by Travis Pickens

If you go back in the history books far enough, the ending to Friday night’s epic District 10 Class AAAA championship between Erie Cathedral Prep and Erie McDowell wasn’t all that uncommon.

            Amidst numerous years of blowouts, every now and then this game turns out to be something special. In 2002, Prep missed an extra point in the first quarter and lost to McDowell, 14-13. Ten years earlier, it was Prep taking home a 14-13 win. After two years of lopsided scores, in 2003 Prep won before McDowell won last season, it was Prep’s turn to take home a close win.

            Trailing 20-19 after Connor Kimball’s 42-yard touchdown run with 4:41 left in regulation, McDowell elected to go for the lead instead of settling for a tie and possible overtime. The Trojans went to their workhorse, Anthony Weaver, on the conversion attempt. Prep was waiting and stuffed Weaver at the line of scrimmage. The senior, who set the McDowell single-season rushing record last weekend, finished with 149 yards.

            “The boys told me they’d like to go for two,” McDowell coach Joe Tarasovich said. “But, it’s not their decision, it’s my decision, and it came back to haunt me.”

            McDowell wouldn’t have been in the situation had its special teams not let it down early. After a 1-yard touchdown run by Weaver put the Trojans ahead, 13-3, the extra point attempt was blocked by Mike Schupp. The Ramblers used that momentum to score 17 unanswered points, until the long run by Kimball.

            “They did a nice job with their defensive game plan,” Tarasovich said of the Rambler defense, which gave up 122 yards to Weaver in the first half, but limited him to 27 in the second. “We’d get yards, but then they’d make a big play to stop us.”

            “(Our defensive coordinator) Chris Caldwell does a great job for us,” Prep coach Don Holl said. “I don’t make any defensive calls. Chris made a couple great adjustments at halftime and it showed.”

            A major factor that may have helped Tarasovich come to his fateful decision for the two-point attempt was the recent history of McDowell special teams errors. Not only was one extra point blocked tonight, two were blocked last Friday against Slippery Rock in a 26-7 Trojan win.

            “Joe (Tarasovich) is a great coach,” Holl said. “I’m not sure that there’s any reason to think that they couldn’t get three yards and really take the momentum. You can probably question the call, but I think it was the right call.”

            Down 13-10 at halftime, Prep didn’t waste any time setting the tone for the second half. After holding McDowell to a quick three-and-out on its opening possession, the Ramblers marched 54 yards in seven plays to take a 17-13 lead.

            “I’ve said it all year,” Holl said. “I love our kids. Our kids have great heart, great determination and they practice great.”

            Leading the way for Prep was quarterback John Csir. The senior went 10-for-14 for 93 yards and no interceptions. On third-and-4, after Prep recovered an onside kick, Csir found Schupp for a 6-yard gain and a first down to seal the game.

            “They shut down our running game, so we had to resort to the pass,” Csir said. “Our receivers stepped up, our linemen stepped up and we got the victory. We brought the D-10 (championship) back to Prep.”

            Prep can’t celebrate too long, however, as it next meets Dubois, a team coming off a 13-7 loss to Altoona Area to end the hopes of an undefeated season. The Beavers (8-1) beat McDowell, 33-21, on Sept. 30.

            “We’re going to watch a lot of film and study them this week,” Csir said of Dubois. “I haven’t seen (Dubois) play in person yet, but they beat McDowell and McDowell is one good team. We’re just going to go out and try to do our best.”

            Holl said he knows his team can’t think about its district championship too long or it runs the risk of seeing its season end next week.

            “We’ve seen film,” Holl said of how much he knows about the Beavers. “(Dubois) has a talented and crafty quarterback and a good running back. They’re very good and we’re just pleased we have the opportunity to play. It’ll be a tremendous challenge for us, but we’ll be ready next weekend.”

            Game Notes: Each team had a bad snap sail over their punters’ head, resulting in more than 30 yards lost for both teams. … Prep turned McDowell’s bad snap into a field goal while McDowell converted a touchdown from Prep’s mistake. … This is Prep’s 12^th district title since 1986. … Prep has succeeded at the AAAA level despite having the enrollment equivalent of a AAA school. … The date, site and time of next week’s Prep vs. Dubois game will be announced this week.