It’s Vikings vs. Mohawks for winner-take-all SOC I

It’s Vikings vs. Mohawks for winner-take-all SOC I

Northwest vs Symmes Valley

By PAUL BOGGS

Photo’s by Robert Stevens https://thegoldstudio.smugmug.com/

McDERMOTT – Rusty Webb, whether or not his Symmes Valley Vikings win or lose on Friday night, will hopefully be correct about one thing.

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“This is going to be good,” said Webb, the veteran Viking head coach.

 

What Webb was referring to is Friday night’s ground-and-pound affair for this year’s Southern Ohio Conference Division I championship – as 8-1 Symmes Valley visits 6-3 Northwest for a winner-take-all conference title tilt inside nicely-renovated Roy Rogers Field.

 

Kickoff at Northwest High School is set for 7 p.m., as the winner officially unseats Oak Hill as the new SOC I football champion.

 

Both run-oriented squads, with Symmes Valley’s wishbone and Northwest’s traditional two-tight end double-wing set, are a perfect 4-0 in the league – as both were part of the 2014 tri-championship along with Oak Hill.

 

The Vikings last won the SOC I outright in 2011, while Northwest has never – repeat never – ever captured an outright league championship.

 

Hence, history is possibly in the making for first-year head coach Bill Crabtree – a Northwest alum – and his young Mohawks.

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“It’s exciting. These kids have a chance to do something that’s never been done here. That’s a great feeling,” said the coach. “We owed it to our six seniors to give them a good season. It’s just been exciting for all of them. What better way to top it off than with an outright SOC I championship. I think these kids are ready to rise to the occasion. We’ve challenged them all season and they’ve risen up each time we’ve challenged them.”

 

The Vikings are equally as youthful – with only five seniors compared to Northwest’s six.

 

“We are a very young team with mostly sophomores, a few juniors and freshmen. A lot of these kids played last year and played in last year’s four-overtime game against Northwest (32-26 Northwest win). There is no substitute for experience, and that experience last year against many of these same Northwest kids this year is very valuable” said Webb. “We couldn’t ask anything more than having an opportunity, as young as we are, to be playing for an SOC I championship in week 10.”

 

And, not just an SOC I crown for the Vikings, but a Division VII, Region 27 playoff berth as well.

 

The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs – with the top four squads earning first-round home bouts.

 

Symmes Valley, despite its 8-1 tally and only loss against Division V arch-rival Chesapeake, is only ninth in the official Ohio High School Athletic Association Region 27 computer ratings.

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A win over the Mohawks should elevate the Vikings into the top-eight and thus a playoff spot, but nothing is for certain either entering – and immediately following – Friday night.

 

Actually, one thing is certain.

 

There will be a new SOC I champion.

 

The Division V Oaks, after a decade of dominance in winning the division outright seven times in 10 years, moved up to the larger-school SOC II.

 

That opened the door for the remainder of the half-dozen SOC I clubs, although Northwest is now the biggest fish in that pond – as it is also a Division V program.

 

But the Mohawks have struggled on the gridiron for the majority of their 60 seasons – having experienced just eight winning ones (1961, 1970, 1974, 1975, 1985, 1994, 2016 and 2019), while going just 71-245 all-time in conference play.

 

In fact, from 1959 thru last season, Northwest had won just 31-and-a-half-percent of its games (181-391-2).

 

Although, after going 2-60 in SOC II bouts from 2000 thru 2013 – with wins over Minford in 2005 and Waverly in 2010 being the two triumphs – the Mohawks have benefited from their move to the SOC I for football only.

 

In addition to the 2014 tri-championship, Northwest went 5-5 that year – before going 7-3 the next season, and securing the second-best single-season record in school history.

 

The Mohawks can tie that mark with a victory on Friday, and also improve their all-time SOC I record to 20-14.

 

So far, the Mohawks have outscored their SOC I opposition by a whopping school-record 188-68 count, including 69 points alone against Green – in which running back Brayden Campbell tied the OHSAA’s single-game record with nine rushing touchdowns.

 

However, it won’t be easy against the 30-man Vikings, as Northwest’s numbers are over 45.

 

Symmes Valley will line up in the wishbone, and run right at the Mohawks like it does everybody else.

 

“Symmes Valley is big and strong like they always are,” said Crabtree. “We’ve told the kids all week to expect them to come out and try and hit us in the mouth. As far as the numbers game goes, we’re both actually truly playing with about 15 or 16 kids.  We have a lot of kids that are practice players for us, but when it comes down to it on a Friday night, we’re playing with very comparable size across the board and skill sets. It’s going to come down to who wants it more come Friday night.”

 

Northwest will counter with its overly-tight and foot-to-foot line splits – in which all 11 players are essentially within 10 yards of one another.

 

Campbell is already over the 1,200-yard rushing mark for the Mohawks, while fellow running back Nathan Rivers is around 800.

 

“Northwest wants to run first. They have very good size up front and are very physical with a couple of speedy backs,” said Webb. “We need to be physical with them at the point of attack, be able to get off blocks and make good tackles.”

 

In short, certainly expect an old-school smash-mouth football game – in which turnovers are going to be killers, combined with penalties putting either or both teams behind the chains.

 

And, with this much rushing expected, don’t anticipate the contest lasting much longer than a couple of hours.

 

“Rusty (Webb) doesn’t change much. He’s done the same thing for probably 20 years. Unless he throws a bunch of wrinkles at us at once, we think we know what to expect. They run the ball, and it’s been successful for them. Same goes for us,” said Crabtree. “We’ve figured out what works best for us, and we stick with that. We’re looking for a big night. It’s exciting just to go in and see who’s better at what we do.”

 

Indeed, hopefully, it’s going to be good like Webb said – as the better team becomes the reigning, defending and undisputed SOC I champion.

[event_scoreboard id=”1697″ number=”10″ align=”none”]

RankPlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
1Josh Ferguson2021108111111
2Ethan Patterson2022715507
3Jack Leith2020904816
4Luke Leith2021141484
5Nick Strow2022351350
6Derek Crum202125751
7Caleb Mullins20215580
8Levi Niece202216550
9Wyatt Owens202310270
10Levi Ross20231050
View all players

[event_scoreboard id=”1694″ number=”10″ align=”none”]

RankPlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
1Brayden Campbell2022115141123
2Nathan Rivers202111796414
3Wyatt Brackman2023633121
4Billy Crabtree2020261821
5Zane Galley20224750
6Dakota Secrest202311731
7Kory Butler202312730
8Evan Lintz202216651
9Jacob Schuman20226230
10Darius Williams20223130
View all players

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trojans, Fighting Tigers tangle in ‘Tank’

Ironton vs Portsmouth

Trojans, Fighting Tigers tangle in ‘Tank’

Huge OVC matchup of 8-1 teams

By Paul Boggs

Photo’s by Kent Sanborn @ Time Gearhart

PORTSMOUTH — They say you can throw out everything when it comes to rivalries.
However, computers — and computer points — is probably, even likely, an exception.

That’s because, with a bus-load of computer points riding along U.S. Route 52 on Friday night, the second-oldest high school football rivalry in the entire state of Ohio definitely has new fire burning to it.

As the Portsmouth Trojans travel the short trek to take on the Ironton Fighting Tigers, a bevy of benefits awaits the winner, as the two 8-1 rivals — separated by just 20 miles — meet in one of the biggest matchups in the rivalry’s now 135-meeting storied history.
In fact, the all-time series stands tied at 66-66-2, but few have involved as much as what’s at stake come Friday night.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. inside historic Tanks Memorial Stadium in Ironton, as the underdog Trojans try to make it three wins in a row over the favored Fighting Tigers.[the_ad id=”2695″]

 

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With Ironton (6-0 in OVC) already assured a share of the Ohio Valley Conference championship, a Trojan triumph means the two will share the league title — along with defending champion Gallia Academy (5-1 in OVC).
A Portsmouth (5-1 in OVC) victory, as it “controls its own destiny” towards a Division V Region 19 playoff spot, also almost locks the Trojans into a regional quarterfinal home game.

The Fighting Tigers, thanks to their impressive — and even stunning — 52-0 shutout at Gallia Academy, clinched a Region 19 first-round home date, and eye the top Region 19 seed with a win over the Trojans.

The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs – with the top four squads earning first-round home bouts.
They also aim to snap a sour two-game losing streak to Portsmouth, which still sticks sorely with the 14-member senior class.
It is Senior Night after all at Ironton High School, as second-year head coach Trevon Pendleton already knows what a win would mean.
Each of the last two contests, including the Trojans’ second-half rally last season, has been decided by a touchdown apiece (42-35 in 2017 and 35-28 in 2018).

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“Number one, this is a rivalry game, and our seniors are more than well aware of what has happened the last two years,” said Pendleton. “You definitely want to beat your rival. For the playoff points and number-one seed (in the region) and the league championship and all those things, yeah they come with it this year. But the last two years, this game with Portsmouth has grown again in intensity, and our guys don’t want to walk off the field feeling the way we have the last two years.”

Last season’s Fighting Tiger-Trojan tussle was the first as head coaches for Pendleton and Portsmouth mentor Bruce Kalb.
But Kalb is a Portsmouth alum, and so he is more than familiar with the long-running rivalry. However, if you do throw out the records, make sure you throw in all the underlying story-lines.

“Portsmouth-Ironton, who hasn’t heard of that rivalry in Southern Ohio? That raises the stakes high enough already. We’ve met over 130 times in school history. Then you have them going for an outright OVC championship and us a share of it. They are playing for the number-one seed, and if we win, we springboard into the top four and host a game,” said Kalb. “If we lose, there’s a chance that if the chips don’t fall right, we’re out (of the playoffs) in some crazy scenarios. To make a big game even bigger, there’s just so much on the line.”
For the Fighting Tigers, there was plenty on the line last week at Gallia Academy, which entered that matchup undefeated.
But the Tigers took advantage of James Armstrong’s absence, turned a close first-quarter affair into a 38-0 rout by halftime, and tacked on two more touchdowns to clinch the OVC share.

Armstrong, Gallia Academy’s primary playmaker who has rushed for 1,034 yards on 142 carries this season, has missed the last two tilts due to injury.

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Still, that was a revenge game for Ironton, as the Blue Devils defeated the Fighting Tigers 36-33 at Ironton last season — en route to their first-ever OVC championship.

“Gallia Academy is a good football team all across the board, but our kids went into that game motivated from last year, and we played very well. As a coaching staff, you do your best to put your kids in position to win, but we never thought for once it would be 52-0,” said Pendleton. “The win was a testament to the work and preparation the kids put in and our coaching staff preparing them.”
This week, Ironton aims to turn around the Trojan outcome — and that starts with the Fighting Tigers trying to account for Portsmouth senior running back Talyn Parker.

Parker burned Ironton a year ago in Trojan Coliseum, as he has amassed 1,380 yards on 132 carries this season — an astonishing per carry average of 10.45 yards.

#
1
Name
Talyn Parker
Position
2020
Height
5-11
Weight
195
Current Team
Portsmouth
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019

He has broken off multiple big-play runs for touchdowns, easily overcoming a season-opening performance of only 21 yards on 17 attempts.
However, this week, Parker faces an elite Ironton first-team defense, which has not allowed more than one touchdown in regulation time.
Ashland, in the Fighting Tigers’ lone setback this season, scored in overtime to prevail 16-10.
And, that one regulation-time TD was by Wheelersburg’s Makya Matthews — a 72-yard sprint in the season opener.
“The biggest thing in stopping Talyn Parker is not letting him get started. He is obviously a very good running back, and when he gets going downhill running, it’s tough to stop,” said Pendleton. “You don’t let him get going by getting as many hats to the football as possible to bring him down. Then, you gotta rely not on your first or second guys tackling him, you rely on your third, fourth, fifth, even sixth person to get him on the ground.”

Kalb commented on Parker, and his other Trojan playmakers, facing Ironton’s stout defense — which includes six-foot three-inch 225-pound linebacker Reid Carrico, who has already verbally committed to Ohio State.
But Carrico’s company includes senior Seth Fosson (6-1, 235) at defensive end, senior Junior Jones (6-0, 240) at nose guard, and senior Gage Salyers at safety (6-1, 205).

 

“A lot of people talk about (Reid) Carrico, who is a phenomenal athlete, and when you surround him with players like Fosson, Salyers and Jones, you have just a phenomenal team to prepare for,” said Kalb.
But the Fighting Tigers will also need to defend the Trojans’ other weapons, as sophomore quarterback Drew Roe and senior wide receivers Bryce Wallace and Eric Purdy provide plenty of assistance for Parker.

While Parker can reach paydirt on any given snap, the other offensive players have developed nicely into taking pressure off of him.
Roe has completed 80-of-138 passes for 1,304 yards with 15 touchdowns, while Wallace (23 receptions for 459 yards) has almost 20 yards per reception — as Purdy (30 receptions for 446 yards) paces the Trojans in pass catches.

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“They have athletes and are very disciplined in what they do,” said Pendleton. “They have a lot of guys who can make plays.”
Roe has also often involved tight end Michael Duncan, with senior Tyler McCoy serving as Parker’s lead blocker from the fullback spot.
“We have to make sure Ironton defends EVERYBODY…AND the entire field,” said Kalb. “Last year, we were a power-running football team that played our game in the second half. We called power 16 or 17 times that second half, and Talyn found creases and took them the distance. This year, we have turned the keys to the offense over to Drew Roe, and to see if he could drive. He has done a phenomenal job of growing week after week, and spreading the ball out to guys like Eric Purdy and Bryce Wallace. That’s taken a lot of the pressure off Talyn, and now defenses have to defend the entire field.”

