By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

At 9:54 p.m. last Friday night, nearly three hours after the game began, Unionville running back Owen Simcox took the hand-off from Longhorns’ quarterback Tommy McGinnis and plunged head-long into the scrum – and the goal line – that awaited him.

Simcox’s overtime touchdown was a fitting end to the marathon saga that preceded his score, one that gave Unionville a 32-26 victory over visiting Academy Park, but the magnificence of his moment was overshadowed by what transpired on the game’s previous set of downs, when his teammates saved the game.

With the game deadlocked at 26-26 after regulation, the Longhorns and the Knights were each awarded the ball at their opponent’s 10-yard line that would determine a winner. Academy Park quarterback KJ Moore immediately fired a three-yard strike to Jason Acquoi, but on the next snap, lineman Nolan Holt tackled Acquoi for a two-yard loss and on third down, lineman Demetrius Getsos recovered a fumble to kill Academy Park’s rally and set up Simcox’s game-winning score.

It was a fitting climax to a topsy-turvy non-league victory for Unionville – it’s first of the season after a 44-6 loss to Rustin on Aug. 23 – and one that saw the Longhorns gain 336 total yards on offense that was highlighted by two long touchdown passes from McGinnis, who racked up 264 passing yards. 

After a scoreless first quarter, Unionville mounted its first scoring drive that began on a 13-yard pass from McGinnis to wide receiver Hayden Wenturine that moved the ball to the 1-yard line. With 1:25 remaining in the half, Simcox rushed for the first of his two touchdowns, and after a successful point-after by Ryan Keaveney, Unionville took a 7-0 lead. 

Moore then engineered a 79-yard drive that ended on a perfect, 23-yard TD pass to wide receiver Daniel Gbeaday as time expired in the first half and after a successful two-point conversion, the Knights entered the locker room with an 8-7 halftime lead.

On Unionville’s first snap of the third quarter, McGinnis found wide receiver Drew Puleo downfield for a 65-yard touchdown with 8:26 remaining in the quarter that gave the Longhorns a 13-8 lead. With 3:09 left in the quarter, Unionville jumped out to a 20-8 lead when McGinnis fired a bullet to Holt who dove his way into the end zone. After a huge kick-off return by Amir Thomas gave Academy Park good field position, Gbeaday took a pass from Moore and sprinted up the sidelines for his second touchdown, and after a failed two-point conversion, Unionville clung to a 20-14 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Gbeaday gave Academy Park good field position after a punt return gave the Knights the ball on Unionville’s 25-yard line and set up Acquoi’s 11-yard touchdown run that knotted the score at 20-20 with 8:34 left in the game. On Unionville’s next possession, however, McGinnis, on fourth-and-five from his own 35-yard line, launched his second 65-yard touchdown pass of the game, this time to running back Brody McLaughlin that gave the Longhorns a 26-20 lead with 6:53 left in regulation.

With time dwindling, both teams traded interceptions on their next two possessions that saw Unionville’s Jack Law nab a Moore pass that killed an Academy Park rally with 5:05 left. Inheriting possession at their own 36-yard line, the Knights moved the chains on carries by Thomas, Ron Hunter and Marquise Spross that led to a pass to Thomas that put the ball on the 1-yard line with 1:02 left and set up a touchdown run by Spross that tied the game at 26-26. With the opportunity to go ahead, however, Academy Park’s extra-point attempt was blocked. 

Unionville’s last possession of regulation was snuffed out when on fourth down, a snap sailed over the head of punter Nic DiMatteo and forced DiMatteo to hurriedly get off a punt that gave the Knights the ball at the 14-yard line with 9 seconds left in regulation. Desperate to find a receiver, Moore was then sacked twice by Getsos and lineman Lyle Smith.

“We made great defensive plays when we really needed them,” said Unionville Head Coach Tim Murphy. “It was different guys: Holt, Smith, Getsos and (Sam) Pickar and the list goes on and on. They buckled down. Our defense knew what their job was, and they accomplished it.”

Murphy praised his team for their resilience.

“They didn’t quit,” he said. “They always knew that there was a possibility of winning and not once did we put our heads down, and we came together as a team. Whether it was offense, defense or special teams, we made the big plays when we needed to.”

Now 1-1 overall, the Longhorns travel to Pottstown on Sept. 6, while the 0-2 Knights host Kensington on Sept. 7.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].