APACHE — Knowing how open the Warriors’ top wide receiver was, fellow Apache wideout Riley Rose only wanted to make sure he didn’t overthrow Jaylan Maguire on the double-pass.
He didn’t. Rose’s throw was on the money.
Rose’s throw was spot on and Maguire — who had a couple of drops earlier in the game — held on and raced to the end zone for a 39-yard go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, breaking a 14-14 deadlock to propel Apache to a thrilling 34-21 A-4 District victory over Walters on Friday night.
“I was running down the field cheering like crazy. It was awesome,” said Rose, who also secured the game-ending interception as the clock hit zeros. “When I faked it, I made sure they didn’t charge me. Jaylan faked that block so well and I saw him open downfield so I planted my foot and threw it.
“I was just hoping he’d catch it.”
Maguire, who had seven catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns, was thinking the same thing after selling a terrific stop-block-and-go.
“I was just thinking, ‘Don’t drop it,’” Maguire said. “It means a lot. I’m still in shock that we came back like that.”
With Apache (3-1, 2-0 A-4) nursing a 26-21 lead in the final minute after the Warriors recovered a muffed Walters (3-2, 0-2 A-4) punt, Maguire caught his second touchdown of the night — as well as the conversion — to ice Apache’s victory with 17 seconds left.
Apache quarterback Landon McCracken, who accounted for 280 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, dropped a dime to Maguire in the corner of the end zone for an 8-yard score, making it 34-21.
“When we make a mistake, we can’t carry that onto the next play,” Apache head coach Larry McDaniel said. “You gotta let it go and make up for it the next play.”
Apache, which trailed 14-7 at halftime, made several big plays in the second half.
The Warriors defense forced four consecutive Walters punts to open the second half and McCracken’s 22-yard punt return to open the third quarter electrified Apache.
“Landon is like Baker Mayfield,” Rose said. “He can throw the deep ball whenever he wants. If he doesn’t, he can scramble. You know when he scrambles he’s always gonna make a play. He’s the guy that steps up.”
On the first play of the drive, Marcus Mindemann, who had 18 carries for 94 yards, scored a 32-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14 less than three minutes into the third quarter.
An 11-yard sack by Apache linebacker Morgan Claborn forced another Walters punt while setting up the 73-yard drive, highlighted by the double-pass.
In the fourth quarter, Apache defensive end Duke Hall forced a fumble and returned it 18 yards to the Walters 28-yard line, setting up another Apache score.
“That play Duke made is a big momentum deal,” McDaniel said. “Those plays are huge in games like this. The offense feeds off that and it’s a chain reaction.”
The Warriors had to convert a fourth down inside the 10-yard line as McCracken, who completed 20 of 34 passes for 176 yards, hit Kyler VandenBroeck for a 3-yard gain. On the next play, McCracken hopped up the middle and into the end zone for one of his two rushing touchdowns and four of his 104 rushing yards, giving Apache a 26-14 lead.
Just 16 seconds later, Walters answered with a 64-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Munn to Devyn Holley. Holley, who had four catches for 99 yards, flashed a mean stiff arm to break free, turn on the jets and trim the lead to 26-21 with seven minutes remaining.
“We knew going in their skill kids were the best we’ve seen so far,” McDaniel said. “And man, were they fast.”
Munn was phenomenal, completing 17 of his 25 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for another, but the Blue Devils were plagued by four turnovers.
The most costly of which came with 1:37 remaining, when Walters muffed the punt and was recovered by Apache’s Teagan Base at the 13-yard line.
Walters struck first when Dakota Gorthy picked off McCracken’s out-route pass on the opening drive.
Three plays later, Walters quarterback Josh Munn threw an out-route of his own and Blue Devils wide receiver Rylan Penn made a nifty spin move on the sideline and out-sprinted everyone to the house for a 43-yard touchdown just over two minutes into the game, giving Walters a 6-0 lead.
Apache travels to Velma-Alma next while Walters travels to Healdton.
Box Score
Walters Apache
First Downs 14 19
Rushing (Att-Yds) 27-102 42-198
Passing Yards-TDs 274-2 215-2
Passes (Comp-Att-Int) 17-25-1 21-35-1
Punts-Avg. 4-36.3 4-24.8
Fumbles 3 0
Penalties-Yards 7-60 6-55
Score by quarter
1 2 3 4 Total
Walters 6 8 0 7 21
Apache 0 7 7 20 34
Scoring Summary
Walters — Rylan Penn 43 pass from Josh Munn (kick failed) 9:42, 1st
Apache — Landon McCracken 3 run (Jaylan Maguire kick good) 9:00, 2nd
Walters — Josh Munn 1 run (Munn run good) 4:30, 2nd
Apache — Marcus Mindemann 32 run (Maguire kick good) 9:28, 3rd
Apache — Jaylan Maguire 39 pass from Riley Rose (kick failed) 9:53, 4th
Apache — McCracken 4 run (conversion failed) 7:16, 4th
Walters — Devyn Holley 64 pass from Munn (kick good) 7:00, 4th
Apache — Maguire 8 pass from McCracken (Maguire catch good) 0:17, 4th
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Walters — Seth Edison 4-35, William Wauqua 12-27, Josh Munn 6-25 (TD), Remington White 3-20, Devyn Holley 1-(-5). Apache — Landon McCracken 24-104 (2 TDs), Marcus Mindemann 18-94 (TD).
Passing: Walters — Josh Munn 17-25-274 (2 TD, INT). Apache — Landon McCracken 20-34-176 (TD, INT), Riley Rose 1-1-39 (TD).
Receiving: Walters — Devyn Holley 4-99 (TD), Rylan Penn 3-77 (TD), Remington White 5-72, William Wauqua 2-17, Braden Moiser 1-7, Dakota Gorthy 2-2. Apache — Jaylan Maguire 7-80 (2 TDs), Cooper Love 6-92, Teagan Base 3-20, Riley Rose 1-11, Marcus Mindemann 3-9, Kyler VandenBroeck 1-3.