Quince Orchard Rallies to Comeback Win over Seneca Valley in Playoff Showdown

Heading into Friday night's playoff game between Seneca Valley and Quince Orchard, both head coaches stated that the team that made the least amount of mistakes and minimized the number of big plays would be the one to prevail victorious.

And yet, despite committing 5 turnovers (three interceptions and two muffed punts), allowing a 98-yard rushing touchdown in the first half, and facing a 15-point deficit in the 4th quarter, Quince Orchard found a way to overcome it all. Just when it looked as though Seneca Valley was on its way to winning Round Two of this year's series, the Cougars rattled off 19 consecutive 4th quarter points to pull off a 19-15 win in front of an exuberant crowd at the "Cougar Dome."

For the first 36 minutes of last night's game, everything looked to be going the way of the Screamin' Eagle. Seneca intercepted QO quarterback Drew Murphy three times in the first half and even when QO had pinned Seneca at its own 2-yardline, fullback Bernard Wolley's 98-yard touchdown run gave the Screamin' Eagles a 6-0 halftime advantage.

The 3rd quarter was more of the same. While the Cougars did a superb job of containing Seneca running back Eddie Cunningham, who was limited to just 70 yards and his lowest output of the year, Wolley was there to pick up the load. He finished with 140 yards and on top of his long score in the first half, he also scored on an 18-yard rush midway through the 3rd quarter to give the Screamin' Eagles a 12-0 lead with 7:03 left in the quarter. Seneca would tack on three more points after a 37-yard Junior Arcaro field goal.

That's when Quince Orchard showed up. 

On the final drive of the 3rd quarter, QO running back Mark Green (209 yards) took the ball down to the Seneca 1-yardline as time was expiring on the quarter. And despite trailing 15-0 in the game's final quarter, the Cougars were knocking on the door and scored on the first play on a Murphy run.

While it was the Cougars who gave up more turnovers, it was the Screamin' Eagles who gave up the more costly ones. On their next possession after the Cougars' first touchdown, the Screamin' Eagles coughed it up and the Cougars recovered the fumble and scored on the ensuing possession to make it 15-13.

So, as momentum begin to turn, Seneca was grasping on to a two-point lead. The Screamin' Eagles couldn't take advantage of their next possession and were forced to punt, which set up the Cougars' go-ahead touchdown late in the final quarter with 3:41 left in the game.

"Our kids played very hard," Seneca coach Fred Kim said. "They just wore us down. We were toe-to-toe with them for three quarters, but they had a good game plan and were patient. Give credit to them."

Seneca had one final chance but a late interception by the Cougars sealed the win for QO. The Cougars will face Damascus next week in the second round. The Hornets defeated QO earlier this season.

For Seneca, it was a disappointing end to an otherwise positive year. The Screamin' Eagles finished the season 8-3 and have a chance to build on that this offseason. 

"I thought we had a great season," Kim said. "I can't fault the kids. They played as hard as they could, we had our opportunities, and we just couldn't take advantage of them. I'm very proud of them. I can't be dissatisfied with what they've done and what they've accomplished. Unfortunately, it just didn't turn out for us, but I'm satisfied with the effort level they gave."