Derry beats McGuffey, returns to WPIAL playoffs

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 27, 2017 | 11:15 PM

Derry needed an inspired second-half performance to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Whatever Derry coach Tim Sweeney said in the locker room at halftime must have resonated with his players as the Trojans shutout McGuffey in the second half and rolled to a 48-28 win to clinch a WPIAL Class 3A playoff berth and a share of the Interstate Conference title.

“It wasn't a very fire-and-brimstone-type locker room talk,” Sweeney said. “I told the coaches on the headset in the first half that everyone is just panicking right now. We have to settle down.”

The two teams combined for 54 first-half points with McGuffey taking a 28-26 lead into halftime.

“I knew we were going to score points. My concern was on defense,” Sweeney said.

McGuffey scored on the game's first drive on a 4-yard run by Christian Clutter.

It only took Derry (9-1, 7-1) four plays to answer with a touchdown. Justin Flack rushed 49 yards to make the score 7-6 in favor of McGuffey (6-4, 4-3).

Derry's Shawn Broadway scored three touchdowns on the night. His 4-yard rush with 3 minutes, 1 second left in the first quarter gave Derry a 13-7 lead.

McGuffey coach Ed Dalton, a former Mt. Pleasant coach, thought his team could slow down Derry's rush.

“We didn't stop the gaps. (Broadway) is tough,” Dalton said. “We thought it might be high scoring.”

McGuffey quarterback Marshall Whipkey threw for 134 yards on 6-of-11 passing. His 1-yard touchdown rush leveled the score at 13.

Derry's Broadway and McGuffey's Clutter scored two more touchdowns in the first half before a 29-yard Gavin Beatty field goal with 10 seconds left gave McGuffey the halftime lead.

After Flack scored again on a 4-yard rush with 7:48 left in the third quarter, Derry's playoff push was underway.

Derry scored two more rushing touchdowns to close the game. Onreey Steward and Ryan Polinsky scored on 1-yard rushes.

Polinsky was 6 of 11 passing for 121 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to Broadway.

Sweeney said his team's offensive success, “all starts with our offensive line. They played great.”

McGuffey ran the ball well in the second half, just like the first half, but the Highlanders had two runs of 50 yards or more called back.

“Those are huge momentum plays,” Dalton said. “No discredit to them.”

Now, Sweeney and the Trojans will prepare for the playoffs although the coach feels his team is not given the credit they deserve.

“People need to wake up and look at what's going on here in Derry. We're not some one-hit wonder,” Sweeney said.

Zachary D'Amico is a freelance writer.

Tags: McGuffey