AMBLER — Ethan McCune knows his days on a football field are numbered.
With no plans to play at the next level, the Unionville senior entered the District 1 Class 5A playoffs looking to extend those days as long as possible.
The Longhorns defense was on its heels Friday night against Wissahickon, hoping to hold off a Trojans comeback drive when McCune sprung out of the fog to pick off a pass and earn himself and his classmates at least one more game.
The interception sealed No. 11 Unionville’s 21-14 comeback win over No. 6 Wissahickon in Friday night’s District 1 Class 5A first round game, a rematch of last year’s district opener that the Longhorns also won.
Unionville will face No. 3 Great Valley, a 42-35 winner over West Chester Rustin, next Friday in the quarterfinals.
“I didn’t want to go home because I’m a senior and this could have been my last game,” McCune said. “ I’m so hype we get another round. With this team, this is the best group ever. This is the best group we’ve had in the past four years.”
Wissahickon (8-3) took control early when it marched 65 yards in seven plays on its opening drive. Senior running back Quasir Sampson (15 rushes, 107 yards) did most of the heavy lifting before senior Ryan Kim scored an eight-yard touchdown with 8:30 left in the first to make it 7-0 Trojans.
The Longhorns (8-3) went three-and-out on their opening drive before answering back on their second drive. Unionville capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive when junior Darren Hovington punched in a one-yard score with 11:11 left in the second quarter. He finished with 32 rushes for 180 yards.
“Our physicality is unmatched,” McCune said. “When we want to run the ball, we run the ball, and we get it down their throat.”
Wissahickon marched right down to answer Hovington’s score with an eight-play 65-yard drive. This time junior Evan Dixon ran in a seven-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 with 8:04 left in the second.
A fumble and a missed field goal prevented Unionville from cutting into the deficit before halftime, but 11 combined runs from Hovington and junior quarterback Chase Johnson took the Longhorns 80 yards on the opening drive of the second half. Johnson punched in a one-yard keeper to cap the nearly eight-minute drive and tie the score 14-14 with 6:11 left in the third.
“We were just shooting ourselves in the foot the whole game, so as soon as we started locking in, getting a rhythm going, started playing our brand of football, we were pretty good,” Johnson said.
Unionville’s defense slowed down Wissahickon’s rushing attack in the second half, holding the Trojans to 46 yards on the ground after the break compared to 114 in the first half — in part because the Longhorns did such a good job of controlling the ball themselves.
The game still stood deadlocked when Unionville got the ball on its own 42-yard line with just under seven minutes to play. The Longhorns again went to the ground attack to push the ball down the field, though a 13-yard, third-down completion from Johnson to senior Dean Stang was a big play on the drive.
Then with 1:11 left on Wissahickon’s seven-yard line, Johnson made another key third-down toss, throwing the go-ahead touchdown to Liam Guidotti.
“When you’ve got a running back that good, they tend to look for the run, and that opens up the passing game as well,” Johnson said.
“I saw pre-snap I was looking there and the flag at the back of the end zone, but my guy’s gotta make the catch and get in the end zone.”
Dixon and the Trojans pushed the ball down the field quickly as they tried to even the score. A toss to Kim and three to senior Avery Godoy got Wissahickon down to the Unionville 24-yard line with 37.7 seconds left.
That’s when McCune found a way to make a play, jumping a slant route to secure a pick before going down and eventually making his way to the Longhorns sideline for a celebration. He said it was similar to an interception he made in last year’s district playoff win over the Trojans, though this one came at a much bigger moment.
“Same thing last year I got a pick off that as well,” McCune said. “When I saw him hit the slant, I jumped the ball and I got it.”
Unionville lost heartbreaker, 21-20, to Strath Haven in last year’s second round after taking down Wissahickon. The Longhorns opened their season this year with another one, a 35-28 overtime loss to their next opponent Great Valley.
They’ll hope to ride the momentum of Friday’s second half into a revenge win over the Patriots that gives McCune and his fellow teammates even more football.
“Keep working, keep doing the same thing we’re doing, our brand of football,” Johnson said. “Stop shooting ourselves in the foot and we’ll be good.”
“I’m not playing anywhere next year, so I’m definitely savoring this one,” McCune said.
Unionville 0 7 7 7-21
Wissahickon 7 7 0 0-14
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
W:Ryan Kim 8 run (Ben Hinchcliffe kick), 8:30
Second Quarter
U:Darren Hovington 1-yard TD run (Ethan McCune kick), 11:11
W: Evan Dixon 7-yard TD run (Ben Hinchcliffe kick), 8:04
Third Quarter
U: Chase Johnson 1-yard TD run (Ethan McCune kick), 6:11
Fourth Quarter
U: Liam Guidotti 7 pass from Chase Johnson (Ethan McCune kick), 1:11
Team Statistics
……………………U………………..W
1st downs………..23…………………16
rush-yds……….49-239……………28-160
comp-att-int….5-12-0…………..10-17-1
pass yds……….62………………92
total yds…………301……………….252
fumb-lost……..2-1………………0-0
pen-yds…………2-15…………..8-59
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Unionville: 32-180, TD; 12-52, TD; Ethan McCune 4-7.
Wissahickon: Quasir Sampson 15-107; Christian Norcum 2-16; Ryan Kim 3-16, TD; Evan Dixon 8-21, TD.
Passing:
Unionville: Chase Johnson 5-12, 62 yards, TD.
Wissahickon: Evan Dixon 10-17, 92 yards, INT.
Receiving:
Unionville: Liam Guidotti 2-27, TD; Dean Stang 1-13; Brady Nelson 1-12; Ethan McCune 1-10.
Wissahickon: Avery Godoy 4-33; Ryan Kim 3-30; Quasir Sampson 1-21; Brody Micenec 1-8; La’Rod Potter 1-0.
Interceptions: Unionville: Ethan McCune.
Sacks:
Unionville: Nick Rassias, Ryan Quinland
Wissahickon: La’Rod Potter.