsburg’s Joey Mascadri (22) tries to fend off West Liberty-Salem’s Levi Moell (26) during the first quarter of their game Friday in Mechanicsburg. (EXAMINER PHOTO | AARON LABATT)
The Tigers, who are ranked 11th in the Division VI state poll, suffered their first loss. They are now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the OHC.
The Indians bump their record to 5-1, 3-1.
The final five minutes of Friday’s game proved to be worth the price of admission for Mechanicsburg fans.
WL-Salem led 7-6 late in the fourth quarter. The Indians worked their way to the Tigers’ 6-yard line and attempted a 23-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal.
The Tigers blocked the attempt, but the officials said there was an inadvertent whistle before the kick. That allowed the Indians to retry the down.
This time, the Indians decided to go for it. M’burg quarterback Logan Hurst made the most of the opportunity and fired a 6-yard touchdown pass to Matt Delong. A two-point conversion run by Joey Mascadri gave the Indians a 14-7 lead with 5:01 left in the game.
WL-Salem was able to drive to Mechanicsburg’s 15-yard line. However, the Tigers threw an interception to help seal the Indians’ victory.
It was a defensive battle in the first half. Neither team reached inside the opponent’s 20-yard line as the score was deadlocked at zero at the half.
WL-Salem scored first in the third quarter when quarterback Major Stratton found the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run. Ethan Cole knocked through the extra-point kick for a 7-0 lead.
Hurst kept M’burg in the game with a 22-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The extra-point attempt failed, though, and that left the Indians trailing 7-6.
The Indians picked off a Tigers’ pass in the fourth quarter. That set up Mechanicsburg’s game-winning scoring drive.
Offensively for WL-Salem, Stratton finished the game with 135 rushing yards and a score and Braden Miller added 30 rushing yards.
Defensively for the Tigers, Thad Lawrence had seven tackles and a sack and Thomas Allen had eight tackles.
WL-Salem hosts Triad on Friday in a local OHC contest.
TIGERS @ INDIANS
WL-Salem 0 • 0 • 7 • 0 – 7
Mechanicsburg 0 • 0 • 6 • 8 – 14
TEAM STATISTICS WL-S MB
First downs 10 • 11
Total net yards 203 • 213
Rushes/yards 37/169 • 35/152
Passing 34 • 61
Comp-att-int 6-10-2 • 6-17-0
Punts/avg 6/40.6 • 5/25.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 • 0-0
Penalties-yards 10-70 • 4-30
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