MECHANICSBURG, PA — Rayshawn Scott will take it. It was not exactly the ending the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Roman Catholic wide receiver had in mind, though going 1-1 playing in two all-star games on consecutive days can be rewarding—and wearing.
Scott was part of the Non-Public team that won dramatically on Saturday, 23-20, in the City All-Star Game with a walk-off field goal and he ended his weekend with a career-best 10 receptions for 136 yards as part of the East team in its losing 17-12 effort to the West team on Sunday in the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association (PFCA) East-West Big School All-Star game at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.
Scott, who will be going to West Chester, was admittedly a little tired on Sunday afternoon, with a full day of school waiting for him on Monday.
“I wish I could have done a little more, but I’m not that tired,” he said. “I’ll go home, shower, sleep, relax, and get ready for school tomorrow. I have to stay with the books. That comes first. I love the game. Any chance I get to play, I can and I will. I would take back the two drops I had earlier in this game. I realize that this is it. This is the last time I’ll wear a Roman Catholic helmet, so I’ll still be staying in that purple and gold at West Chester. That will take me a few days to process. I would have liked to have won this one though. But going 1-1 this weekend, I’ll take that.”
Altoona’s Mark Harrington was named MVP of the West team after a monster game with a scoop-and-score touchdown and playing one snap at quarterback.
“I didn’t score as many touchdowns as I would have liked to this (past) season, but that’s the first scoop-and-score I ever had,” said Harrington, who is going to Mercyhurst University for football. “This was a good way to end my (high school) career. This was a great group of guys, and we had a lot of fun during practice. Pennsylvania is competitive, and west versus east, it’s that way in the state playoffs, and it’s definitely chippy.”
East had the ball inside the West 10 six times during the game and came away with two scores, one on a third-quarter touchdown and the other a fourth-quarter score, which made it 17-12. The sixth time came after consecutive trips inside the 10 in the fourth quarter, when the East failed to score on incomplete passes.
Trailing 17-0, the East finally broke through on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ended when Conrad Weiser’s Donovan Gingrich snuck in from a yard out, but the extra point kick was missed, leaving East behind, 17-6, with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
West got on the board first taking the opening kickoff 65 yards over 10 plays, before settling for a 41-yard field goal by Pine-Richland’s Grant Argiro. The big play of the drive came when McDowell’s Blayze Myers hit State College’s Cooper Brushwood with a 23-yard pass to the East 30. West managed to get the ball to the East 18, when Imhotep’s Kasir Wright sacked Myers for a six-yard loss, forcing the field goal.
The West added to that when McDowell’s James Zigler stepped in front of a Demaj Jalloh pass at the East 48 and zig-zagged his way to a pick six and a 10-0 West lead with 9:59 left in the first half.
A little less than two minutes later, another East turnover resulted in a score, when Harrington picked up a scoop-and-score from the East 36, making it 17-0 with 8:04 left in the half. Plum’s Darian Slaughter and Aliquippa’s Arison Walker converged on Exeter Township’s Jayden Zandler to cause the fumble.
By then, East had off 17 plays for 45 yards, averaging 2.6 yards a play and turning the ball over two times on its first three possessions.
East closed the half on consecutive drives inside the West 10, which amounted to nothing. One drive ended on a fourth-and-three stopped a yard short of a first down, and the other on a blocked field goal attempt with :09 left in the half.
It was an odd stat sheet at halftime. East had run off 33 plays to West’s 21, and had almost doubled the West in total yards, 154 to 80. The glaring difference were the two costly turnovers in the first half.
Scoring Summary
West 3 14 0 0-17
East 0 0 6 6-12
1st Quarter
West – Grant Argiro 41 FG, 6:20.
2nd Quarter
West – James Zigler 48 INT return (William Lech kick), 9:59
West – Mark Harrington 36 Fumble return (Argiro kick), 8:04.
3rd Quarter
East – Donovan Gingrich 1 run (kick missed), 5:59.
4th Quarter
East – Demaj Jalloh 1 run (Run failed), 2:57.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
