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McDowell Holds Off Erie 28-24

Tagged under: District 10, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 13, 2024

Millcreek Township – McDowell held on for a 28-24 victory Thursday night against Erie High at Gus Anderson Field.

Both schools were probably glad to be back in Erie, or at the least, Pennsylvania. They each traveled to Mentor, Ohio, last weekend. It was a weekend that both wanted to forget.

Each contest featured the mercy clock. McDowell was beaten 50-14 by Mentor High School, while Erie High lost 37-0 to Lake Catholic.

Despite the short week, the Trojans and Royals put it all on the field, as the game wasn’t settled until the closing seconds.

Trailing 28-18 with under 50 seconds to play, ball on their 24-yard line, and a backup quarterback in the game- you wouldn’t expect much drama.

Erie High had other plans as Marqwan Darnell threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Markel Pope with 36 seconds on the clock.

The Royals then recovered the onside kick with 34 seconds remaining, only to be turned away by the Trojan defense at their 36-yard line.

“It was a win for sure, an ugly win, but that’s what matters,” said McDowell head coach Aaron Slocum.

McDowell used a 20-point second quarter to open up a 20-6 halftime lead.

Stephon Porter, who scored three touchdowns, opened the scoring on 4th-and-goal on the initial play of the second quarter when he scored on a 2-yard run following a 13-play 54-yard drive.

Erie High quickly responded as Jack Musone returned the ball to the Trojans’ 30-yard line on the following kickoff.

Three plays later, Tahjae Thomas took a swing pass from Paul Johnson 13 yards into the end zone, pulling the Royals to within 7-6.

Midway through the second stanza, McDowell went to an up-tempo offense and scored a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes.

“When we’re going up-temp, we’re kind of in a grove,” Slocum said. “It doesn’t allow their defense to get lined up and set. It’s very critical for us to be moving with pace.”

It would again be Stephon Porter scoring both touchdowns as his 18-yarder capped a 60-yard drive before he ripped off a 55-yarder with 2:18 play in the first half.

Porter rushed for a game-high 133 yards on carries, with 124 of those yards coming in the first half.

“It feels great,” Porter said. “But I’m not happy right now. Thanks to my line, we did a lot of good things out there. Thanks to my line, we can go out here to play; I give it all to them. Now we’re moving on to the next game.”

Erie took the football in the second half and quickly pulled to within 20-12 when Markel Pope hauled in a 31-yard pass from Johnson 63 seconds into the half.

McDowell responded just over two minutes later when Gavin Magorien scored from 29 yards out. Blayze Myers ran in the 2-point conversion.

Magorien rushed seven times for 53 yards, while Myers completed 15-of-26 passes for 169 yards. James Zigler Jr. caught nine balls for 113 yards.

“Those guys do a great job,” said Slocum. “It depends on what they’re given. We can do both running and passing. Whatever the defense is giving us, we will go with.”

Succeeding another long kickoff return, Johnson scored on a 6-yard run 57 seconds later.

Late in the third quarter, Erie had a 4th-and-2 at the McDowell 4-yard line, trailing 28-18. The Trojans defense stopped Johnson for a 4-yard loss with under a minute to play in the quarter.

“The defense made a great effort on the play and executed the call,” said Slocum. “We took a timeout right before because we thought we knew what they would run. But shut out to Erie, they really did play well. I was impressed with them.”

Paul Johnson led Erie, completing 17-of-25 passe for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 30 yards but left the game in the fourth quarter due to injury.

Marqwan Darnell took over under center and completed 2-of-4 passes for 104 yards and the 76-yard touchdown to Pope.

The Royals had two receivers go over the century mark as Tahjae Thomas caught eight passes for a game-high 121 yards, while, thanks to the long receptions, Markel Pope had two receptions for 107 yards.

Erie returns to action next Saturday afternoon when they host Hickory.  For McDowell, they travel to Meadville next Friday.

“We want to get healthy and continue improving,” concluded Slocum. “Now we’re only thinking about Meadville.”

Game Highlights:

McDowell 28 Erie 24

Score by Quarters

Erie – 0 6 12 6 – 24

McDowell – 0 20 8 0 – 28

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

M – Stephon Porter 2 yd run, (Ashton Sontheimer pat), 11:57 13-54

E – Tahjae Thomas 13 yd pass from Paul Johnson (rush failed), 11:02 – 3-30.

M – Porter 18 yd run, (kick failed), 5:06 – 5-60

M – Porter 55 yd run, (Sontheimer pat), 2:18, 1-55

Third Quarter

E – Markel Pope 31 yd pass from Johnson, (rush failed), 10:57 – 3-56

M – Gavin Magorien 29 yd run, (Blayze Myers rush), 8:35 – 6-59

E – Johnson 6 yd run, (rush failed), 7:38 – 5-46

Fourth Quarter

E – Pope 76 yd pass from Marqwan Darnell, (pass failed), 0:36 – 1-76

Individual Stats

Rushing: E – Johnson 14-30, Nyciere Smith 4-10, Amari Farmer 1-1, Jack Musone 1-4, Giovonni Crosby 1-4, Thomas 1-8, Pope 2-4, Darnell 3-(-11). Totals: 27-48. M – Porter 20-133, Blayze Myers 8-43, Brody Bonsell 6-11, Gavin Magorien 7-53. Totals: 41-240.

Receiving: E -Jamere Hansbrew 1-11, Thomas 8-121, Crosby 3-8, Arydah Pacley 2-9,  Pope 2-107, Darnell 2-18, Farmer 1-3.  M -James Zigler Jr. 9-113, Kameron Bastow 1-12, Magorien 1-20, Kayden Dodds 1-8, Porter 1-(-1), Daymar Dickerson 1-12, Owen Haffey 1-5.

Passing: E – Johnson 17-for-25, 173 yards, 2 TD, Darnell 2-for-4, 104 yards, 1 TD, Team 0-for-1. M – Myers 15-for-26, 169 yards.

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