Yes, you read that right, Paw Paw did indeed play and defeat a team that consisted entirely of 2 people: Cumberland Area Maryland Terrapin Recruits Ty Johnson and Gage Shaffer. Is this unprecedented, I mean playing a team of 2 people? Well, those among you who are Paw Paw historians will note that last year the Pirates played a team consisting of 1 person, and that one person was Fort Hill's Ty Johnson, before he was even committed to the Terps. You Pirate historians will also note that Ty Johnson outperformed Paw Paw's All-World Josh Delawder and had the Pirates all but beat before unselfishly deciding to not expend anymore energy so as to conserve all his energy for Fort Hill's playoff run….which, as we all know, resulted in the Sentinels winning a state championship.
So, how did this game come to be? Well, as many Paw Paw stories do, our story begins high atop the mountains of beautiful Morgan County at the Avalon Nudist Resort. It seems a group of wealthy "Terrapin Club" members had gathered at the resort for a weekend retreat, designed not only for them to unwind but also to discuss, among other things, Maryland's entrance into the Big 10, the Terrapins upcoming recruiting classes, and most importantly, the "shrinkage" factor brought about by cool Mountain air. Wearing nothing but a smile and a Juan Dixon Jersey, the leader of the group called the retreat to order and the discussion quickly turned to Maryland Football Recruit's Ty Johnson and Gage Shaffer, both of whom hail from the nearby Cumberland, Maryland and Ridgeley, West Virginia areas. One of the Terrapin Club members,
a local guy we'll call "MARK," said that Frankfort's Gage Shaffer was the best quarterback prospect he'd seen since, well, HIMSELF. Another guy, wearing nothing but a Boomer Esiasion Halloween Mask and a pair of Len Bias throwback Nike's, proclaimed Ty Johnson of Fort Hill to be the second fastest human being he'd ever seen, with the fastest being Ralph Friedgen heading to the Buffet Line at the Golden Corral in Frederick.
The more the Terrapin Club Members drank throughout the night the more they continued to rave and rave about the young Master Johnson and the young Master Shaffer. They were not alone, however, as there were a few local Paw Paw folks who were regulars at the resort, especially for Friday nights "Crotchless Keno" and "Cardless Texas Hold Em" games (if you know what I mean). After some time, the locals, Darrell Delawder and his wife Diane, and their cousin Doug Delawder and his life-partner Don, grew tired of all thisTerrapin talk and started bragging about their own beloved 14 time West Virginia Class ½ A defending State Champion Paw Paw Pirates. The heated discussion almost came to fisticuffs when Diane Delawder had the gall to proclaim that Josh Delawder was faster than Ty Johnson and a purer passer than Gage Shaffer. What followed was the proverbial gauntlet being laid down, by the end of the night a contract was signed for Paw Paw to play Ty Johnson and Gage Shaffer at Paw Paw.
As MPSSAA and WVSSAC rules prohibited both Fort Hill coach Todd Appel and Frankfort coach Kevin Whiteman from serving as sanctioned coaches for the game, Ty and Gage were in desperate need of a coach and none other than Washington Redskins legend and NFL analyst Joe Theismann agreed to coach the young lads against Paw Paw's "Vaunted Tunnel Defense" and the Josh Delawder led "Wing D" offense. Local fans might remember that Joe Theismann showered Gage Shaffer with praise and proclaimed to the media that the Frankfort QB was "one of the most impressive young men I've seen," along with ranking him as a 5 star recruit.
As game day arrived, the three (Johnson, Shaffer, Theismann) agreed to meet up at the Virginia Avenue Sheetz store so they could ride together to Paw Paw. Theismann had contracted with the guy that owns the 25 year old white Limousine spotted quite often on the Avenue to ride them "in style" to the game. After the three loaded up in the Limo, they made the left turn onto East Industrial Boulevard and things were fine for the first few seconds until the Limo reached South Street and it was there that the unthinkable happened……a fake Ice Cream Truck running a secret Mobile Meth Lab exploded sending giant pieces of shrapnel into the air at high velocity, one piece pierced through the Limousine and caused a brutal compound fracture of Joe Theismann's leg, it was a horrific injury. ((((((((((((((((Now, I know what you're thinking, how awesome would it be if a down-on-his-luck Lawrence Taylor was the guy operating the Mobile Meth Lab in the Ice Cream Truck……….well, it would be awesome, but the Paw Paw storyline specializes only in the believable, not the
fantastical, so that just wouldn't be possible…lol ))))))))))))))))).
The incident resulted in Theismann being sent to the hospital and the whole event shook both Johnson and Shaffer up terribly. While both are terrific and very emotionally strong young men, seeing Theismann's leg literally broken in two was an image nobody should ever have to see……the whole ordeal really rattled the boys and affected their performance on the field at Paw Paw. Without Theismann, the boys had to rely on the Limo driver to be their coach and he was more concerned with passing out business cards and drumming up new business in the Paw Paw area than he was the X's and O's. Paw Paw coach Tim Refosco (Jim Refosco's lesser known half-brother) outsmarted the distracted Limo driver/Coach at every turn. Despite amazing statistical performances by both Johnson and Shaffer, it just wasn't enough for them to beat Paw Paw at the Pirate's home field. For every yard Johnson gained on the ground, Josh Delawder gained 2. For every passing yard by Shaffer, Delawder passed for 3. In the end, it was also Paw Paw's "Vaunted Tunnel Defense" that stuffed Johnson and Shaffer on a 4th and goal late in the 4th quarter to seal the victory. Paw Paw was victorious 63-58.