But the Fighting Tigers have demonstrated big-play capability as well, primarily with Carrico — with Salyers slinging the football for 1,032 yards and eight touchdowns on 54 completions and 103 attempts.

#
28
Name
Reid Carrico
Position
2021
Height
6-03
Weight
225
Current Team
Ironton
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020

Carrico has rushed for 888 yards on 116 carries, and leads Ironton in receiving with 13 receptions for 312 yards.
“We have to make sure we play our positions, play them well and play them with discipline. When we are in position, we have to make sure tackles and wrap up and bring them down,” said Kalb. “They present quite the challenge for any team defensively. Then just their shear size up front.”

Pendleton was asked if ball control, involving Carrico and even the fullback Fosson, could be a tactic used to keep Parker’s offensive explosiveness relegated to his defense.

“Time of possession has actually been a stat that we don’t get overly worked up about. With each play called, we put our players in the best position to score on that particular play. I won’t say we won’t use it (ball control), but we try to capitalize on what the defense is doing every play and try to get first downs, not turn the ball over, keep the chains moving, and score,” said the coach. “The goal is to finish off drives with points, no matter how we do it.”

Ironton also has a weapon with senior placekicker Avery Book, so field goals are a good option as well.
Pendleton said the goal against Portsmouth is the same as it has been for the first nine games: “be 1-0 after each week.”
Although, in a rivalry game with so much at stake, going 1-0 this week will mean so much more.
“Portsmouth has a great team and this is a rivalry where anything can happen. We’ve put ourselves in position to win the league outright and go in the playoffs with a lot of momentum, but the first goal this week is to be 1-0 and honor our seniors with a victory over their rivals,” said Pendleton.

#
12
Name
Avery Book
Position
2020
Height
5-11
Weight
180
Current Team
Ironton
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019

The Trojans, meanwhile, relish an underdog role as they invade ‘The Tank’.

For them, they will throw that “1-0” record out, but will need to keep the computer — for it has valuable and precious points.
“It’s never easy to win at ‘The Tank’, and this Ironton team is very good. But our kids have owned that mantle of being the underdog, and we’re going to go out and take care of business,” said Kalb. “One thing about this senior class that I appreciate is that they don’t get too caught up in the hype. They know they have a job to do on Friday night, and they are going to prepare doggedly this week to accomplish that job. I have no doubt for that 48 minutes on Friday night, they are going to give it everything they have. To have a chance to share the OVC title and possibly host a playoff game and defeat Ironton three years in a row, this is an awesome opportunity for these kids.”

Ironton Stat Leaders

RankPlayerPositionPYDSTDRUYDSTDREYDSTD
1Reid Carrico2021001581233934
2Gage Salyers202015781787213260
3Seth Fosson202000391600
4Cameron Deere2021003012210
5Trevor Carter202300232400
6Kameron Browning202200135200
7Kyle Howell20212606702142
8Jordan Grizzle2020004403754
9Caleb Murphy20220023000
10Beau Brownstead20200017000
11Gunnar Crawford20210015060
12Tayden Carpenter20239013000
13Junior Jones20200092100
14Avery Book2020009000
15DeAngelo Weekly2023006000
View all players

Portsmouth Stat Leaders

RankPlayerPositionPYDSTDRUYDSTDREYDSTD
1Talyn Parker2020001483261622
2Tyler McCoy2020001140301
3Drew Roe202213201684000
4Donavon Carr20220065100
5Kan Davis20200051100
6Ty Pendleton20200048100
7Beau Hammond2023002000
8Bryce Wallace202000004658
9Dariyonne Bryant2022000000
10Brenden Truett2023000000
11Nan Heiland2023000000
12Eric Purdy202000004865
13Mylan Brown2021000000
14Amare Johnson2022000000
15Tyler Duncan2023000000

Waverly no huddle and speed too much for Falcons

vs

Results

Team1234TOutcome
Waverly7771738Win
Minford376622Loss

By Paul Boggs

Photos by Renee Nemeth

WAVERLY — Simply put, odds are that the Waverly Tigers are the fastest team of 10-play scoring drives you’ll ever see.

On Friday night, the Minford Falcons found that out first-hand.

In scoring on five drives of at least nine plays, and in five minutes or less for each of them, the host Tigers officially punched their tickets to the 2019 Division IV state playoffs — defeating the Falcons 38-22 in a fast-paced Southern Ohio Conference Division II tilt at festive Raidiger Field in Waverly.

That’s correct.

Waverly’s no-huddle hurry-it-up offense keeps everybody on their toes and paying attention, and in their goal of wearing the Falcons down with an overdose of Payton Shoemaker mixed in with Haydn’ Shanks slinging the football all around, the Tigers scored in a variety of ways — while amassing 456 yards and 26 first downs on a whopping 76 plays from scrimmage.

“They (Tigers) are just a high-powered fast-paced offense. They get snaps off every 15 seconds. They are very efficient at what they do and have weapons all over the field. They like to go super up-tempo and it does stress the defense,” said Minford coach Jesse Ruby.

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In addition, the senior standout Shoemaker — on Senior Night at Waverly High School — set the school’s single-season rushing record, which is now at 1,864 yards following his massive 43-carry 214-yard and two 1-yard TD night.

Of the Tigers’ 297 total rushes this season, the five-foot nine-inch 155-pound Shoemaker now has 232 — while rushing for 1,864 yards and 25 touchdowns, which is good for an average of exactly eight yards per tote.

Shoemaker broke the previous record held by Zach Montavon from 2001, as confetti — early, often and even late — flew from the home stands in celebration of not only Shoemaker’s accomplishments, but also the entire Tiger team.

The junior quarterback Shanks, playing on an injured knee all season which has limited his mobility, stood in the pocket and continually found receivers in the flat — to the tune of 193 yards and 21 completions on 29 attempts.

Two of Shanks’ actual downfield throws, to Will Futhey, resulted in two touchdown tosses of 31 and 15 yards — as Futhey finished with seven receptions for 81 yards.

Four other Tigers — Phoenix Wolf (five for 38), Penn Morrison (four for 51), Zeke Brown (three for 12) and Mark Stulley (two for 11) — all caught at least two balls.

“We were happy with the way we were able to perform offensively tonight,” said Waverly coach Chris Crabtree. “Haydn’ (Shanks) does a good job of getting the ball out on the edge, and obviously with our offensive line blocking for Payton (Shoemaker), who had another great night on Senior Night here by breaking the school’s single-season rushing record.”

Then there’s senior Grayson Diener, which is Waverly’s weapon as a placekicker.

Diener drilled seven kickoffs on Friday night — five of which went for touchbacks along with two others which were returned right from the goal-line.

The all-Ohio Division IV kicker calmly connected on all five of his extra-point kicks, and made it a full two-touchdown lead with his 29-yard field goal with four-and-a-half minutes remaining.

With Waverly so difficult to stop, it should be no surprise that the Tigers are officially full-steam ahead into the state playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, as — per the unofficial yet respected computer rankings website www.joeeitel.com — they have clinched a playoff spot in Region 15.

Should Waverly win at Oak Hill in its regular-season finale, the Tigers will indeed host a regional quarterfinal on Saturday night, Nov. 9.

The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs – with the top four squads earning first-round home bouts.

Both clubs entered Friday’s colossal affair at 6-2, while Waverly is now 3-1 in the SOC II — with the Falcons falling to 2-3.

Speaking of the top eight, those same unofficial ratings list Minford — as of early Saturday morning — as the ninth-ranked team in Division V, Region 19.

Just two weeks ago, the Falcons were fourth, but an upset loss last week to visiting Oak Hill dropped them to sixth — and now ninth.

Minford must now defeat visiting Valley next week, and may or may not need additional assistance in order to qualify for for the first time since 2012.

The Falcons found themselves playing catch-up with Waverly for the overwhelming majority, trailing for all but a span of two minutes and 46 seconds in the entire game.

They trailed 7-0 at the 4:25 mark of the opening quarter, but almost a dozen minutes later led 10-7, only to see Shanks engineer a second 10-play scoring drive of least 78 yards and two minutes and 41 seconds — and complete his second touchdown pass to Futhey for a 14-10 Tiger advantage.

Ty Wiget’s 14-yard touchdown run capped an impressive 14-play 64-yard five-and-a-half minute scoring drive, as Wiget — who had the first and final carries of the series but missed the remainder because of cramps — gave way to quarterback Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis and all-purpose performer Matthew Risner.

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How good was this Minford tandem?

While Wiget rushed for 64 yards on 13 carries and caught three passes for 39 yards, Risner relieved him at tailback — and carried seven times for 33 yards while making five catches for a hefty 123.

Vogelsong-Lewis, the elusive and athletic left-handed signal-caller, completed 15 of his 18 pass attempts for 246 yards while rushing 15 times for 26.

“Minford has some good athletes with (Elijah) Vogelsong-Lewis, (Ty) Wiget, (Matthew) Risner and (Drew) Skaggs. They made a lot of big plays. But our goal was to get Wiget going sideways and keep him in front of us as much as we could. Vogelsong-Lewis is a running threat at quarterback, and he does a great job of rolling out and eluding the sack,” said Crabtree.

But unfortunately for the Falcons, Risner — who successfully made a 26-yard field goal with 28 seconds left in the first quarter and followed that up with his 32-yard touchdown reception and subsequent extra-point kick midway through the second stanza — missed the PAT following Wiget’s TD.

 

The Falcons then trailed 31-16 following Diener’s field goal with 4:34 to play, but four quick Vogelsong-Lewis completions — to Bryson Ashley for eight yards, two to Wiget for 15 and 21 yards and a 36-yard scoring strike to Drew Skaggs only a minute later — got Minford to within 31-22.

However, forced to attempt a two-point conversion, the run failed — and now the Falcons needed two scores to tie or take the lead instead of just one with the extra point.

They almost got it — believe it or not.

The Tigers went four plays on the ensuing possession, as Shoemaker carried twice to midfield before an incomplete pass — in which the Falcons knocked Shanks out of the game.

Facing 4th-and-3 from the 50, Shoemaker managed just two yards on the fourth-down carry, giving the ball back to the Falcons at exactly the three-minute mark.

But Shoemaker atoned three plays and 34 seconds later, when a Minford receiver slipped and fell down — and Shoemaker intercepted Vogelsong-Lewis at the Tiger 42-yard-line.

Finally, fellow senior Hunter Ward spelled Shoemaker on the next Waverly possession — and promptly picked up seven yards before putting the game out of reach with a 52-yard scoring scamper at the 2:05 point.

Crabtree was happy for Ward to score such a touchdown on Senior Night, as the Tigers only sport eight seniors.

Shoemaker, of course, is the most noteworthy — as he touched the ball for 43 of Waverly’s 47 rushes, with Ward’s two and two team kneel-downs being the others.

Shoemaker’s second 1-yard touchdown plunge answered Wiget’s scoring run, and ended a nine-play 70-yard drive which picked up five first downs but only lasted a minute and 51 seconds.

That made it 28-16 with Diener’s extra point and just 46 seconds gone by in the fourth quarter, as the Tigers then forced the fourth Falcon punt — and third three-and-out possession.

The Tigers then drove another 10 plays from their own 33 to the Minford 12 — and actually consumed five minutes and 10 seconds — as Diener delivered down the middle on his field-goal attempt to make it 31-16.

That was the Tigers’ second such well-executed ball-control second-half series, as arguably their longest drive in terms of yards and plays put them up 21-10 — and devoured the first four minutes of the third-quarter clock.

Mixing Shoemaker with Shanks passes, once again Waverly gained five first downs — marching a massive 83 yards in 14 plays and capped off by Shoemaker’s first 1-yard score.

His third carry of that series, for six yards to midfield, officially gave him the single-season rushing record at Waverly.

But it was that touchdown that followed up the Tigers’ final first-half defensive stop, with Minford stopping itself, that was more important.

With Waverly leading 14-10, and with 2:43 to play before halftime, the Falcons quickly moved into Tiger territory — thanks largely on a deep pass completion of 53 yards from Vogelsong-Lewis to Risner.

From the Tiger 16, Minford manged to get to the 6-yard-line, but back-to-back five-yard penalties pushed the ball backward — and two plays later Vogelsong-Lewis lost five yards.

That set up a 29-yard Falcon field-goal attempt as time was rapidly running out, but the Tigers swarmed, bull-rushed and blocked Risner’s kick — and returned it all the way to midfield.

“We were good tonight on our end about not making the mental mistakes. It’s great when you can get a team like Minford behind the chains, because it changes their play-calling,” said Crabtree. “Getting the blocked field goal there was crucial and was a big stop for us, then we follow that up with the first drive of the second half and score a touchdown.”

Indeed, by Minford getting nothing and the Tigers taking advantage immediately after halftime, it was a gigantic point-swing.

“That was a critical point in the game, and we failed to execute in that situation. Then credit them for starting off the second half with such a good drive and getting another score,” said Ruby. “Any time you play a team as good as Waverly, you have to take care of the little things. When your beat yourself with penalties and put yourself behind the chains, it makes it so tough to continue to convert on second down or third down. At times, I thought we executed very well on offense and moved the ball and ate up a lot of the clock to keep Shoemaker and their offense off the field. We just didn’t have the chance to do it as much as we needed to tonight.”

