Westlake, St. Charles football pull out lastminute wins
Wolverines deliver epic fourth-quarter comeback
When Westlake’s Nate Tyler took possession of the ball for the final time in Saturday night’s regular season football finale at Calvert, he had basically two options in front of him.
One, try to sprint out of bounds to guarantee his Wolverines at least one more play, be it a shot at the end zone or a field goal attempt. Or two, turn straight up the field and try to score himself, though that option came with plenty of risk given his team had no timeouts and the clock was ticking down towards the game’s final 10 seconds.
Tyler chose the latter, made a couple wouldbe tacklers miss and then powered his way across the goal line for the game-winning touchdown in Westlake’s 32-27 Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Chesapeake Division win over the Cavaliers.
The win earned the Wolverines the division title and more importantly a berth in the Class 2A South Region playoffs. With the victory, Westlake claimed the No. 2 seed in the region and will host River Hill in the postseason’s opening round at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“We had no timeouts, so I felt like I had to make a play,” said Tyler, who had six receptions for 84 yards and two touchdowns in the game. “They wanted me to get out of bounds, but I felt like I was strong enough to get into the end zone for my team. It was now or nothing, so I took a chance and went for it and it went in my favor.”
Tyler’s touchdown catch capped an 80-yard Westlake drive that the Wolverines navigated without the benefit of a timeout. Taking possession with 2 minutes 13 seconds remaining in the game, Westlake quarterback Jalon Spencer completed 5 of 6 passes on the series to quickly move the team down the field.
After a 19-yard completion to Devin Williams gave the Wolverines a first down-and-goal at the Calvert 5-yard line, the hosts sacked Spencer for an eight-yard loss and then called a timeout with 20.1 seconds left. The ver y next play, Spencer looked to his right and found Tyler on a short pass that the receiver turned into the game-clinching score.
“We work no-huddle every week. We use it occasionally, but our guys did a fantastic job catching the ball, getting down, getting the first down,” Westlake head coach Tony Zaccarelli said. “I think we got out of bounds one time on that series. Understanding our scheme and the coverage and what we do, they did a fantastic job.”
Pressure-packed as
the situation was as his team took the field for its final series, Spencer had no doubt about what his unit was going to do.
“We all just came together last minute and told each other that we were going to score,” said the quarterback, who completed 20 or 34 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. “We just stuck together and played our hearts out. ... It’s a great feeling. We’re a great team, with all the family. It’s like a brotherhood here.”
The teams had matched each other virtually blow-forblow from the opening kickoff, which Westlake (8-2, 6-0 SMAC Chesapeake) scored on courtesy of Williams’ 77-yard return. Calvert (6-4, 5-1) answered in prompt fashion, reaching the end zone on its first play from scrimmage when quarterback Michael Floria found a streaking Duke Marlowe for a 74-yard touchdown pass. The score was tied at 7 just 34 seconds into the game.
Westlake surged back in front on Spencer’s 44-yard scoring connection with Tyler midway through the second quarter, while Calvert immediately answered with a 70-yard drive that culminated with Floria’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 4 minutes left in the first half.
Receiving the ball to open the second half, the Cavaliers took their first lead on Dre Mackall’s 7-yard touchdown run to cap a drive that featured an 80-yard rush by Mackall. The missed point-after left Calvert’s lead at 20-14, a lead that instantly evaporated when their attempted onside kick on the ensuing kickoff was returned for a score by Westlake’s Dagod Lawrence. Westlake missed its extra point, as well, leaving the teams tied at 20.
Calvert drove 80 yards to reestablish itself in front on the following series, with Mackall again doing the honors with a 31-yard touchdown jaunt. Robert Page’s extra point gave the hosts a 27-20 lead with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
It took a few minutes, but Westlake responded early in the fourth quarter when Spencer hooked up with Deshawn Holt for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The Wolverines elected to forego the extra point in favor of a 2-point conversion for the lead, a run that the Cavaliers snuffed out to maintain a 27-26 advantage.
Later, having taken over at its own 23 with 5:18 remaining, Calvert moved the ball into Westlake territory on the strength of Mackall’s legs. The Cavaliers forced Westlake to use up its timeouts, but the drive ultimately stalled, giving the Wolverines one final chance after the punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback with 2:13 to play.
Mackall rushed for 254 yards in the loss, while Floria completed 5 of 7 passes for 125. It was not quite enough.
After opening the season 1-2 through three games, Calvert reeled off a five-game win streak to insert itself back into the playoff mix before dropping its final two games to North Point and Westlake.
“Our kids weren’t going to quit, that’s for sure,” Calvert head coach Rick Sneade said. “Here at the end we played against some really tough teams. You can’t make mistakes against tough teams. You make mistakes, you have to play toe-to-toe with some really good players and some really good systems. This week with Westlake they have players all over the place. We’re on the short end of the stick. It could have gone either way, but they made the plays when it mattered the most.”
Dogged by some uneven efforts throughout the season despite its 8-2 record, Westlake finally delivered a complete, four-quarter effort with the season on the line, which was particularly heartening to Zaccarelli.
“Our guys showed a lot of heart,” he said. “All week long we told them it was going to be a dogfight. Calvert is a very well-coached team. They play with a lot of heart and passion and if you want to win this game you have to play four quarters. The guys did that today. The first time all year they played four quarters. I’m proud of them.
“We’re peaking at the right time. We told the guys all year, ‘You guys can do it. You have to get your mind wrapped around it and buy into each other.’ Today they played for each other and not just themselves.”