Fort Frye’s Tyce Beardsley (4) carries the ball as West Jefferson’s Jackson Beatty (9) wraps him up during Friday’s playoff game in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

BEVERLY — For the third time in six seasons, Fort Frye’s season came to an end at the hands of West Jefferson.

Down eight in the fourth, Tyce Beardsley’s 2-yard touchdown run got the Cadets within two with 19 seconds left. However, a toss to Gavin Rauch to the right edge was snuffed out by WJHS defensive lineman Luke Walters to deny the two-point try. The Roughriders’ Evan Switalski secured the onside kick attempt, and quarterback Austin Buescher, who finished 31 for 44 for 344 yards and four touchdowns, took two kneeldowns to give the visitors a 34-32 victory.

It was a matchup of two teams with two completely contrasting offensive styles. West Jefferson did nearly all of its damage through the air, while Fort Frye rushed 45 times for 285 yards as a team.

Tyce Bearsley led the Cadets with 109 yards and three TDs on 15 carries while Gavin Rauch added 91 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts. Rauch, a slippery runner who WJHS had trouble bringing down all night, got his number called on the pivotal two-point try, but West Jefferson was ready for it.

“We took a chance there,” said WJHS head coach Shawn Buescher, whose program also eliminated the Cadets in 2021 and 2023.

Fort Frye’s Wyatt Erb (21) tries to get around the block of West Jefferson’s Carter Romans (15) during Friday’s playoff game in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“They do so many good things (offensively) that mess with your eyes, but they were having some success on jets and things. So we thought as a staff they might do a jet or a toss there to get on the edge. We really thought if they went toss, they would probably do it to (Rauch) who’s a fast kid. We told our kids if they were opposite (Rauch), it’s either jet or toss. We took a chance there and got lucky that we guessed right.”

Austin Buescher, who quarterbacked the Roughriders to victory over FFHS two years ago, had two critical fourth-down touchdown passes in the game.

Up 14-7, West Jefferson faced fourth-and-12 at Fort Frye’s 20-yard line and elected to go for it. Buescher was pressured quickly and had to scramble to his right. He found Braxton Vance in the end zone for the 20-yard score. The snap on the extra-point kick was botched, making it 20-7.

Later in the game, the Roughriders were clinging to a one-point lead and faced fourth-and-10 from Fort Frye’s 36. Caught in between going for it and punting, coach Buescher left his offense on the field. That decision paid immediate dividends as Austin Buescher hit Blake Bogenrife, who got behind the Fort Frye secondary, in stride for the 36-yard touchdown pass. That put the visitors up 34-26 with 10:44 remaining in the game.

“They are an elite defense,” coach Buescher said of Fort Frye. “There’s no question about that. We thought what we do schematically would give them some problems. They see some things throughout the year that might be formationally what we do, but some of our passing schemes are a little bit different, and we sold that to our kids. They did adjust as a staff, because they’re a great staff. I mean, that’s an elite staff, and I think everybody in this part of the state knows that. I know their town knows that, but they do such a great job with what they do in all three phases. We knew they’d adjust. It really became just us going back and forth with adjustments.”

Fort Frye’s Tyce Beardsley (4) follows the block of teammate Dayne Miller (52) against West Jefferson during Friday’s playoff game in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Down 13 points in the second quarter, Fort Frye got a 33-yard pass from Grady Hesson to Tytan Waller to move the ball to WJHS’s 20-yard line. Two plays later, Rauch scampered into the end zone from 24 yards out. The kick was blocked, making it 20-13.

West Jefferson’s first three drives of the game resulted in TDs, the first two via passes from Buescher to Bogenrife (40 yards) and Switalski (5 yards). The fourth drive, however, resulted in the game’s only turnover as Fort Frye’s Aydric Wynn picked off a Buescher pass.

The Cadets then used a 12-play, 57-yard drive to tie the game. After converting a pair of fourth-and-short scenarios, Fort Frye finally found the zone from a yard out on Hesson’s keeper.

West Jefferson had 1:29 on the clock to try and score before halftime, but a sack by Dayne Miller halted the drive. It was 20-all at the break.

Fort Frye got the ball to start the second half and quickly cashed in. A 23-yard run by Rauch helped set up Beardsley’s 4-yard touchdown carry. The Cadets opted to go for two, but the handoff was dropped, making it 26-20 at the 8:10 mark in the third.

West Jefferson players celebrate after Luke Walters (75) made a tackle to deny the potential game-tying two-point try against Fort Frye during Friday’s playoff game in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Fort Frye’s only lead of the contest was short-lived as West Jefferson answered with its lone rushing touchdown of the night. An 18-yard jaunt by Buescher put the ball at the 1 and Bogenrife punched it in from there. Jaxon Bare’s extra point put the Roughriders ahead 27-26 with 4:50 left in the third.

After the Roughriders took a 34-26 lead, both teams traded punts. Fort Frye got it back at its own 32 and used 14 plays to not only go 68 yards and score, but drain the final minutes off the clock. Had the Cadets converted the two-point try, overtime was a near certainty. It was a perfectly executed drive by the Cadets — they just came up one play short.

“Styles make fights, as they say,” coach Buescher said. “Both of these programs go about things very differently in terms of how we do things schematically. But, I really think if you break us down from the fundamental standpoint, we’re very similar — we block well, we both tackle well. We do feel like, based on our scheme and those situations, fourth and long, third and long, we always have a chance because of what we try to do. It really all starts up front — our guys protect and our receivers do great jobs running routes. I know a lot of people are talking about Austin, and rightfully so. He’s a great player and makes a lot of great throws, but it’s truly a team effort.”

Fort Frye (9-2) will graduate a strong senior class that includes Beardsley, Miller, Kainan Bradford, Blake Wheeler, Terry Tompkins, Brandon Garvin, Sam Beaver and Christian Friese.

West Jefferson had a pair of 100-yard receivers in the game — Vance (11 catches, 105 yards) and Bogenrife (6 catches, 101 yards). The Roughriders, who advanced to the regional final round for the 12th time in the last 24 years, will take on Colonel Crawford next Friday at a location to be determined.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.