Facing fourth-and-12 at the Washington 20, Irvington coach Matt Kaufman called timeout with nine seconds remaining in the quarter to give Preciado a chance to kick with the wind at his back. Instead of lining up seven yards behind the ball, as is typical in a kicking formation, Irvington’s holder lined up just four yards behind the line of scrimmage, allowing Washington’s rushers to easily block the kick. The ball popped up in the air, Razzak secured it at the 13 and ran nearly untouched along the near sideline to put the hosts back in front. The extra point after Fong’s return touchdown was blocked, so the Eagles went for two and got it as Mertz connected with Nguyen.
Washington had a chance to extend the lead in the second quarter after forcing a red zone turnover, with a fumble forced by Jonathan Saelaw and recovered by Sam Dunn, but a blindside block penalty wiped out the last 33 yards of what would have been an 85-yard touchdown pass from Mertz to Razzak. Two plays later, Mertz was intercepted by Jovin Basra.