The Falcons were whistled for six five-yard penalties as well — five of which were false starts.

They also turned the ball over twice in the second half, including a lost fumble two plays after falling behind 21-10.

But Minford continued to battle, as Ruby said the effort was much improved over last week’s disappointing loss to Oak Hill.

“I thought our effort was great tonight and our kids were resilient and kept rebounding whenever there was a negative play or they scored,” said Ruby. “We just didn’t make enough plays or make enough scores to get closer to where we could have pulled it out late in the game.”

Now, to in fact qualify for the playoffs, the Falcons need to duplicate that determination against the rival Indians.

“Our kids’ mindset this week will be going out and getting a victory over Valley and get in the playoffs,” said Ruby.

As for the Tigers, they are already in the postseason — as they travel to Oak Hill with hopes of giving their seniors one final home game.

Which would be another opportunity to see some of the fastest fast-paced football you’ll ever see.

“We’re in the playoffs regardless, but we want to win that last game to get that home game in week-11. You don’t want to end the regular season with a loss,” said Crabtree. “Hopefully, another week here, we get healthy with a few guys and have a good week of practice for Oak Hill, then get excited about what we have postseason-wise.”

* * *

Minford 3 7 6 6 — 22

Waverly 7 7 7 17— 38

W — Will Futhey, 31-yard pass from Haydn’ Shanks (Grayson Diener kick), 4:25, 1st (7-0 W)

M — Matthew Risner, 26-yard FG, :28, 1st (7-3 W)

M — Matthew Risner, 32-yard pass from Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis (Matthew Risner kick), 5:36, 2nd (10-7 M)

W — Will Futhey, 15-yard pass from Haydn’ Shanks (Grayson Diener kick), 2:50, 2nd (14-10 W)

W — Payton Shoemaker, 1-yard run (Grayson Diener kick), 8:01, 3rd (21-10 W)

M — Ty Wiget, 14-yard run (kick failed), 1:09, 3rd (21-16 W)

W — Payton Shoemaker, 1-yard run (Grayson Dienerk kick), 11:46, 4th (28-16 W)

W — Grayson Diener, 29-yard FG, 4:34, 4th (31-16 W)

M — Drew Skaggs, 36-yard pass from Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis (run failed), 3:35, 4th (31-22 W)

W — Hunter Ward, 52-yard run (Grayson Diener kick), 2:05, 4th (38-22 W)

Team Statistics

M W

First Downs 18 26

Scrimmage Plays 56 76

Rushes-Yards 38-134 47-263

Passing Yards 246 193

Total Yards 380 456

Cmp-Att-Int 15-18-1 21-29-0

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 6-30 6-52

Punts-Average 4-33.5 2-23

——

Individual Leaders

RUSHING —Minford: Ty Wiget 13-64 TD, Matthew Risner 7-33, Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis 15-26, Bryson Ashley 3-11; Waverly: Payton Shoemaker 43-214 2TD, Hunter Ward 2-59 TD, Team 2-(-10)

PASSING — Minford: Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis 15-18-1-246 2TD; Waverly: Haydn’ Shanks 21-29-0-193 2TD

RECEIVING — Minford: Matthew Risner 5-123 TD, Drew Skaggs 3-58 TD, Ty Wiget 3-39, Bryson Ashley 4-26; Waverly: Will Futhey 7-81 2TD, Phoenix Wolf 5-38, Penn Morrison 4-51, Zeke Brown 3-12, Mark Stulley 2-11



FIRST DOWNS...................       18       25
  Rushing.....................       10       14
  Passing.....................        8       10
  Penalty.....................        0        1
NET YARDS RUSHING.............      132      256
  Rushing Attempts............       36       47
  Average Per Rush............      3.7      5.4
  Rushing Touchdowns..........        1        3
  Yards Gained Rushing........      152      270
  Yards Lost Rushing..........       20       14
NET YARDS PASSING.............      246      209
  Completions-Attempts-Int....  15-27-1  22-30-0
  Average Per Attempt.........      9.1      7.0
  Average Per Completion......     16.4      9.5
  Passing Touchdowns..........        2        2
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      378      465
  Total offense plays.........       63       77
  Average Gain Per Play.......      6.0      6.0
Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      1-1      0-0
Penalties: Number-Yards.......     7-44     5-39
PUNTS-YARDS...................    4-134     2-45
  Average Yards Per Punt......     33.5     22.5
  Net Yards Per Punt..........     33.5     22.5
  Inside 20...................        1        0
  50+ Yards...................        0        0
  Touchbacks..................        0        0
  Fair catch..................        0        0
KICKOFFS-YARDS................    5-175    7-418
  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     35.0     59.7
  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     32.6     36.9
  Touchbacks..................        0        5
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0
  Average Per Return..........      0.0      0.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD   2-60-0   3-12-0
  Average Per Return..........     30.0      4.0
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..    0-0-0    1-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards...........        0       33
Possession Time...............    24:39    21:56
  1st Quarter.................     7:46     4:14
  2nd Quarter.................     6:56     5:04
  3rd Quarter.................     6:12     5:48
  4th Quarter.................     3:45     6:50
Third-Down Conversions........  3 of 13  5 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 3   0 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      2-3      4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0      1-6
PAT Kicks.....................      1-2      5-5
Field Goals...................      1-2      1-1



	
PosTeamWLPFPANet Pts
1Wheelersburg5020155146
2Waverly411819289
3Oak Hill3284119-35
4Minford231229032
5Valley1443164-121
6Portsmouth West0552163-111






		

		

			
				

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Waverly

		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Offense															
																			CMP
													ATT
													INT
													PYDS
													TD
													ATT
													RUYDS
													TD
													REC
													REYDS
													TD
															

			
							
					
1Payton Shoemaker000004321121150
2Zeke Brown00000000280
5Hunter Ward000002590000
6Will Futhey000000007892
9Penn Morrison000000004520
10Mark Stulley000000002110
13Haydn Shanks223002092000000
15Wade Futhey00000200000
23Phoenix Wolf000000006410
				
										
											

							 Total223002092472702222162						

									
					

			

	



		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Defense															
																			Sacks
													Tackles
													INT
													FGM
													FGA
															

			
							
									
										
											

							 Total00000						

									
					

			

	



			
Minford

		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Offense															
																			CMP
													ATT
													INT
													PYDS
													TD
													ATT
													RUYDS
													TD
													REC
													REYDS
													TD
															

			
							
					
??Tim Walk00000110000
2Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis15271245215280000
7Matthew Risner00000733051221
11Drew Skaggs000000003581
25Ty Wiget00000116013390
30Bryson Ashley0000031104260
				
										
											

							 Total152712452371331152452						

									
					

			

	



		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Defense															
																			Sacks
													Tackles
													INT
													FGM
													FGA
															

			
							
									
										
											

							 Total00000						

									
					

			

	
		

		

	
Details

	

		

			
				

											Date
												Time
												League
												Season
										

			
			
				

											October 25, 2019
												7:00 pm
												SEO
												2019
										

			
		

	




	

		
Court

		

			
				

					Waverly
				

			
							
					

						
					

									
					

	

	


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Falcons, Tigers collide in key bout
		


		

			
Falcons, Tigers collide in key bout



	

		

			

			

						Waverly vs Minford		

				

			
		

	






By PAUL BOGGS


Photos by Rene Nemeth


Indeed, it’s awfully late in the season for bounce backs.


 


However, there’s no better time than the here and now for one, and that’s exactly where the Minford Falcons and Waverly Tigers stand entering their colossal contest on Friday night.


 


While both are 6-2, their state playoff positions are quite precarious – with their Southern Ohio Conference Division II championship hopes all but evaporated.


 


In many ways, it is a playoff game for the Falcons and Tigers, as 7-3 seasons – by one or both – might or might not be enough to qualify for this year’s postseason field.


 


Therefore, playoff points, positioning and even the feeling of relief for a lock are on the line on Friday night – as Minford meets Waverly with an amped-up and standing-room-only atmosphere anticipated inside Waverly’s renovated Raidiger Field.


 


Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.


 


The game also marks Senior Night activities at Waverly High School, as eight Tiger seniors will be recognized beforehand.


 


Both squads are coming off close losses last week, as Waverly was in a running-game shootout at SOC II leader Wheelersburg – although the Tigers trailed from opening whistle to final kneel-down and suffered a 42-28 defeat.


 


However, while that wasn’t an upset, Minford’s matchup against Oak Hill was.


 


The Falcons led 7-0 and 14-7, but the 4-4 Oaks rallied for a pair of ties – before breaking the 14-14 deadlock with a last-second field goal by Brock Harden.


 


While Waverly remained fourth in Region 15 of Division IV of the official Ohio High School Athletic Association computer ratings, and still “control their own destiny” towards a state playoff berth, the Falcons fell from fourth to six – in the OHSAA’s Division V Region 19.


 


Even with a pair of victories in their final two tilts, including against visiting Valley in the regular-season finale, the Falcons are not assured of anything – although at 8-2 their chances of qualifying are quite better.


 


Hence, both need to bounce back this week, but Minford is more desperate than are the Tigers.


 


This is the same Falcons’ squad which started 6-0 – and that took Wheelesburg to overtime in the SOC II opener, before falling 21-20 after a two-point conversion attempt failed for the win.


 


The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs – with the top four squads earning first-round home bouts.


 


Minford coach Jesse Ruby remarked briefly on the Oak Hill contest, then quickly moved to focusing on the task of defending the talented Tigers.


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“I don’t want to take away anything from Oak Hill. They came out and played one of their best games of the year in terms of penalties, turnovers and limiting big plays. We did not play to the level that we normally do in terms of execution, and Oak Hill took advantage of the opportunities given to them,” he said. “Our team is motivated to get back to playing the way we were throughout the season before the Oak Hill game. Practice has been upbeat and very crisp this week.”


 


The Tigers, which practiced earlier in the sunny afternoons this week with soccer tournament matches at Raidiger Field, also expressed improving upon their defensive performance against Wheelersburg.


 


	

			

	
#
1
Name
Payton Shoemaker
Position
2020
Height
5-09
Weight
155
Current Team
Waverly
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019
 While Waverly standout running back Payton Shoemaker showed off in the form of 21 carries for 202 yards and four touchdowns, Wheelersburg rushed for 457 on 64 attempts as a team – with standout senior Makya Matthews outdoing Shoemaker in the form of 29 carries for 267 yards and a hat trick of scores.


 


The Tigers’ tackling could be better, as Minford comes calling with its senior standout running back – Ty Wiget.


	

			

	
#
25
Name
Ty Wiget
Position
2020
Height
5-09
Weight
175
Current Team
Minford
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019


“We obviously have to do a better job of tackling, making sure we don’t put ourselves in bad positions on the defensive side. Offensively, Wheelersburg did some good things, but defensively, we have to keep getting better these last couple of weeks,” said Waverly coach Chris Crabtree. “We’re focusing on Minford now, though, and working to execute the gameplan and preparing for them to come here and have a great game.”


 


It will be another great matchup of running backs operating out of spread-the-field formation offenses.


 


Wiget was limited against the Oaks to only 61 yards and 15 carries, but he did account for both of Minford’s touchdowns – including an 8-yard run.


 


For the season, Wiget has rushed for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns on 167 carries, while junior quarterback Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis has added five rushing TD on 94 carries and 634 yards.


 


	

			

	
#
2
Name
Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis
Height
5-10
Weight
175
Current Team
Minford
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019, 2020
 Vogelsong-Lewis has thrown for nine touchdowns on 58 completions and 104 attempts, and for 1,002 yards.


 


Crabtree commented on the similarities of the two offenses.


 


“Everything kind of runs through the Wiget kid for them, so they are similar to what we like to do. He has carried the ball quite a bit, the majority of the time actually,” said the coach. “It comes down to making sure we are in our gaps up front where we need to be. And we have to tackle the football. It’s no mystery what they are going to do. They are going to run inside zone, and they are going to throw it to (Matthew) Risner and (Drew) Skaggs on the outside and down the field. We have to be better defensively and execute and tackle better.”


 


Ruby said spreading the wealth will be of greater emphasis this week, with wide receivers Matthew Risner and Drew Skaggs seeing more footballs flying their way.


 


“Offensively, we need to focus on taking care of the little things and get back to controlling what we can control. We need to win the line of scrimmage and spread the ball around to make it difficult on their defense to just key on one or two players,” he said. “We have to be able to score touchdowns when we are given the opportunity.”


 


But, that means keeping Shoemaker off the field.


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Of the Tigers’ 250 total carries this season, the five-foot nine-inch 155-pound senior Shoemaker now has 189 — while rushing for 1,668 yards and 23 touchdowns, which is good enough for almost nine yards per tote.


In addition, despite battling a knee injury all season which has hampered his mobility and even knocked him out of a game or two, junior quarterback Haydn’ Shanks has completed 83-of-135 passes for 1,282 yards and 13 touchdowns with only one interception.


	

			

	
#
13
Name
Haydn Shanks
Position
2021
Height
6-03
Weight
190
Current Team
Waverly
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019, 2020


“Waverly does such a good job with getting the ball to their playmakers, whether it be in the running game or the passing game. Haydn’ Shanks is a great quarterback who can make just about any throw on the field. Their receivers are big, fast and hard to cover. Shoemaker is very dangerous in the open field, but he also has the ability to run between the tackles. When you put all of that together, their offense makes you defend the entire width and depth of the football field,” said Ruby. “With their weapons, they can score from anywhere on the field in many different ways.”


