DOYLESTOWN — Wherever football fate shall carry Central Bucks West in what continues to be a memorable season, at some point coach Rob Rowan will look back and remember the annoyance that was Garnet Valley.
The Bucks’ perfect season was nearly smeared early when the Jaguars lost by three in their season opener at storied War Memorial Field. Late Friday, C.B. West needed overtime, a blocked extra point and an exhale to earn a 28-27 victory over the Jags in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals.
Two games. Two classics and one overtime. And a total of four points the difference.
“I mean, look, they are a tremendous program,” Rowan said. “They are so well coached. Their kids are as tough as nails. They execute at a high level. So to beat them twice in a season, you are doing something right.”
The Bucks did enough to improve to 12-0 and win a semifinal engagement with Central Bucks South next Friday. But the Jaguars did enough themselves to fall only after regulation time had expired.
With the first overtime opportunity to try to score from the 10, Tyler Lassik raced nine yards for a touchdown to give the Jags a 27-21 lead. But after the Bucks snuffed the point-after attempt, dynamic running quarterback Cooper Taylor scored on a six-yard keeper of his own. When Ryan Clemens added the placement, the Jags were left with fond memories of a 9-3 season book-ended by two tough road losses to the tournament’s No. 1 seed.
“They are a very talented team,” said GV coach Eric VanWyk. “I am very impressed by them. But I am really proud of our guys and how they battled not only for 48 minutes but in overtime as well.”
The Jaguars were in peril with 0:58 left in regulation after CBW advanced to the 22. Facing fourth-and-three, the Bucks chose to allow Clemens to try a 39-yard field goal, but Aiden Bendo roared through the line to block the kick and effectively ensure bonus football.
By then, though, Taylor had proven to be dangerous in numerous ways. Not only did he puncture an early Garnet Valley drive with an interception, but he sandwiched two fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns – one for 47 yards, the other for 19 – around a 26-yard TD charge from the Jags’ Ronnie Leraris. Taylor finished with 184 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including the overtime difference-maker.
“He’s unbelievable, man,” Rowan said. “There’s not enough I can say in terms of what he means to me personally and what he means to this program. He is an absolute warrior in every sense of the word. And it was fitting that he was the one who made that play down there. It really was.”
If Taylor was challenged at all, it was in the passing game, which was blunted by sticky Garnet Valley defensive backs – keyed by Kai Lopez – who rarely left a receiver unescorted.
“He was our most consistent football player the whole season,” VanWyk said. “I am just so proud of the young man and how much he gives to our football program.”
In addition to his defense Friday, Lopez provided 77 receiving yards, including a 13-yard reception of a screen pass to the right side from Lassik to give GV a 14-7 lead with 1:19 showing in the third.
“Lassik gave an audible to to me,” Lopez said. “It was a perfect pass and I had great blocks, so it was a wide-open touchdown.”
The Bucks used a 12-play drive to set Taylor up for a three-yard scoring run for the early lead. But when Lassik’s nine-yard pass to Lopez put the Jags sent the Jags in deep, Luke Vaughn responded with his own three-yard score 1:51 before halftime, Mike Medici adding the extra point for the 7-7 tie. That score held through intermission when the Bucks came up short on a 42-yard field goal attempt.
From there, the offenses warmed, and Central Bucks West did not again lead until the final play of the game.
“We are a team that always fought throughout the season, and that’s what we did tonight,” said Lassik, who mixed 131 passing yards into his 174 yards of total offense. “I am proud of my teammates for what we accomplished, but obviously it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. But we’ve got to be proud.”
