Jefferson High School’s Quinton Goins breaks through the Musselman High School defense on Friday night. David Pennock

SHENANDOAH JUNCTION — Two game-ending sacks by the Musselman High School defense allowed the Applemen to make their last minutes score hold up in a razor-thin 21-20 win over Jefferson High School last week.

Trailing by six points, the Applemen got a one-yard touchdown quarterback sneak by Bayden Hartman with about two minutes remaining to get even at 20-20. When Jayson Gordon kicked the extra point, Musselman had the necessary 21-20 lead that its defense cemented, by twice sacking the Jefferson quarterback in the waning seconds.

The loss left the Cougars with a 1-2 record to take on the road to Spring Mills tonight. Musselman recovered well enough from a long loss to Martinsburg to move its record to 2-1 and faces Sherando this week.

Jefferson did not score in the second half after registering all 20 of its points before the halftime break.

Evan Tewell’s 52-yard scoring run through a thicket of tacklers along the sideline in front of the Musselman bench allowed the Cougars to catch up at 7-7.

Jefferson High School quarterback Dylan Harich (16 ) looks to gain yardage in Friday's game against Musselman High School. David Pennock

Before the Jefferson marching band took control of the field at halftime, Jefferson had its other scores on a 75-yard pass from Quinton Goins and then a 66-yard scoring throw from Goins to Spenser Powell on the final play of the first half.

Ray Adames scored on a 64-yard play that got the Applemen even at 14-14 in a second quarter where there was still enough time left for the second of Goins’ long-distance pass/run touchdowns that lifted the Cougars to a 20-14 lead at the half. Adames had intercepted a pass in his end zone to give Musselman possession before it made it a 14-14 game.

The Cougars suffered three turnovers on the night.

There was no scoring in the second half until the Applemen notched their game-winner in the last minutes.

In Spring Mills, the Cougars will see a team that has rebounded from a shutout loss to Musselman in its season opener to win successive games against Washington and South Hagerstown. The Cardinals stopped South Hagerstown, 48-28, at home just last week and are now 2-1 overall.

Jefferson High School’s Isaiah Fritts awaits on a pass from Dylan Harich in Friday’s game. David Pennock

Jefferson needs to recover from two losses in a row, because it still has defending state champion Martinsburg and undefeated Hedgesville (3-0) left to play. A 6-4 final record would likely be enough to get the Cougars into the 16 team Class AAA playoff field in early November.

Evan Tewell breaks away from the Musselman defenders in Jefferson's EPAC game on Friday night. David Pennock