 


Crabtree was asked if ball control could be one of those ways – with Wiget, like Shoemaker, capable of breaking off a big play on any given snap.


 


“We’re designed to go fast, and time of possession isn’t something we have had a lot of concern. We score really quick and then our defense is back on the field,” he said. “There are times where we can slow it down and take the ball out of their hands, but our philosophy tends to be give our offense as many opportunities as we can. We are going to play how we play and see how it turns out.”


 


And, how this week turns out will have a monumental impact on how two weeks from now sets up – assuming one or both squads sees the regional quarterfinal round.


 


For the Tigers, it is simple.


 


Win both, and Waverly will host a Region 15 quarterfinal.


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“We have a lot to take care of this week and next week. But if we do that, then postseason play sets up pretty well. There would be a really good chance we would have a home playoff game in a better region for us. Our next two weeks are very important for us to go out and play well,” said Crabtree. “It would be nice if our eight seniors get to play a playoff game here and be able to play as many as we can.”


 


The same goes for the Falcons, which can climb back into the top four of Region 19 with a win.


 


But Ruby said playoff possibilities take care of themselves – as long as they play against the Tigers like they did against Wheelersburg and unlike Oak Hill.


 


Truth be told, it’s the perfect time for a Falcon bounce back.


 


“We need to treat this game in the same way we did for the Wheelersburg game. Waverly’s team is similar to Wheelersburg, and they will be just as challenging when it comes to scoring on them and defending them,” said Ruby. “It is a game in which we need to play to the best of our ability.”


 


RankPlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
1Payton Shoemaker2020304234432
2Hunter Ward2020212222
3Dawson Shoemaker202211550
4Jackson Poe20218247
5Trey Brushart2023270
View all players


 


RankPlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
1Ty Wiget2020208142918
2Elijah Vogelsong-Lewis1327699
3Matthew Risner181232
4Andy Crank3480
5Bryson Ashley20207340
View all players



	
PosTeamWLPFPANet Pts
15020155146
2411819289
33284119-35
4231229032
51443164-121
60552163-111




 


 


 


 


 


 


 


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Ironton, Blue Devils set for epic showdown
		


		

			
Ironton, Blue Devils set for epic showdown



	

			

						Gallia Academy vs Ironton		

						

									

									
OVC

										
SEO

							

			
		

	






By PAUL BOGGS


Photo’s by Kent Sanborn


 


Having a difficult, even agonizing, decision on which team – either Ironton or Gallia Academy – to choose for those weekly picks you make?


 


Well, take a number – because this one in Vegas would probably be a pick ’em.


 


In a game many anticipated – and even hoped – would be billed as arguably the biggest in all of Southeastern Ohio, for all of the 2019 season, is finally upon us.


 


It’s an Ohio Valley Conference super showdown, and a playoff points bonanza to boot, as the one-loss Ironton Fighting Tigers travel to face the undefeated Gallia Academy Blue Devils – with the winner clinching at least a share of the OVC championship and in all likelihood a state playoff berth.


 


Ironton enters at 7-1 while the host Blue Devils, the defending OVC champions, are a perfect 8-0.


[event_scoreboard id=”1715″ number=”10″ align=”none”]


In fact, this is the first time in which Gallia Academy has been 8-0 since 1986.


[event_scoreboard id=”1714″ number=”10″ align=”none”]


Both clubs also “control their own destiny” towards punching a playoff ticket – as both are currently rated third in their respective playoff regions (Ironton in Region 19 of Division V and Gallia Academy in Region 15 of Division IV), per the official Ohio High School Athletic Association weekly computer ratings.


 


In the Associated Press poll, the Fighting Tigers are sixth in Division V, while the Blue Devils are fifth in Division IV – their highest ranking in school history.


 


And both squads are experienced along their lines and at the skilled positions, enjoying strong seasons on both the defensive and offensive sides of the football.


 


The placekickers are pretty darn good, too.


 


Oh, and both are 6-0 in the OVC – as only Portsmouth (7-1, 5-1 in OVC), with a win over South Point this week, plays a role in deciding the conference championship aside from Ironton and Gallia Academy.


 


For sure, though, something has to give on Friday night – when Ironton invades Memorial Field in Gallipolis for kickoff at 7 p.m.


 


It will be a standing-room-only atmosphere along Fourth Avenue in the French City, and an electric one along the banks of the Chickamauga Creek where historic Memorial Field sits.


 


This is also an encounter in which several of these juniors and seniors have endured already, as Gallia Academy has won the past two meetings – including rallying from a 26-9 third-quarter deficit last season to ultimately prevail 36-33 to win its first-ever OVC championship in only its third season in the league.


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In interviews this week, both coaches know of their players’ big-game experiences – and no doubt this is one of those affairs.


 


“We return a lot of guys, they return a lot of guys. This sets up so both teams know each other so well, and neither team is going to be short of confidence. Our players, their players, they know all about playing on a big stage like this,” said Ironton coach Trevon Pendleton. “It’s at their place this season, but it still comes down to blocking, tackling and taking care of the football. We do those three things well and better than Gallia Academy does, I like our chances. All of these big games have the same formula. Big-time players make the biggest plays in the biggest games. Our goals of a league championship are right there in front of us. We just have to continue to work hard, practice hard, go out and execute and we will reach our goal of winning the OVC.”


 


“Thankfully, we had a lot of young men involved in this game last year, but we also had a lot of kids in big roles this year that watched it from the sideline. We feel confident in their roles, and the adjustment and development they have shown this year. You can never simulate a ‘game’ like Friday night with the buildup from the outside. But when 7 p.m. comes and that first kickoff has happened, all of that noise is gone, all of the ‘chalkboard’ material is no more – all we have is an orange helmet versus a blue helmet,” said Gallia Academy coach Alex Penrod. “Our goal is to win the immediate play. And whether we win or lose that play, the mindset is always the most important play is the next play – no matter the week or the opponent or the share of OVC titles. We have to control our team, do our job.”


 


The Blue Devils have definitely done their jobs through eight games, scoring at least 14 points in each and at least 24 in seven – while pitching three shutouts.


Gallia Academy, after its first playoff appearance since 2012 last season, has overcome inexperience in spots.


 


“In any season, as the season extends, what you want to see from your team is to continually develop in a positive way. Wins and losses are a part of football, but the true statement is us as coaches seeing the development,” said Penrod. “We have been blessed to be 8-0 at this point in the season, and atop of the conference tied with Ironton. It has been a process, taking a lot of inexperienced pieces with our experience and showing weekly maturation.”


 


This week, though, shall show how much maturity the Blue Devils have reached, as Ironton – on paper – is the best opponent they have faced thus far.


 


Only Ashland (Ky), and a 16-10 overtime defeat, has prevented the Fighting Tigers from being an equal 8-0.


 


	
Head Coach Trevon Pendleton

		

			

	

	
Current Team
Ironton
Past Teams
Portsmouth West


 “Our kids have done a great job of handling each week and handling the adversity we faced from the Ashland game,” said Pendleton. “We’ve turned our attention to winning the OVC, which is our first goal as a team. We’ve went out and taken care of business each week, which sets us up for a share of the championship with a win this week.”


 


Ironton’s offense features a balance of run and pass, as six-foot three-inch junior running back Reid Carrico – an Ohio State verbal commit – has rushed for 828 yards and 16 touchdowns on 110 carries, good for seven-and-a-half yards per carry.


 


	

			

	
#
28
Name
Reid Carrico
Position
2021
Height
6-03
Weight
225
Current Team
Ironton
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020
 Carrico also leads the team in receptions – 14 for 260 yards and two TD.


 


	

			

	
#
7
Name
Gage Salyers
Position
2020
Height
6-01
Weight
205
Current Team
Ironton
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019
 Gage Salyers, the senior quarterback, has completed 51-of-97 passes for 850 yards –throwing for five touchdowns with four interceptions.


 


He has also rushed 53 times for 406 yards and six scores, and a 7.7 yards per carry average.


 


	

			

	
#
44
Name
Seth Fosson
Position
2020
Height
6-01
Weight
235
Current Team
Ironton
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019
 Seth Fosson, the senior fullback, has 259 yards on 39 attempts for 6.6 yards per tote.


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But perhaps more impressive is the Fighting Tigers’ first-team defense, which has not allowed more than one touchdown in regulation time.


 


The Tomcats tallied a touchdown in overtime against Ironton.


 


	
Head Coach Alexander K Penrod

		

			

	

	
Current Team
Gallia Academy
Past Teams
Alexander


 “They are without a doubt a talented team,” said Penrod of the Fighting Tigers. “You could list about 12 names and numbers, but they play with so much passion and relentless effort. That is what makes them a fun watch from a ‘fan’ perspective. Unfortunately, I have the duty of being an opposing coach to them this week. So we’re trying to find what minimal weaknesses they do have, and try to take advantage of those. Our gameplan this week, like others, is to worry less about the opposing team, and continually see the growth of our players and our team – get them ready to play the football game of their life and make a name for some of our players who are heck of football players, too.”


 


One of those players is Gallia Academy junior James Armstrong,


 


	

			

	
#
3
Name
James Armstrong
Position
2021
Height
6-00
Weight
190
Current Team
Gallia Academy
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020
 Armstrong is six-foot tall and weighs 190 pounds, and has already made an official visit to Ohio State.


 


He has rushed for 1,034 yards on 142 carries – with an impressive average of 7.28 yards per touch.


 


But Armstrong suffered an injury early against Coal Grove two weeks ago, and did not play at all last week in the Blue Devils’ 48-7 victory at Rock Hill.


 


That game, in fact, was Gallia Academy’s first all season on an artificial FieldTurf surface, while Ashland has been Ironton’s only game on natural grass.


 


Rumors have swirled if Armstrong will be back for the Blue Devils this week, but Pendleton plans as if he will be – but emphasized Ironton’s gameplan doesn’t focus strictly on one player.


 


“We don’t focus on just one kid. I’ve heard (Armstrong) he may play, I’ve heard he may not play. I really don’t know. What I do know is Gallia Academy is going to have 11 players on both sides of the ball at all times. That is who we are gameplanning for. We focus on all 11,” he said. “They have a ton of good athletes that they like to get the ball to out in space. They like to run the football, but they have good, fast receivers and their quarterback has become a very good player for them. They have good size up front.”


 


#
20
Name
Michael Beasy
Position
2021
Height
6-00
Weight
165
Current Team
Gallia Academy
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020
 Michael Beasy – a six-foot, 165-pound junior running back – complements Armstrong in the form of 615 yards on 80 carries while Noah Vanco, the junior quarterback, has completed 61-of-97 passes for 842 yards with eight touchdowns.


 


Cade Roberts returns as the Blue Devils’ H-back, and actually leads the Blue with 11 receptions for 199 yards.


 


If Armstrong doesn’t play, look for Gallia Academy to involve even more the likes of sophomores Donevyn Woodson and Briar Williams and seniors Ryan Donovsky and Ben Cox.


#
24
Name
Donevyn Woodson
Position
2022
Height
5-11
Weight
145
Current Team
Gallia Academy
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020


The experienced Blue Devil offensive line is anchored by three-year starting right tackle Riley Starnes – a 6-5, 295-pound junior who has taken an official visit to the University of Kentucky.


	

			

	
#
50
Name
Riley Starnes
Position
2021
Height
6-05
Weight
295
Current Team
Gallia Academy
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019


And, if the weather turns rainy, and Memorial Field gets muddy, then running the football – while making minimal mistakes – becomes even more important.


 


The Fighting Tigers have struggled at times with turnovers, but more glaring is the number of penalties.


 


“We can’t be making unforced errors in a game like this. It’s something we definitely need to clean up, and if we’re going to win this game, then we have to take care of the ball and really reduce the penalties,” said Pendleton. “If the weather gets bad, running the football on grass will be like the old backyard mud bowls and good old-fashioned smash-mouth football. Still, that makes protecting the football and eliminating mistakes that much more significant.”


 


Penrod preached the importance of turnovers too.


 


“Turnovers are usually a difference-maker in any game. They have had some miscues on both sides of the ball, but the same goes with our team too. It is continually preached and coached – as I am sure with them. You can never go into a game expecting three turnovers from an opposing team,” he said. “But we have to have the mentality to put them in situations where we can force the issue and hope the ball bounces our way. ‘Championship’ games will be won or lost on turnover ratio and field position.”


Penrod said he hopes for good weather, and actually explained “we were excited to finally be on turf last week at Rock Hill.”


 


“Whatever the surface, or elements of the game are, we know both teams will be ready to play football and adjust accordingly. What I do want to see is a dry field and clear evening for our fans of both teams to show up and watch a fantastic football game from two very good high school teams,” he said.


 


Two very good teams indeed.


 


That said, you still having difficulty deciding upon who to pick this week?



