COATESVILLE — Trevion Carey was supposed to punt the ball.
He ran it instead.
And that iced a season-opening, 14-6, win for Harrisburg Friday against the third-ranked Class 6A team in the state, Coatesville.
Carey made his executive decision with 3:45 to go and the Cougars facing a fourth down at the Red Raiders’ 41.
He needed 8 yards.
He got 16.
But … boy … if he wouldn’t have.
“It’s one of those things … he’s a genius,” Harrisburg coach Calvin Everett said smiling. “But … yeah … it probably would’ve been pretty tough for him back on the sideline if he wouldn’t have got that.”
Carey’s dash around end allowed the 10th-ranked Cougars (1-0) to run out the clock.
And it came just two series after Coatesville (0-1) was able to cut it to a one-score game on a 6-yard touchdown run by Villanova commit, quarterback Ricky Ortega.
That play was set up by a 44-yard punt return by another Nova-bound senior, receiver Dapree Bryant.
The run wasn’t Carey’s first big play.
He opened the scoring by hauling in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Nicari Williams in the closing seconds of the first half that allowed the Cougars to take a 7-0 lead to the locker room.
Harrisburg extended it to 14-0 on a 12-yard pass from John McNeil to Kamere Day with 5:49 to go in the third.
That set up Coatesville’s final push, and Carey’s clutch run.
The Stars
Harrisburg’s entire defense probably deserves a game ball.
Coatesville made it to the Cougars’ 1 twice and came away without a point.
And Harrisburg managed to get one turnover, a fumble recovered by Lahmere Wigfall.
Jahmir Plant had 94 yards — 78 rushing, 16 receiving.
Williams and McNeil rotated at quarterback and both threw a touchdown.
McNeil finished with 100 yards passing and 19 rushing.
Williams threw for 72 yards.
Carey caught seven passes for 43 yards, and speedster Day had five catches for 71.
Ortega passed for 101 yards and ran for 79 yards and his score.
Game-deciding moments
Carey’s run put it on ice, but the Cougars seemed to get the better of Coatesville in almost all of the game’s key moments.
The goal-line stands were big, but, in what was a sloppy, penalty-filled game on both sides, Coatesville particularly hurt itself with miscues in the Red Zone.
They said it:
“I saw they were pressing my two gunners, and they didn’t really look at me. I knew (my gunners) would run full-speed down. I saw a hole, and I took it,” Carey on his run on the late punt play.
“We knew they didn’t have the size they had last year so the bully-ball wasn’t going to work. They kept us on a leash, but we contained Ortega as much as we could. I knew I had to step up as a defensive tackle to get in there and get him,” Harrisburg defensive lineman Saquon Carter-Barton on the defense’s performance.
-- Follow Brian Linder on Twitter, @SportsByBLinder