Photo’s by Rick Martin
DOWNINGTOWN, PA — Spencer Ferguson was sweaty and tired, and beaming Thursday night at Downingtown’s Walter E. Kottmeyer Stadium. The Coatesville senior is bound for Lycoming, where he intends on continuing his football career and holds hope of making the baseball team.
For a long moment in the 23rd Valor Bowl, Chester County’s All-Star game, Ferguson got to do something he rarely did this past season for the Red Raiders and that consistently carries the football.
Playing for Team Allison, Ferguson pounded through Team Carroll for two touchdowns and was named the overall MVP of the game.
Malvern Prep’s Cam Paquette was named defensive MVP for Team Carroll and Conestoga’s Peter Costigan the offensive MVP for Team Carroll, while Oxford’s Landon Turk earned defensive MVP honors for Team Allison and Downingtown West’s AJ Saggese the offensive MVP laurels at right offensive guard.
It was Ferguson’s 9-yard scoring run that provided the winning cushion after his first-quarter score tied the game at 7-7.
“Thinking I was playing in my last game was tough, but coming out playing with guys you know and play against is a great thing,” Ferguson said. “I didn’t get that many carries during the season. I mainly played defense, at safety.
“This is probably the most I carried the ball all year. This was a great thing and to support a great cause. It was weird playing with guys you played against. But it was fun.”
Saggese, who is bound for West Chester, was caught a little off by getting the offensive MVP award. When Team Allison needed crucial yards, they ran to the right side—behind him and Kennett’s Connor Tuk.
“Everyone was good on the field,” said Saggese, who is 6-foot-3, 300 pounds. “It was fun, but it was hard. Everyone on the field was good and ran only five different plays. We kept it simple. This is kind of sad, playing my last game. But we’ll move on to four more years of college.”
The game was close for a good portion until the teams exchanged fourth-quarter touchdowns. The winning difference came with 1:07 left in the first half when Downingtown West’s John Mulville busted through the right side for a 3-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
Costigan got some of that back when he hit Conestoga teammate Jeremy Friend in the corner of the end zone with a 23-yard touchdown pass with 11:08 to play in the game. The extra point was blocked, which set Ferguson up to add some distance on a 9-yard run with 4:51 to play.
Great Valley’s 6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end Lawron Short was tremendous. He had three sacks and three tackles for losses for Team Carroll, which had 18 players with seven in the sideline and some players in positions they never played before, while Team Allison had 33 players and many of whom went one way.
“We were a little gassed in the end,” admitted Short, who is going to Kutztown. “We had some guys get hurt. They had a lot of players, but we still held our own. We still played hard. I treated this like a regular game knowing this is the last time I’ll be wearing the high school pads.”
Costigan will be heading to Sacred Heart for football in the fall. The teams had only a few practices, but Costigan had a built-in benefit: Team Carroll’s head coach was Conestoga head coach Matt Diamond.
“I kind of knew everything, it was our system, but I have to give up to our offensive line, they balled all night,” Costigan said. “We had a guy, (West Chester East’s) Ian Mulbah who had not played a snap at o-line. He was always a defensive tackle. He came in tonight and played right tackle and didn’t blink an eye.
“You have to love playing with guys like that. This was a great experience and for a great cause. They had more guys than us. At Conestoga, we were the underdogs and always played through it. It will be tough taking these pads off for the last time.
“And it comes playing the last game of my senior here at this place, where we lost in the first round of District 1 (Class 6A) playoffs to Downingtown West. It felt good to be back here. We lost, again. A few more touchdowns would not have hurt. It hasn’t sunk in yet that this is the last time I played in a high school football game.”
Scoring Summary
Team Carroll 7 0 0 6-13
Team Allison 7 7 0 7-21
1st Quarter
Carroll – Peter Costigan (Conestoga) 7 run (Seth Turner (Great Valley) kick), 5:48
Allison – Spencer Ferguson (Coatesville) 12 run (Ryan Barker (Kennett) kick), 2:21
2nd Quarter
Allison – John Mulville (Downingtown West) 3 run (Barker kick), 1:07
4th Quarter
Carroll – Jeremy Friend (Conestoga) 23 pass from Costigan (kick failed), 11:08
Allison – Ferguson 9 run (Barker kick), 4:51
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