	
OVC Standings
PosTeamWLPFPANet Pts
17033234298
261277160117
35220418222
4431711674
534134233-99
625188268-80
716140233-93
807112281-169




Gallia Academy Rushing
RankPlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
1James Armstrong2021152111611
2Michael Beasy202112277112
3Briar Williams2022243052
4Donevyn Woodson2022111260
5Brody Fellure20239981
View all players


Ironton Rushing
RankPlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
1Reid Carrico2021208158123
2Gage Salyers202013287213
3Seth Fosson2020573916
4Cameron Deere2021433012
5Trevor Carter2023232324
View all players



	

		

			
				
Home \ Away
									
							
					
									
							
					
									
							
					
									
							
					
									
							
					
									
							
					
									
							
					
									
							
					
							

									

						
							Chesapeake						
																					
									 
								
																												
									35-42 35-28 49-28 0-29								
																												
									2-38 26-30 35-18 34-26								
																												
									20-55 48-6								
																												
									7-48 10-58 6-50 28-40 14-21								
																												
									49-38 39-55 48-13								
																												
									21-33 22-28 21-35 20-27 38-20 40-12								
																												
									20-38 35-27 42-0 35-0 7-19 48-0								
																		

									

						
							Coal Grove						
																					
									44-30 38-45 27-7 6-34 53-14 46-14 20-15								
																												
									 
								
																												
									22-56 12-27 29-19 20-13 27-44 28-8								
																												
									20-42 67-13								
																												
									12-54 12-49 28-7 6-13								
																												
									66-63 36-34 40-20								
																												
									20-6 7-25 35-27 40-8 62-7								
																												
									20-33 55-14 40-0 44-17 54-10								
																		

									

						
							Fairland						
																					
									28-13 36-33 46-28 6-36 58-20 19-26 15-41								
																												
									27-21 35-13 34-22 12-48 8-28								
																												
									 
								
																												
									40-35 0-28 49-32								
																												
									23-41 0-31								
																												
									43-27 12-20 62-34 7-35								
																												
									40-7 36-12 21-14 16-42 27-0 40-6								
																												
									47-7 50-20 26-20 41-20 41-6								
																		

									

						
							Gallia Academy						
																					
									47-21 55-27 34-32								
																												
									28-12 44-20 20-33								
																												
									47-43 53-35 34-49								
																												
									 
								
																												
									17-27 0-52 38-20								
																												
									50-18 45-28 36-35								
																												
									47-6 43-20 13-51								
																												
									41-0 44-0 40-24								
																		

									

						
							Ironton						
																					
									48-27 28-12								
																												
									71-0 21-12 14-12								
																												
									62-14 49-7 21-27 35-0								
																												
									55-7 33-36 49-0								
																												
									 
								
																												
									21-6 48-7 35-42 42-20								
																												
									42-0 46-0 34-7 28-13								
																												
									62-13 41-0								
																		

									

						
							Portsmouth						
																					
									28-6 34-20 34-14 18-49								
																												
									14-6 28-13 14-19 7-34								
																												
									6-34 35-20 51-46								
																												
									12-18 7-34 45-14								
																												
									9-50 35-28 28-43								
																												
									 
								
																												
									40-28 28-14 33-32								
																												
									21-7 47-16 39-0 55-28								
																		

									

						
							Rock Hill						
																					
									14-10 13-36 13-24 12-41 7-25								
																												
									23-16 33-20 7-28 21-33 13-41 28-51								
																												
									6-42 35-42 48-6 19-21 7-50								
																												
									7-44 7-48 56-54								
																												
									0-41 13-47 14-33								
																												
									27-28 28-31 38-14								
																												
									 
								
																												
									20-53 26-21 44-16 48-0 38-45 61-6								
																		

									

						
							South Point						
																					
									0-42 14-53 3-41 13-33 6-40								
																												
									7-25 0-43 0-21 14-56 6-46								
																												
									14-35 13-53 0-33 32-8 43-74 0-39								
																												
									0-28 26-57 0-47								
																												
									8-42 2-38 0-48 8-35								
																												
									14-31 7-40 20-40								
																												
									28-34 0-35 16-36 9-10 41-6								
																												
									 
								
																		

							
		

	

	


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Pirates win wild shootout with Waverly
		


		

			
 vs 

	
Results
Team1234TOutcome
Wheelersburg7147742Win
Waverly777728Loss


 


Pirates win wild shootout with Waverly


By Paul Boggs


Photo’s by Ruth Boll


WHEELERSBURG — For anything Waverly’s Payton Shoemaker can do — and did on Friday night — Wheelersburg’s Makya Matthews can certainly do too.


And — in fact — Matthews joined Evan Horsley, Hunter Ruby and the Pirates’ offensive line in racing past the visiting Tigers, and thus took over inside track position towards another outright Southern Ohio Conference Division II championship.


Matthews mustered an estimated 300 all-purpose yards, Wheelersburg rushed for 457 as a team, and the Pirates withstood Shoemaker’s big plays en route to capturing a critical 42-28 victory inside an electric — and even overflow — Ed Miller Stadium in Wheelersburg.


That’s correct.


While Waverly’s playmaker Shoemaker — the Tigers’ all-Ohio Division IV running back — showed off in the form of 202 rushing yards and all four of the Tigers’ touchdowns, the Pirates put it together in a variety of ways while spreading around the wealth.


With the victory, the Pirates are now 5-3 while Waverly dipped to 6-2 — as both squads entered Ed Miller Stadium with identical 2-0 SOC II records.


It was a total team triumph for Wheelersburg, which won its third consecutive contest — and extended a pair of impressive streaks.


The five-time defending division champion Pirates took a gigantic step, or two, towards their sixth straight title — winning their 24th straight SOC II tilt dating back to this time back in 2013.


In addition, Wheelersburg won over Waverly again — a now 13-game stretch which dates back to the Tigers’ two victories in 2005 and 2006.


Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward has headed up the Pirates for now a dozen meetings with Waverly, and only Friday’s contest — along with the 11-point outcome (24-13 Wheelersburg win) three years ago — have been within two touchdowns.


But at least this one lived up to the amped-up build-up, as most observers around Southeastern Ohio had obviously dubbed the matchup as the region’s “game of the week”.


[the_ad id=”2695″]


With Wheelersburg’s pedigree, however, it seems like every week is that way with the tradition-rich Pirates.


The trio of teams which have defeated them this season are a combined — and staggering — 22-2, as the Orange and Black overcame early-season injuries and adversity to successfully save their season and right their ship.


As of early Saturday morning, Wheelersburg “controls its own destiny” towards a Division V, Region 19 playoff berth.


“Our kids understand how hard we’ve worked. We had such a tough battle early on in the year, but all it did was strengthen us and exposed things that we needed to work on as a coaching staff and do better as a team. It put guys in pressure situations, and we’ve tried to work and figure out what the best scenarios are of the personnel that we have,” said Woodward. “We’re playing our best football right now at the end of the year.”


But, the first goal against Waverly was conquering the club which many observers believed was the one most likely to unseat the Pirates atop the SOC II.


With Shoemaker touching the football, he can score on any given snap — which he did twice on Friday night with touchdown dashes of 75 yards in the second quarter and again from 40 yards midway through the third.


Of the Tigers’ 250 total carries this season, the five-foot nine-inch 155-pound senior Shoemaker now has 189 — while rushing for 1,668 yards and 23 touchdowns, which is good enough for almost nine yards per tote.


He also tallied two short TD plunges — from a yard and three yards out — accounting for 24 of the Tigers’ 28 points, with all-Ohio placekicker Grayson Diener drilling all four of his extra-point kicks.


But only one player could, and would, outdo Shoemaker — that being the Pirates’ Matthews.




Matthews, often on jet sweep plays or inside isolation calls, managed a healthy 29 carries for a hefty 267 rushing yards — and had a hat trick of touchdowns.


He also caught two passes for 25 yards, and would have added more return yards — had he not fumbled a Diener punt or had Diener not sent three kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.


His short seven-yard run put the Pirates ahead 14-7 just a minute and 47 seconds into the second quarter, and capped a 10-play, 65-yard, four-minute and 24-second scoring drive — which was kept alive by a Waverly roughing-the-punter penalty.


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After Shoemaker sprinted for his 75-jaunt on the next play from scrimmage that spanned exactly 19 seconds, Matthews immediately answered — taking a straight isolation up the middle for 49 yards to make it 21-14 at the 7:16 mark.


That drive last just two minutes and 20 seconds, and covered a quick 80 yards in only seven plays.


His third and final touchdown, with only a minute-and-a-half remaining, was a 42-yard burst in which he broke free — and occurred as Wheelersburg was basically attempting to run out the clock with a 35-28 lead.


Matthews’ final 42 yards occurred on the Pirates’ 64th play from scrimmage, and gave them 457 rushing yards with 27 first downs, as Horsley hammered out 94 yards on 17 totes from the quarterback position — and playing almost the entire time on an injured and taped-up ankle.


“They (Pirates) had some formations that we knew and we had practiced, but sometimes we didn’t get aligned right. And the kids sometimes don’t get to practice that speed. Matthews is fast, and sometimes you don’t get as a realistic look as maybe you need to,” said Waverly coach Chris Crabtree. “It wasn’t anything we didn’t see or didn’t expect, but at times, we probably didn’t tackle as well we needed to. Matthews probably got an extra few yards every time we did tackle him. That’s a credit to him being a strong and fast kid, but we just couldn’t get off the field when we needed to.”


Horsley, who has quarterbacked the Pirates for the past two-and-a-half games, also completed 7-of-12 passes for 91 yards — with Ruby making five receptions for 66 yards while rushing for 72 on a dozen attempts.




“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games,” said Woodward of his top trio from Friday night. “Makya Matthews and Hunter Ruby were a great one-two punch, and Evan Horsley had to battle through getting banged up early on, and what a warrior he was out there. But he takes command of our offense. He still was able to run the ball that much and do the job that he did. All three of them wanted to make sure they played and battled through this game and they did that. But our best our defense was our offense and our offensive line. Our backs ran hard and our line blocked well. That was the best performance our offense put together tonight.”


Especially in the second half, when Woodward and Wheelersburg went ball-control mode, attempting to keep Shoemaker — who already had rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 15 first-half carries — off the field.


The Pirates took the second-half kickoff and played keep-away, marching 80 yards in 11 plays and consuming five minutes and seven seconds off the third-quarter clock.


The Pirates, with all 11 plays coming on the ground, picked up five first downs — as Carson Williams went in from five yards out to finally double the lead to 28-14 at the 6:53 mark.


Sure enough, Shoemaker scored only a minute and 11 seconds later — with his 40-yard dash that followed five plays.


But the Pirates then crafted yet another impressive 80-yard scoring march — this one even more accomplished, in the form of 13 plays and devouring exactly six minutes and 53 seconds.


Ruby ran in from three yards out just 1:11 into the fourth quarter — making it a two-score game again at 35-21.


“That’s (ball control) what we really wanted to do the entire game,” said Woodward. “Take chances when we could, but make sure that if it took a few plays to get the chains moving, then that’s okay. That keeps a very explosive Shoemaker off the field.”


But right on cue, the Tigers and Shoemaker wasted little time to answer — 40 seconds in fact following a 49-yard, three-play drive.


Waverly quarterback Haydn’ Shanks, who was limited with his mobility and playing on an injured knee, still completed nine of his 17 passes for 162 yards — including a half-dozen to Will Futhey, whose deep 45-yard reception following a false-start penalty put the Tigers in business at the Wheelersburg 9-yard-line.


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That was Waverly’s longest pass play, as Futhey finished with six catches for 126 yards, including his final two receptions of 27 and 24.


Shoemaker covered the final nine yards of that Tiger series — scoring from three to make it 35-28 with 10:07 remaining.


However, Waverly wouldn’t score again — and when it needed to the most.


The Pirates moved to the red zone again in only eight plays and 43 yards, but once again and more importantly controlled the clock — this time holding the football for five-and-a-half minutes.




But a 41-yard field goal attempt by Braxton Sammons, who successfully converted all six of his extra-point kicks, missed just short and to the right with 4:37 to go.


The Tigers tried to hurry-up with their no-huddle offense and tie, but they turned the ball over on downs at midfield, following back-to-back sacks of Shanks that lost 10 yards to the Waverly 48 — and an incomplete pass on fourth down.


On that particular possession, Shoemaker carried just once for six yards.


“We just didn’t convert on offense there. We didn’t hit it all on all cylinders like we needed to do at times,” said Crabtree.


Matthews then put the contest on ice, taking his final carry his 42 yards to the house to make it 42-28 with Sammons’ sixth and final extra-point boot.


To add added injury to insult, the Pirates forced three more Shanks incompletions on the Tigers’ final series that covered eight plays and only a minute between the 30-yard-lines, but they sacked Shanks twice more — and the junior signal-caller had to be assisted off the field following the second one.


Crabtree said he expects Shanks “to be okay”.




“He obviously has an injury on that knee, and he got hit from behind on that last play and went down on that knee. He got up and came off the field, and right now, he’s moving around pretty good,” said the coach. “It’s been week-to-week for him so we’ll have to see how it goes, but I think he will be fine.”


Both the very end, and the very beginning of the game, were disastrous for the Tigers.


That’s because Shoemaker fumbled on the game’s first play, and Wheelersburg recovered at the Waverly 33.


Horsley hit Matthews for 16 yards to the Tiger 23, then two plays later, found Ruby with a nice touch pass from 19 yards out to get the Pirates on the scoreboard just two minutes and 19 seconds in.


“With an explosive offense like what Waverly has, that turnover we turned into points was an extra possession for us that we weren’t counting on,” said Woodward. “That was good.”


Crabtree admitted that mistakes and subsequent field position played a major role, as the Tigers trailed from opening kickoff until the final whistle.


“In that first half, we were our own worst enemy. We probably beat ourselves more than they did,” he said. “We had that turnover, we had the roughing penalty that led to their second touchdown. We talked about whomever makes the least mistakes is going to come out on top. We made a few more than they did. Ultimately, those things are going to come back and get you when you play against really good teams. But I am proud of my kids for coming out and competing and playing hard. It would have been easy for them to hang their heads and back down after that first play, but they didn’t.”


