And his coach?

“I didn’t watch,” said Roger Secreast.

Mario Sturdivant, Graham Hosch and Secreast all turned their backs on the fourth down play in overtime. East Davidson needed to score from the 1-yard line to tie the game at 41, and a sure extra point would give the Golden Eagles, not the Cavaliers, the Central Carolina Conference’s third playoff seed.

They had a right not to watch. East had not been stopped all night.

But the Golden Eagles were snuffed thanks to Wishon, who fought off a blocker and made the initial hit that brought down Billy McNeer for no gain.

“When I turned around and saw everybody happy, I knew what had happened,” Secreast said. “I watched it on film. It looked good.”

Defensive coordinator Chris Sifford held his breath while the last play unfolded.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, (McNeer’s) got two blockers in front of him,’ ” said Sifford. “Next thing I know, No. 64 busts out of there. I knew we had him stopped.”

It said something for the team-first, me-second attitude of Wishon, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound junior. He came into the season concentrating on offense as the center who snaps the ball back to the most famous shotgun QB in Rowan County history: Mario Sturdivant.

“If Jarrett is going to the next level, it will be as an offensive lineman,” Secreast said. “We put him on defense out of necessity.”

Sifford’s defense was having trouble stopping the run and he turned to Wishon.

“One day, I said, ‘Wish, you gotta get in shape,’ ” Sifford said. “He said, ‘I am in shape, Coach.’ I said, ‘Get in better shape. You’re going to play defense too.’ ”

“It didn’t bother me,” Wishon said. “I hate coming off the field. I just had to work harder.”

So there he was, looking into the eyes of a huge East Davidson lineman on the final play Friday.

“They blocked down on me,” Wishon said. “Somehow, I fought through it. I made the first hit but I never would have stopped the guy without Marcus Lawing. He had his momentum going and wrapped him up.”

While his teammates ripped off their jerseys and celebrated, Wishon was a bit subdued.

“If I had any energy left, I would’ve been running around, going crazy like everybody else, half-naked,” he said.

Wishon might find himself in the same situation Friday at Brevard when he faces Blue Devil tailback Manny DeShauteurs. He has more 60 touchdowns and 5,000 yards rushing in his career.

“We’ll look at it the same way we did last year when we faced Nick Maddox (of Kannapolis),” said Wishon. “We know Coach Sifford and Coach (Mike) White will have us ready.”

“Wishon is a yeoman, a blue-collar type,” Sifford praised. “He’s one of the only studs we have strength-wise and with agility. He took the challenge and has done a tremendous job.”

Wishon laughs a little when thinking he made his name Friday night on defense.

“I love defense but I love offense even more,” he said.

Wishon receives plenty of letters from schools across the nation wanting his services on their offensive lines. He knows this summer is the key to his future.

“I’ve got one more year to grow,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll go to a real big college.”

He longs to join brother Justin as a collegiate athlete. Justin is a baseball player at UNC Wilmington.

“I’m bigger than him,” chuckled Jarrett, “but he’s faster than me.”

While he gets more publicity with his hitting on defense, he gets great satisfaction from protecting his quarterback.

“You know with all your heart that (the backs) can’t do it without the offensive line,” he said.

And now, the defensive line can’t do it without him.

“Jarrett is doing so well there, we aren’t going to take him out,” said Secreast.

But whether it’s offense or defense, Wishon has a goal for himself next year as a senior.

He wants to score.

“I’m either going to sneak in at fullback or strip somebody,” he said with a grin. “I’ve even got a little dance prepared.”