DOWNINGTOWN — As Downingtown West’s Cole Bricker lunged towards the goal line, time froze on both sidelines.
When the side judge ran in with just one hand in the air, Owen J. Roberts’ side erupted with joy as the Wildcats stopped the Whippets at the one yard on line on the last play of the game.
The stop secured No. 14 Owen J. Roberts’ 10-7 win over No. 3 Downingtown West, the reigning District 1-6a champions, in the biggest upset of the first round of the playoffs.
“I was holding my breath the whole time,” Owen J. coach Rich Kolka said. “(West) has so many good players. Their quarterback (Bricker) is excellent. (TJ Sinkus) is a man. He’s tough to play. This is a really big win for our school and our program.”
It’s hard to say OJR (8-3) dominated the game with just a three-point win, but the Wildcats held a 54-24 play advantage before West’s final drive, and chewed up 16 minutes and 44 seconds of the second-half clock.
But the Whippets (8-3) took over at their own 32 with 2:46 and three timeouts remaining. West methodically moved the ball into OJR territory, eventually getting a first and 10 at the 14 with 64 ticks left.
West ran the ball four straight plays to pick up a first down, and after spiking the ball, the Whippets were 4 yards away with 13 seconds left and no timeouts.
Initially West lined up in the Wildcat formation, with Sinkus at QB, but after an OJR timeout, West changed the play. Bricker rolled out to his right and with no one open, he darted for the end zone but was stopped a half yard short by a trio of Wildcats.
“We tried to run counter but we lined up in a formation and we saw them loaded up to it,” West coach Tom Kline said. “We were going to run power at it, but then we decided we’d boot away and we were one yard short.”
Mekhi Graham was the work horse for OJR, carrying the ball 37 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. The Wildcats ran the ball 49 times and gained yards on 40 carries.
Kolka said he learned a little something looking back on last postseason’s 41-7 loss to the Whippets.
“We knew they were big up front,” Kolka said. “After looking at the game film from last year, I felt like I gave up on the run a little too early. I made a conscious effort to make sure, even in second and long, to run the football and stay on the right side of the sticks.”
West ran just three plays in the first quarter and 11 in the second, but two fumbles thwarted any momentum it tried to gain.
Graham scored the lone first-half touchdown on a drive that was extended due to a muffed punt catch.
“The offensive line played great,” Graham said. “It’s the best performance we put together all year. I’m so proud of my guys.”
The Whippets came out of halftime with an eight-play, 64 yard drive, capped with a 22-yard TD run by Amari Cannon.
Any juice the Whippets thought they had evaporated when OJR responded with a 17 play drive that took almost 10 minutes off the clock. The Wildcats settled for a 30-yard field goal by Ryan Touhey.
West went three and out on the next drive, with a pass from Bricker to Sinkus for a potential big gain just inches overthrown.
Cannon ran for 106 yards and finished the season with 1,008, and he will be back next season. For the seniors at West, the sting of this loss will take some time to dissolve before they can look at back at their long list of accomplishments.
“They’ve had a great run,” Kline said of his seniors. “We were in the district final the last two years and won the Ches-Mont (North Division), so it’s been quite a nice run they had.”
The Wildcats will head to No. 11 Neshaminy in the second round, and Kolka is ready to continue the success.
“I don’t wanna go home, so lets go,” Kolka said.
Owen J. Roberts 10, Downingtown West 7
Owen J. Roberts 0 7 0 3-10
Downingtown West 0 0 7 0-7
Scoring
Second
OJR – Graham 3 run (Touhey kick)
Third
DW- Cannon 22 run (Sharp kick)
Fourth
OJR- Touhey 27 FG
Team Totals
OJR DW
First downs 13 10
Yards rushing 219 181
Yards passing 50 16
Total yards 269 197
Passing 3-5-0 3-4-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Punts-avg 2-31 3-35
Penalties-yds 2-15 2-20
Individual Statistics
Rushing: OJR — Graham 37-131, TD; Flynn 10-79; Gregory 2-9. DW — Cannon 20-106, TD; Bricker 7-34; McComsey 3-29; Wolfington 2-9; Goode-Kimble 1-3.
Passing: OJR — Flynn 3-4-0, 50 yards. DW — 3-4-0 16 yards.
Receiving: OJR — Gregory 1-35; Stahl 2-15. DW — Weller 1-9; Cannon 1-4; Goode-Kimble 1-3.
Source: Berkshire mont