[the_ad id=”2695″]


Waverly will host fellow 6-2 Minford next week, as the Oak Hill Oaks upset the host Falcons on Friday night, kicking a last-second field goal to win 17-14.


Wheelersburg, which played at Ed Miller Stadium for the first time in a month, will return to the road — and return to SOC II action — at Valley next week.


A win over the Indians will lock up at least a share of the Pirates’ sixth straight SOC II title.


“Our first goal is to win the SOC. Tonight, we took the next step we needed to take,” said Woodward. “We will work towards the next step next week.”


* * *


Waverly 7 7 7 7 — 28


Wheelersburg 7 14 7 14— 42


WBurg — Hunter Ruby, 19-yard pass from Evan Horsley (Braxton Sammons kick), 9:41, 1st (7-0 WBurg)


Wave — Payton Shoemaker, 1-yard run (Grayson Diener kick), 2:41, 1st (7-7 tie)


WBurg — Makya Matthews, 7-yard run (Braxton Sammons kick), 10:13, 2nd (14-7 WBurg)


Wave — Payton Shoemaker, 75-yard run (Grayson Diener kick), 9:48 2nd (14-14 tie)


WBurg — Makya Matthews, 49-yard run (Braxton Sammons kick), 7:11, 2nd (21-14 WBurg)


WBurg — Carson Williams, 5-yard run (Braxton Sammons kick), 6:33, 3rd (28-14 WBurg)


Wave — Payton Shoemaker, 40-yard run (Grayson Diener kick), 5:42, 3rd (28-21 WBurg)


WBurg — Hunter Ruby, 3-yard run (Braxton Sammons kick), 10:49, 4th (35-21 WBurg)


Wave — Payton Shoemaker, 3-yard run (Grayson Diener kick), 10:07, 4th (35-28 Wburg)


WBurg — Makya Matthews, 42-yard run (Braxton Sammons kick), 1:33, 4th (42-28 Wburg)


Team Statistics


Wave WBurg


First Downs 13 27


Scrimmage Plays 43 77


Rushes-Yards 25-177 64-457


Passing Yards 162 91


Total Yards 339 548


Cmp-Att-Int 9-18-0 7-13-2


Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-0


Penalties-Yards 6-40 8-48


Punts-Average 3-40.3 1-32


——


Individual Leaders


RUSHING —Waverly: Payton Shoemaker 21-202 4TD, Haydn’ Shanks 4-(-25); Wheelersburg: Makya Matthews 29-267 3TD, Evan Horsley 17-94, Hunter Ruby 12-72 TD, Carson Williams 5-15 TD, Aaron Masters 1-9


PASSING — Waverly: Haydn’ Shanks 9-17-0-162, Wade Futhey 0-1-0-0; Wheelersburg: Evan Horsley 7-12-1-91 TD, Makya Matthews 0-1-1-0


RECEIVING — Waverly: Will Futhey 6-126, Phoenix Wolf 2-9, Mark Stulley 1-27; Wheelersburg: Hunter Ruby 5-66 TD, Makya Matthews 2-25


		

			

			
Wheelersburg

		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Offense															
																			CMP
													ATT
													INT
													PYDS
													TD
													ATT
													RUYDS
													TD
													REC
													REYDS
													TD
															

			
							
					
Evan Horsley7121911171000000
Hunter Ruby00000168504470
Carson Williams00000230000
14Aaron Masters00000190000
20Gage Adkins000000001191
29Makya Matthews011003126932250
				
										
											

							 Total71329116746637911						

									
					

			

	



		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Defense															
																			Sacks
													Tackles
													INT
													FGM
													FGA
															

			
							
									
										
											

							 Total00000						

									
					

			

	



			
Waverly

		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Offense															
																			CMP
													ATT
													INT
													PYDS
													TD
													ATT
													RUYDS
													TD
													REC
													REYDS
													TD
															

			
							
					
1Payton Shoemaker00000212014000
6Will Futhey0000000061190
10Mark Stulley000000001270
13Haydn Shanks917015504-250000
15Wade Futhey01000000000
23Phoenix Wolf00000000290
				
										
											

							 Total9180155025176491550						

									
					

			

	



		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Defense															
																			Sacks
													Tackles
													INT
													FGM
													FGA
															

			
							
									
										
											

							 Total00000						

									
					

			

	
		

		

	
Details

	

		

			
				

											Date
												Time
												League
												Season
										

			
			
				

											October 18, 2019
												7:00 pm
												SEO
												2019
										

			
		

	




	

		
Court

		

			
				

					Wheelersburg
				

			
							
					

						
					

									
					

	

	


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Trojans, Dragons meet in crucial contest
		


		

			
Trojans, Dragons meet in crucial contest


 


By PAUL BOGGS


Photo’s by Kent Sanborn


For Fairland football coach Melvin Cunningham, he had a remarkable comparison – and actually an ultimate compliment – for Portsmouth standout running back Talyn Parker.


 


	
Head Coach Melvin Cunningham

		

			

	

	
Current Team
Fairland


 “You remember the old Nintendo game systems? For the football junkies who had those, there was a game called Tecmo Bowl and it featured Bo Jackson. Talyn Parker is Bo Jackson on Tecmo Bowl. He has speed, he has shiftiness, he makes explosive plays, and he gives us coaches nightmares figuring out how to stop him,” said Cunningham, in a telephone interview this week.


 


Cunningham said he had experienced a sleepless night or two trying to gameplan for Parker, but perhaps he will rest comfortably come Saturday morning – should his Fairland Dragons do the job and put Parker and the Trojans under wraps.


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However, as most other OVC teams have already proven, that’s much easier said than done.


 


In a key Ohio Valley Conference clash, the Dragons host the Trojans on Friday night – with kickoff set for 7 p.m.


 


As the 6-1 Trojans invade 4-3 Fairland, the Dragons do realize that this is their last stand – as far as possibly winning a share of the OVC championship, and more likely landing a Division V, Region 19 playoff spot.


 


Fairland (6.2374 computer points average) is 10th  in the latest release of the Ohio High School Athletic Association computer ratings – and needs to win out in order to have a realistic opportunity at making the postseason for the second year in a row.


 


The Dragons are 2-2 in the OVC while the Trojans are 3-1, as both teams need  two losses by defending champion Gallia Academy and/or Ironton – which play each other next week.


 


	
Head Coach Bruce Kalb

		

			

	

	
Current Team
Portsmouth
Past Teams
Waverly


 “We’re still in good position for the league (championship) to place where we would like to place,” said Portsmouth coach Bruce Kalb. “We would like to win our next three at all costs to put ourselves in position to at least compete for the league title and week-11. Fairland is going to be a tough road game for us, and any time you load a bunch of 16 or 17-year-old kids up on a bus and drive for an hour and 15 minutes, focus becomes a concern.”


 


As for its playoff possibilities, Portsmouth precariously sits inside the top eight of Region 19 at seventh (9.3143), and is the lowest-ranked of any of the five 6-1 clubs.


 


The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs – with the top four squads earning first-round home bouts.


 


Cunningham said simply, that with his Dragons at 4-3, every game from here on out is treated as a playoff tilt.


 


“When you are 4-3, and in the region we are in, every game is basically a playoff game. We have to win out and there is no room for error in that region,” he said.


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The Dragons have an opportunity at climbing that ladder this week, but they will have to at least limit Parker, who officially hit the 100-carry AND went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season in last week’s win over Chesapeake (34-20).


 


	

			

	
#
1
Name
Talyn Parker
Position
2020
Height
5-11
Weight
195
Current Team
Portsmouth
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019
 Parker, as he often does, posted big plays for touchdown runs – scoring the first time he touched the ball for 60 yards, followed by two more one-play possessions that went for 59 and 22-yard TD bursts.


 


Against Chesapeake, Parker put up 288 yards and three scores on 17 carries, as he now has 85 yards over 1,000 for the season – and 14 yards over 5,900 for his career.


 


The Dragons do get an advantage of playing Portsmouth and Parker on natural grass – and not on the friendly and fast FieldTurf confines of Trojan Coliseum.


 


Still, the gameplan for Parker is the same, Cunningham claimed.


 


“You are not going to completely stop Talyn. He is too good of an athlete and has too much speed. But we do have to slow him down and control him, and you do that by not allowing all of his big plays, his splash plays,” he said. “When you get a hand on him, you have keep a hand on him and make the tackle. You have to do a great job of getting guys to him and getting him on the ground. He can completely change the outcome and complexion of the game on one carry. We can’t allow him to do to us what he has done to everybody else, which is score on 40, 50 or 60-yard runs.”


 


For Kalb, it’s a familiar refrain that he recognizes.


 


	

			

	
#
2
Name
Drew Roe
Position
2022
Height
235
Weight
5-06
Current Team
Portsmouth
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020, 2021
 These Trojans, though, have been far from a one-man wrecking crew, as sophomore quarterback Drew Roe has completed 64-of-116 passes for 1,050 yards and 13 touchdowns with just two interceptions.


 


	

			

	
#
9
Name
Eric Purdy
Position
2020
Height
5-08
Weight
155
Current Team
Portsmouth
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019
 Eric Purdy has caught 25 passes for 353 yards,


 


 


	

			

	
#
2
Name
Bryce Wallace
Position
2020
Height
6-02
Weight
155
Current Team
Portsmouth
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019
  while Bryce Wallace has 18 receptions for 408 yards.


 


“With Drew Roe’s ability to get the ball out to those guys, and now the defense has to know where they are and cover them, that opens up even more lanes for Talyn to run in. It becomes pick your poison,” said Kalb. “Do you stack the box and stop Talyn Parker, or do you widen your defense out and allow Talyn the chance to do what he does best?”


But Kalb cautioned that the Dragons do have weapons of their own, including senior wide receiver Reilly Sowards, who returned last week against South Point from a broken collarbone suffered in Fairland’s first preseason scrimmage.


#
10
Name
Reilly Sowards
Position
2020
Height
6-02
Weight
160
Current Team
Fairland
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019


He caught a touchdown pass for 50 yards early in the game.


Sowards was an all-Southeast District Division IV wideout a year ago, as standout running back Michael Stitt suffered an injury at Gallia Academy two weeks back– and was limited to only one carry for 10 yards against South Point.


	

			

	
#
7
Name
Gavin Hunt
Position
2021
Height
6-00
Weight
150
Current Team
Fairland
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019, 2020
 Gavin Hunt has become the go-to receiver for quarterback Max Ward, with Ward completing 59-of-105 passes for 780 yards and seven touchdowns.


Stitt has rushed for 573 yards on 66 carries, while Hunt has 20 receptions for 380 yards.


 


	

			

	
#
3
Name
Michael Stitt
Position
2020
Height
5-08
Weight
155
Current Team
Fairland
Leagues
OVC, SEO
Seasons
2019


Kalb said his Trojans must defend the Dragons well – and aim to avoid getting into a track meet on grass.


“I think Fairland, with their athleticism, matches up well with us. We want to make sure we have a good week of practice and stay focused so we don’t come out flat,” he said.


 


But with Parker in the backfield, the Trojans have the best playmaker on board – and they not need Nintendo’s Tecmo Bowl to prove that.



	
2019 OVC Standings
PosTeamWLPFPANet Pts
17033234298
261277160117
35220418222
4431711674
534134233-99
625188268-80
716140233-93
807112281-169




2019 OVC Leaders (League Only)
RankPlayerTeamPositionATTRUYDSTD
1Reid CarricoIronton2021121139527
2James ArmstrongGallia Academy2021161130615
3Austin StapletonCoal Grove2021222125114
4Talyn ParkerPortsmouth2020115119719
5Donald RichendollarChesapeake202117499514
6J.D. BrumfieldFairland20221338469
7Michael BeasyGallia Academy202111183912
8Owen HankinsRock Hill20221598313


 


 


 


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Tigers, Pirates meet in huge SE Ohio showdown
		


		

			
Tigers, Pirates meet in huge SE Ohio showdown



	

			

						Wheelersburg vs Waverly		

				

			
		

	






By PAUL BOGGS


Photo’s by Ruth Boll


If you believe a lot of what you hear, then this season is surely the Waverly Tigers’ best opportunity – maybe ever – at a victory against the Wheelersburg Pirates.


 


But also, if you believe what you actually see, then you can’t miss the fact that these Pirates are perhaps peaking at exactly the perfect time.


 


Indeed, the inside track to the 2019 Southern Ohio Conference Division II  championship – and a truckload of OHSAA playoff computer points – awaits the winner on Friday night, as the Tigers travel to Wheelersburg for what has to be the most amped and hyped-up matchup between these two proud programs in recent memory.




One thing is for sure – it’s gotta be considered “the game of the week” throughout all of Southeastern Ohio.


 


Kickoff inside what should be an electric – and even overflow – Ed Miller Stadium in Wheelersburg is set for 7 p.m.


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The Tigers are 6-1 while the Pirates are 4-3, but Wheelersburg has certainly righted its ship after an 0-2 and 2-3 start – while Waverly rides a four-game winning streak.


 


Both squads are 2-0 in the SOC II, but the Pirates carry with them a now 23-game division win streak into Friday night.


 


And don’t worry about that excess of Orange and Black, because basically everyone inside Ed Miller Stadium – minus the obvious neutral observers – will be donning those colors.


 


Yeah, you can say this is a big ballgame in the late stages of the season – especially when both clubs “control their own destiny” towards a state playoff berth.