To add insult to injury, the White Limo ran out of gas south of Oldtown on the boys trip home from the game. Luckily, the guy that owns the "Van on the Run" was on his way home from a Parade in Winchester and picked the boys up and took them the rest of the way home. Both boys have quickly blocked the ordeal out of their minds, and are singularly focused on winning state championships in their respective states. Paw Paw, meanwhile, remains undefeated and is on a quest for their 15th consecutive West Virginia Class 1/2 A state championship.
This post was edited on 10/29 2:07 AM by PolkHighPride
So, how did this game come to be? Well, as many Paw Paw stories do, our story begins high atop the mountains of beautiful Morgan County at the Avalon Nudist Resort. It seems a group of wealthy "Terrapin Club" members had gathered at the resort for a weekend retreat, designed not only for them to unwind but also to discuss, among other things, Maryland's entrance into the Big 10, the Terrapins upcoming recruiting classes, and most importantly, the "shrinkage" factor brought about by cool Mountain air. Wearing nothing but a smile and a Juan Dixon Jersey, the leader of the group called the retreat to order and the discussion quickly turned to Maryland Football Recruit's Ty Johnson and Gage Shaffer, both of whom hail from the nearby Cumberland, Maryland and Ridgeley, West Virginia areas. One of the Terrapin Club members,
a local guy we'll call "MARK," said that Frankfort's Gage Shaffer was the best quarterback prospect he'd seen since, well, HIMSELF. Another guy, wearing nothing but a Boomer Esiasion Halloween Mask and a pair of Len Bias throwback Nike's, proclaimed Ty Johnson of Fort Hill to be the second fastest human being he'd ever seen, with the fastest being Ralph Friedgen heading to the Buffet Line at the Golden Corral in Frederick.
The more the Terrapin Club Members drank throughout the night the more they continued to rave and rave about the young Master Johnson and the young Master Shaffer. They were not alone, however, as there were a few local Paw Paw folks who were regulars at the resort, especially for Friday nights "Crotchless Keno" and "Cardless Texas Hold Em" games (if you know what I mean). After some time, the locals, Darrell Delawder and his wife Diane, and their cousin Doug Delawder and his life-partner Don, grew tired of all thisTerrapin talk and started bragging about their own beloved 14 time West Virginia Class ½ A defending State Champion Paw Paw Pirates. The heated discussion almost came to fisticuffs when Diane Delawder had the gall to proclaim that Josh Delawder was faster than Ty Johnson and a purer passer than Gage Shaffer. What followed was the proverbial gauntlet being laid down, by the end of the night a contract was signed for Paw Paw to play Ty Johnson and Gage Shaffer at Paw Paw.
As MPSSAA and WVSSAC rules prohibited both Fort Hill coach Todd Appel and Frankfort coach Kevin Whiteman from serving as sanctioned coaches for the game, Ty and Gage were in desperate need of a coach and none other than Washington Redskins legend and NFL analyst Joe Theismann agreed to coach the young lads against Paw Paw's "Vaunted Tunnel Defense" and the Josh Delawder led "Wing D" offense. Local fans might remember that Joe Theismann showered Gage Shaffer with praise and proclaimed to the media that the Frankfort QB was "one of the most impressive young men I've seen," along with ranking him as a 5 star recruit.
As game day arrived, the three (Johnson, Shaffer, Theismann) agreed to meet up at the Virginia Avenue Sheetz store so they could ride together to Paw Paw. Theismann had contracted with the guy that owns the 25 year old white Limousine spotted quite often on the Avenue to ride them "in style" to the game. After the three loaded up in the Limo, they made the left turn onto East Industrial Boulevard and things were fine for the first few seconds until the Limo reached South Street and it was there that the unthinkable happened……a fake Ice Cream Truck running a secret Mobile Meth Lab exploded sending giant pieces of shrapnel into the air at high velocity, one piece pierced through the Limousine and caused a brutal compound fracture of Joe Theismann's leg, it was a horrific injury. ((((((((((((((((Now, I know what you're thinking, how awesome would it be if a down-on-his-luck Lawrence Taylor was the guy operating the Mobile Meth Lab in the Ice Cream Truck……….well, it would be awesome, but the Paw Paw storyline specializes only in the believable, not the
fantastical, so that just wouldn't be possible…lol ))))))))))))))))).
The incident resulted in Theismann being sent to the hospital and the whole event shook both Johnson and Shaffer up terribly. While both are terrific and very emotionally strong young men, seeing Theismann's leg literally broken in two was an image nobody should ever have to see……the whole ordeal really rattled the boys and affected their performance on the field at Paw Paw. Without Theismann, the boys had to rely on the Limo driver to be their coach and he was more concerned with passing out business cards and drumming up new business in the Paw Paw area than he was the X's and O's. Paw Paw coach Tim Refosco (Jim Refosco's lesser known half-brother) outsmarted the distracted Limo driver/Coach at every turn. Despite amazing statistical performances by both Johnson and Shaffer, it just wasn't enough for them to beat Paw Paw at the Pirate's home field. For every yard Johnson gained on the ground, Josh Delawder gained 2. For every passing yard by Shaffer, Delawder passed for 3. In the end, it was also Paw Paw's "Vaunted Tunnel Defense" that stuffed Johnson and Shaffer on a 4th and goal late in the 4th quarter to seal the victory. Paw Paw was victorious 63-58.
To add insult to injury, the White Limo ran out of gas south of Oldtown on the boys trip home from the game. Luckily, the guy that owns the "Van on the Run" was on his way home from a Parade in Winchester and picked the boys up and took them the rest of the way home. Both boys have quickly blocked the ordeal out of their minds, and are singularly focused on winning state championships in their respective states. Paw Paw, meanwhile, remains undefeated and is on a quest for their 15th consecutive West Virginia Class 1/2 A state championship.
This post was edited on 10/29 2:07 AM by PolkHighPride