 


Of course, both coaches – in interviews over the telephone this week – tried to emphasize the importance of not blowing the buildup out of proper proportion.


“We know who we are playing this week, but whether it is Wheelersburg this week or Minford next week or Oak Hill in week 10, we still have to go out and execute a gameplan to win the game,” said Waverly coach Chris Crabtree. “You can’t get all caught up and lost in who we are playing. We just need to do what we have to do, and be confident that we will go down there and have success. (Wheelersburg coach) Rob (Woodward) and his staff always do a tremendous job from one year to the next there, and they don’t rebuild, they just reload. They will try to get the ball in Makya Matthews’ hands and we know they play great defense. It’s still going to come down for us and our ability to not make mistakes, make plays on offense and be able to tackle well in space on defense.”


 


Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward was also asked about the SOC II championship chase – and the playoff push that this week’s bout brings about.


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“Those things of course exist, but all we can do is control the things we can control on the field when playing Waverly this week,” he said. “The playoff points and how those shake out, we can’t worry about that. We just have to focus on a good week of practice and preparation – both physically and mentally – for a good Waverly team that is coming in here on Friday with every intention of beating us. They have a lot of good athletes, a lot of speed, a lot of weapons who are dangerous when the football is their hands. Our kids know what’s at stake, but they also know they need to focus on the things we need to work on to hopefully help us get another win.”


 


One thing that is different for the Pirates this week – they are finally back in the friendly confines of Ed Miller Stadium.


 


They’ve been on the road for the past month, and won three of four games to reverse the early-season slide, including that epic SOC II opener in overtime (21-20) at Minford two weeks ago.


 


“It is nice to be back at home, where we’ve been on the road for a while,” said Woodward. “Ed Miller Stadium should be rocking and that should only help elevate our kids’ play. There is always a lot of energy there that our kids feed off of. It’s exciting to be home.”


 


However, what Wheelersburg did discover during its lengthy road show was that Evan Horsley is indeed its starting quarterback.


 


#
Name
Evan Horsley
Current Team
Wheelersburg
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019
Horsley (5-10, 205, Sr.) took over under center in the second quarter of the Minford game, and promptly completed a 76-yard touchdown pass to Pirate primary playmaker Makya Matthews.


 


In the second half and overtime against the Falcons, he engineered two go-ahead scoring drives – and rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.


 


Last week, he followed that up at Oak Hill by completing 7-of-9 passes for 150 yards – three of which went to Matthews for 82.


 


Horsley hit Matthews for a 44-yard scoring strike in the second stanza, after connecting with Hunter Ruby for a 50-yard touchdown in the opening quarter.


 


Horsley also rushed four times for 56 yards, scoring on three of them, including from 43 yards out in the second period.


 


Woodward said Horsley was last a regular quarterback as a freshman backup, but that injuries and other circumstances made the coaching staff decide that he was the best young man for the job.


 


“The key for us offensively has been taking care of the football, and Evan (Horsley) has been making good decisions,” said the coach. “Evan can make plays throwing the ball, but when the passing play breaks down, he knows to take off and use his feet. But most importantly, he takes good care of the football for us. We worked him into the rotation with the injuries we had to other guys at the start of the year, and he has handled it with such maturity.”


 


Crabtree said Horsley playing quarterback only adds to an already multi-dimensional and complex Pirate offense that is difficult to slow down – let alone stop.


 


“They throw so much at you. Especially in different formations and packages. They try to ouflank you with so many formations and plays. Now you have Horsley who gives them another dimension of running the ball from the quarterback position,” said Crabtree. “Then of course Matthews is a playmaker like we haven’t seen. Whether they line him up at running back, at wide receiver, in motion, in the slot, they are going find ways to get him the ball. They will take their shots downfield too, because they have other good receivers as well.”


 


Crabtree contends that his Tigers must be physical up front with Wheelersburg, but  must also be able to tackle the likes of Matthews in space – and eliminate the Pirates’ playmaking ability.


 


“They can burn you with big plays, especially Makya (Matthews),” he said. “We can’t let them hit us for so many big plays like they have the capability to do so. We need to play physical, but we also need to play fast, and part of that is getting to the football and making tackles.”


	

			

	
#
29
Name
Makya Matthews
Current Team
Wheelersburg
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019


Meanwhile, Woodward said the Tigers have their own playmaker in running back and kick returner Payton Shoemaker.


 


Of the Tigers’ 225 total carries this season, Shoemaker (5-9, 155, Sr.) has 168 – while rushing for 1,466 yards and 19 touchdowns, which is good for almost nine yards per tote.


	

			

	
#
1
Name
Payton Shoemaker
Position
2020
Height
5-09
Weight
155
Current Team
Waverly
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019


He has also returned seven punts for 63 yards, and 10 kickoffs for 224.


 


His all-purpose yardage totals nearly 1,900 (1,861 yards), which is an average of 266 yards per game.


 


While Waverly operates out of the spread-the-field attack – and quarterback Haydn’ Shanks has completed 74-of-118 passes for 1,120 yards and 13 touchdowns with only one interception – it is indeed Shoemaker that has Woodward most concerned.


	

			

	
#
13
Name
Haydn Shanks
Position
2021
Height
6-03
Weight
190
Current Team
Waverly
Leagues
SEO, SOC2
Seasons
2019, 2020


“Payton Shoemaker is the key to their offense, and he is really a threat to score at any time,” he said. “They have the (Haydn’) Shanks kid at quarterback and two really good receivers in (Phoenix) Wolf and (Will) Futhey, but Shoemaker’s running ability sets up their passing game. They like to use their athletes and spread the ball around, but it starts first with Shoemaker, so we need to account for him and make sure we are getting guys around him.”


 


With the exception of their 41-14 week-three four-turnover and injury-riddled loss against Unioto, the Tigers have scored at least 30 points in every game, including a second-highest for season-high 48 against Amanda-Clearcreek.


 


Waverly remains, in fact, the 6-1 Aces’ only defeat for the year.


 


Amanda-Clearcreek is in Wheelersburg’s playoff region – Region 19 of Division V – as the Pirates (12.0071 computer points average) improved to third following their 55-0 shutout at Oak Hill.


 


Meanwhile, Waverly (13.1286) is third in Region 15 of Division IV – after three years of qualifying for the playoffs in the Cincinnati-heavy Region 16.


 


The Tigers, should they make the postseason again, should compete better against teams closer to this side of U.S. Route 23.


 


Waverly does, however, need to start competing much better against the Pirates, which have won every meeting in this series since 2007 – by a whopping scoring average of 43-8 that includes four shutouts.


 


In fact, last year (Wheelersburg won 49-0 in 2018) was one of those.


 


Crabtree contends that this season can be different against the Pirates.


 


And, on paper, it appears to be the Tigers’ best opportunity in at least a decade-and-a-half.


 


“We have a lot of experience, and I think being in this situation before where we haven’t performed as well against Wheelersburg has helped us learn for this year,” said Crabtree. “We know what Wheelersburg is and has been, and it’s always a very tough place to play. But our kids are going in there confident that if we take care of the football, we execute our gameplan and we make the plays we need to make, we will give ourselves a chance.”


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For the Pirates, it’s just another important encounter for a tradition-rich program that has seen so many – especially in the SOC II.


 


“Our kids’ first goal is to win the league, and we know we get everybody’s best shot” said Woodward. “We prepare physically and mentally for this game like any other. We absolutely respect every opponent we play, and we do all the things from the start of the week until the end of the week to get us ready to play on Friday.”


 


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Parker, Trojans turn back Panthers
		


		

			
 vs 

	
Results
Team1234TOutcome
Portsmouth14013734Win
Chesapeake770620Loss


 


By PAUL BOGGS


Photo’s by Tim Gearhart


PORTSMOUTH — Sometimes, all it takes is one — or one three times.


And, while it wasn’t the shootout of last year’s matchup, nor did Portsmouth’s Talyn Parker put up quite the eye-popping and jaw-dropping rushing statistics this time, it wasn’t too far behind.


That’s because Parker — the reigning Southeast District Division V Offensive Player of the Year and now Portsmouth’s all-time career rushing leader — scored on three separate one-play possessions on Friday night, en route to leading the Trojans to a 34-20 victory over visiting Chesapeake inside Trojan Coliseum in Portsmouth.


Parker scored on single-play possessions of 60 (10 seconds), 59 (11 seconds) and 22 yards (six seconds) that combined for 27 seconds — and amassed a massive 288 yards on 17 carries.


Last season, in Portsmouth’s 55-39 high-scoring triumph at Chesapeake, Parker went off for an unreal 381 yards and four scores on 30 attempts.


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So while his numbers aren’t as outrageous as last year’s against the Panthers, he still burnt them for three one-play scores that added up to 18 points — and when the game was still within reach.


In interviews both before and afterwards on Friday night, the two head coaches basically knew what the other’s general gameplan was.


Chesapeake planned to ball-control the speedy and athletic Trojans and consume the clock, limiting Parker to as much defensive play as possible.


Of course, Portsmouth always wants Parker to touch the football, for he can break off an explosive play on any given snap.


While the Panthers had some success with their grind-it-out run-oriented wing-T style, Parker needed just one play — or actually three — to demonstrate why he such a threat on any.


“It just shows you the type of talent the young man (Talyn) has. You give him a crease and he takes it the distance,” said Portsmouth coach Bruce Kalb. “He finds that hole, hits it and explodes through it. And he is so good in breaking tackles.”




“He (Parker) is a great running back and we talked all week about getting him on the ground. If we tackled him, got him on the ground and made them drive the ball, we were hoping we could force them into mistakes,” said Chesapeake coach Todd Knipp. “We scored on that first drive, then unfortunately, he answers in one play by going for 60 yards. We had to make tackles in the open field to get Parker down, and we didn’t.”


Indeed, the Trojans erased a 7-0 deficit, and scored 20 consecutive second-half points to put the contest on ice midway through the final quarter.


With the win, Portsmouth raised its record to 6-1 and 3-1 in the OVC, while Chesapeake fell to under .500 to 3-4 — and are eliminated from championship contention in the league at 1-3.


Chesapeake also essentially aided Portsmouth in the final 30 minutes — and all the while when the Panthers were on the Trojans’ side of midfield.


“We blew some opportunities to score. We fumbled twice, had two turnovers on downs, had a touchdown called back,” said Knipp. “The things that we needed to do to win this football game, we were unable to finish up and follow through on. We’re shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly with turnovers.”


The Panthers lost two fumbles, including following a 15-play, 84-yard drive that devoured five-and-a-half minutes off the second-quarter clock — and after the Panthers were inside the 5-yard-line with 29 seconds to play in the first half.


At that point, because Chesapeake scored nine minutes earlier to tie it at 14-14 with Randy Wilson’s second of two extra-point kicks, a touchdown on that march would have put the Panthers in front.


“That was a key moment in the game — fumbling on the 2-yard-line with half-a-minute left in the half,” said Knipp. “We could have gone into half with a 21-14 lead, and that could have really changed things.”


Kalb concurred.


“That was a big goal-line stand for the second week in a row,” he said. “I was really proud of our defense for stiffening up there and keeping them out of the end zone. We carried that momentum over into the second half.”


With the Panthers’ offensive style, and the Trojans’ quick-strike ability, Chesapeake actually ran 30 more plays from scrimmage (69-39), as Portsmouth only outgained the Panthers on the ground by 10 yards (361-351).


Chesapeake also held a 22-15 advantage in first downs, as the Panthers’ plays in the first half outnumbered Portsmouth’s by 25 (40-15).




“When you score so quick like we can and did tonight, your defense is right back out on the field. Then the style of offense Chesapeake runs, they are going to take three (yards), four, five, six, seven yards every time. But we challenged our defense at halftime that they had to get off the field,” said Kalb. “They have to make those hits and pop that ball loose. We needed our defense tonight to make those hits, be in position, make them earn everything that they get. Our defense was on the field a lot in the first half — I think we only had three possessions.”


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In the second half, Chesapeake turned the ball over on downs twice, including inside the red zone at the 19 on the second-to-last play of the third quarter.


On the opening play of that drive, Kamren Harless — who amounted 166 yards on 26 carries and scored the game-tying touchdown in the second period on a 28-yard sprint — had a 23-yard touchdown run called back due to a holding penalty.


Before Parker’s final touchdown from 22 yards with five minutes and 39 seconds remaining, the Trojans blocked a Panther punt following a three-and-out possession.


Trailing 34-14 with 1:52 to play, Chesapeake finally scored again on a slippery 17-yard run by quarterback Donald Richendollar — in which he broke free from what seemed to be several sure Trojan tackles.


Portsmouth power fullback Tyler McCoy, who rushed three times on its final drive including for 30 yards from midfield to the red zone, recovered the onside kick following that TD to seal the win.


“We almost completely shut them out in the second half,” said Kalb. “This was actually one of the more complete games we’ve played — both halves defensively, offensively and special teams. Everybody wants to point to Talyn Parker and what he does, but I can’t praise our other seniors enough for picking up where last year’s seniors left off.”


Will Todd, who added 95 yards on 17 totes, caught Richendollar’s only completion on three second-half attempts for 23 yards — which actually converted 4th-down-and-7 from the Portsmouth 40 and kept the final scoring drive alive.


The Panthers posted 351 rushing yards on 66 attempts — as Richendollar (30 yards) and Logan Walsh (48 yards) carried nine times apiece.


Chesapeake’s opening possession was what it hoped to demonstrate all night — a well-executed dozen-play, 74-yard, five-minute march that featured four separate backs all carrying the ball.


Walsh went in from three yards out at the 6:52 mark, and Wilson’s extra point gave the Purple its only advantage.


That lead lasted just 10 seconds, as Parker burst up the middle and almost untouched en route to his 60-yard scamper.


Joel Bowling made the first of his four extra-point kicks to tie it at 7-7, and the Trojans never trailed again — after forcing Chesapeake into a three-and-out and punt.




Portsmouth quarterback Drew Roe, who completed seven of 10 passes for 66 yards, threw for a pair of touchdowns to give the Trojans a pair of seven-point cushions (14-7 and 21-14).


With 1:50 left in the first quarter, and after Parker picked up 36 yards in four consecutive carries to the Chesapeake 19, Roe completed a hitch pass to Bryce Wallace, who made the catch at the 10 and broke a tackle to score.


The Trojans then broke the 14-14 tie on the opening second-half series, as Roe hit Eric Purdy with a seven-yard strike at the 7:45 mark — aided by an earlier pass to Purdy for 13 yards and a Parker pickup of 36 to the Panther 13.




Purdy actually jumped and high-pointed the reception in front of Walsh, and took a hard hit from him as he hit the ground — but held onto the ball.


That capped a quick six-play, 78-yard four-minute move, as the weapons of Purdy (three receptions for 25 yards), Wallace (two receptions for 22 yards) and Michael Duncan (three receptions for 19 yards) do so much to take pressure off of Parker.


“With Drew Roe’s ability to get the ball out to those guys, and now the defense has to know where they are and cover them, that opens up even more lanes for Talyn to run in. It becomes pick your poison,” said Kalb. “Do you stack the box and stop Talyn Parker, or do you widen your defense out and allow Talyn the chance to do what he does best?”


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And, what Parker did best on Friday night was, as usual, break the big one — three times.


Portsmouth returns to OVC action next week when it travels to Fairland.


* * *


Chesapeake 7 7 0 6 — 20


Portsmouth 14 0 13 7 — 34


C— Will Todd, 3-yard run (Randy Wilson kick), 6:52, 1st (7-0 C)


P —Talyn Parker, 60-yard run (Joel Bowling kick), 6:34, 1st (7-7 tie)


P — Bryce Wallace, 19-yard pass from Drew Roe (Joel Bowling kick), 1:50, 1st (14-7 P)


C — Kamren Harless, 28-yard run (Randy Wilson kick), 9:31, 2nd (14-14 tie)


P — Eric Purdy, 7-yard pass from Drew Roe (Joel Bowling kick), 7:45, 3rd (21-14 P)


P — Talyn Parker, 59-yard run (kick failed), 3:50, 3rd (27-14 P)


P —Talyn Parker, 22-yard run (Joel Bowling kick), 5:39, 4th (34-14 P)


C — Donald Richendollar, 17-yard run (kick failed), 1:52, 4th (34-20 P)


Team Statistics


C P


First Downs 22 15


Scrimmage Plays 69 39


Rushes-Yards 66-351 29-361


Passing Yards 23 66


Total Yards 374 427


Cmp-Att-Int 1-3-0 7-10-1


Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-1


Penalties-Yards 7-58 8-61


Punts-Average 2-19 1-44


——


Individual Leaders


RUSHING —Chesapeake: Kamren Harless 26-166 TD, Will Todd 17-95 TD, Logan Walsh 9-48, Donald Richendollar 9-30 TD, Carson Nida 3-11, Randy Wilson 1-1, Team 1-0; Portsmouth: Talyn Parker 17-288 3TD, Drew Roe 8-25, Tyler McCoy 4-48


PASSING — Chesapeake: Donald Richendollar 1-3-0-23; Portsmouth: Drew Roe 7-10-1 66 2TD


RECEIVING — Chesapeake: Will Todd 1-23; Portsmouth: Eric Purdy 3-25 TD, Bryce Wallace 2-22 TD, Michael Duncan 2-19


		

			

			
Portsmouth

		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Offense															
																			CMP
													ATT
													INT
													PYDS
													TD
													ATT
													RUYDS
													TD
													REC
													REYDS
													TD
															

			
							
					
1Talyn Parker00000172763000
2Bryce Wallace000000002201
5Drew Roe71016326280000
14Michael Duncan000000002190
35Tyler McCoy000004460000
9Eric Purdy000000003241
				
										
											

							 Total71016322735037632						

									
					

			

	



		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Defense															
																			Sacks
													Tackles
													INT
													FGM
													FGA
															

			
							
									
										
											

							 Total00000						

									
					

			

	



			
Chesapeake

		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Offense															
																			CMP
													ATT
													INT
													PYDS
													TD
													ATT
													RUYDS
													TD
													REC
													REYDS
													TD
															

			
							
					
2Logan Walsh000009480000
3Carson Nida000003110000
4Will Todd00000179511230
5Kamren Harless00000261661000
8Randy Wilson00000110000
14Donald Richendollar1302309301000
				
										
											

							 Total1302306535131230						

									
					

			

	



		

		

			
				

																										#
														
																	Defense															
																			Sacks
													Tackles
													INT
													FGM
													FGA
															

			
							
									
										
											

							 Total00000						

									
					

			

	
		

		

	
Details

	

		

			
				

											Date
												Time
												League
												Season
										

			
			
				

											October 11, 2019
												7:00 pm
												OVC
												2019
										

			
		

	




	

		
Court

		

			
				

					Portsmouth
				

			
							
					

						
					

									
					

	

	


					


					
				



				
					


			
					
	
	

		

							

																			

						
			
Week 7 Roundup Preview: Wheelersburg @ Oak Hill, Wellston @ Nelsonville-York, Jackson @ Washington C.H.
		


		

			
Key games involve Jackson County clubs


 


By PAUL BOGGS


Photos by Ruth Boll,



	

			

						Oak Hill vs Wheelersburg		

				

			
		

	






So a lingering question for the Wheelersburg Pirates this week has been are they “back”?


 


What exactly are these Pirates back from probably depends upon subjective perspective, but – truth be told – Wheelersburg was never gone if you are referring to the Southern Ohio Conference Division II championship chase.


 


The Pirates did begin the season an uncharacteristic 2-3, but do remember they graduated the most successful senior class in school history – and lost to three teams with a current combined record of 16-2.


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Still, they entered SOC II competition as the consensus division favorite, and captured the gigantic conference opener last week with their colossal 21-20 overtime triumph at Minford.


 


It was the second such one-point overtime win for Wheelersburg, with 5-1 Ashland (34-33) being the other, as – with Minford now 5-1 – the Pirates picked up enough playoff points to vault them all the way to fifth in the OHSAA Division V Region 19 computer ratings.


 


This week, Wheelersburg invades Oak Hill, which is also 3-3 and just outside the Region 19 top-10 in 11th.




That matchup, no longer a non-league one, is now an SOC II encounter – and even a bit better one than originally anticipated in say the preseason.


 


Kickoff on Friday night inside sparkling Davis Stadium in Oak Hill is set for 7 p.m.


 


After a 20-point (35-15) mistake-filled loss at Jackson, the Pirates put together an effort for the ages in winning at Minford – and extending their SOC II win streak to 22 games.


 


“It was such a great step forward for us last week. We were finally at full strength health-wise for the first time all season, and we had a great week of preparation and practice,” said Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward. “We’ve overcome a lot of adversity and injuries already this year, we’ve played a great schedule to get us ready for the SOC II, and we keep getting better in all three phases.”


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The Oaks opened SOC II action at injury-riddled Valley, and escaped the Indians’ lair with a 21-16 victory – their second consecutive of the season.


 


Wheelersburg has dominated the series against the Oaks, who were members of the SOC I -and held a strangle-hold upon that division for the past decade.


 


The Pirates are another heavy favorite for a victory on Friday, but should they saddle themselves with more penalties and even turnovers, then Oak Hill has the opportunity at an upset.


 


The Oaks are primarily a run-oriented unit, while Wheelersburg enjoyed success both running and throwing a week ago.


Oak Hill Rushing
PlayerPositionATTRUYDSTD
Triston Diltz2020189105812
Keaton Potter20201066436
Noah Donley2020934424
Nate Clutters202310580
Cameron Kerns20219370
View all players


“I’m not sure what the expectation was for Oak Hill entering the year, but they’ve won a couple of big games in the last two weeks and we certainly expect them to give us another kind of challenge,” said Woodward. “At some point, we figured Oak Hill would move up to the SOC II, so that’s a big reason why we kept them on the schedule. They have shown an ability to run the football. Coach (Paul) Carver has done a good job in his first year there.”


 


 


Wellston at Nelsonville-York



	

			

						Nelsonville-York vs Wellston		

				

			
		

	






Speaking of good first years, new coach Mike Smith has the Wellston Golden Rockets off to their best start since a 6-1 beginning in 2004, which was the first season of two (also 2006) in which they qualified for the state playoffs.


 


The Golden Rockets opened that season with a loss to Jackson, ran off six straight victories, and then fell short at Nelsonville-York (13-8), which went on to capture the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division championship.


 


Fast forward 15 years, and the Golden Rockets return to Buckeye country having began this campaign at 5-1 – on a five-game winning streak following their final matchup against undefeated Jackson.


 


Wellston is 2-0 in the TVC-Ohio with two shutouts – an 8-0 blanking at Alexander and a 42-0 blowout of River Valley.


 


But, beginning with the Buckeyes on Friday night, the Golden Rockets really get into the meat of their schedule, as Athens – the defending division champion – comes calling next week, with archrival Vinton County looming soon.


 


Nelsonville-York – having lost to two of the top Division VI programs in all of Ohio in undefeateds Trimble and Fort Frye – has recovered nicely with four straight wins, including two lopsided ones over River Valley and Meigs in the TVC-Ohio.


RankPlayerPositionRECREYDSTD
1Brandon Phillips2021273153
2Keegan Wilburn2020233655
3Ethan Gail2021223013
4Drew Carter202292183
5Austin Thrapp202081252


The winner will, along with expected Athens, improve to 3-0 in the division.


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Kickoff inside historic Boston Field in Nelsonville is set for 7:30 p.m.


 


	

			

	
#
3
Name
Keegan Wilburn
Position
2020
Current Team
Nelsonville-York
Leagues
SEO, TVC-Ohio
Seasons
2019
 The Buckeyes sport senior running Keegan Wilburn – an Ohio University commit and the reigning Division VI Offensive Player of the Year.


 


Wilburn, a threat to score at any time he touches the football, has rushed for 475 yards and seven touchdowns on 35 carries – while catching 18 passes for 242 yards and four scores.


 


When Wilburn gains yardage, his average is a whopping 13-and-a-half yards per play.


 


He also has 94 receiving yards for 811 all-purpose.


 


#
11
Name
Rylan Molihan
Position
2020
Current Team
Wellston
Leagues
SEO, TVC-Ohio
Seasons
2019
 Wellston senior Rylan Molihan is the closest thing to Wilburn for the Rockets, as he has rushed for 712 yards and eight touchdowns on 87 carries, while making six receptions for 72 yards and one TD.


 


While Nelsonville-York last won the TVC-Ohio in back-to-back falls of 2016 and 2017, it’s been since back-to-back seasons of 2001 and 2002 when Wellston last won its only league championships.


	

			

	
#
4
Name
Mikey Seel
Position
2020
Current Team
Nelsonville-York
Leagues
SEO, TVC-Ohio
Seasons
2019


It’s also a massive contest involving OHSAA computer points, as the Buckeyes are 10th in Division VI Region 21, while Wellston is eighth in Division V Region 19.


The top eight teams in each region qualify for the playoffs – with the top four squads earning first-round home bouts.


 


 


Jackson at Washington Court House



	

			

						Miami Trace vs Jackson		

				

			
		

	






The Jackson Ironmen are actually at work with trying to make this season their seventh undefeated in school history.


 


In fact, under 11-year head coach Andy Hall, the Red and White went 10-0 in the regular season in 2011 and 2014 – so Hall has a chance at three for a decade.




The others were in 1996, 1961, 1954 and clear back during the Great Depression days in 1932.


 


Oh, but these Ironmen are anything but depressed, as they begin a three-game road stretch with what’s suddenly become an interesting encounter with Washington Court House.


 


The Blue Lions are 4-2, and aim to upset the visiting and undefeated Ironmen on Friday night at 7 p.m.


RankPlayerPositionRECREYDSTDFGA
1Eli Lynch20206675990
2Jerome Mack20202937980
3Calum Brown20232236230
4Jamie Mccane20201721440
5A.J. Dallmayer202386010
View all players


Jackson is the defending Frontier Athletic Conference champion with Hillsboro, but the Indians are only 3-3  – and the Ironmen are the overwhelming conference favorite.


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But the Ironmen – despite key victories last week by Wellston, Logan and especially Wheelersburg – fell to fifth this week with the latest release of the Division III, Region 11 computer ratings.


 


Jackson can regain some of that traction – and positioning – by defeating the Blue Lions, whose four victories are over teams with a combined record of a poor 4-20.


 


While Washington’s defense has vastly improved, as it surrendered 69 points to the host Ironmen a year ago, the Blue Lions must make major inroads in stopping Jackson’s powerful running attack.


 


Jayden Spires is the Ironmen’s leading rusher with 580 yards and six scores on 84 carries, while five other backs have carried at least 18 times – with Brice Graham going for 59.