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ST. MARYS -- Defense and special teams carried the St. Marys football team on its shoulders after the 15th-ranked Blue Devils posted a much-needed win over 10th-ranked East Hardy, 29-21, Friday night at Bill Hanlin Stadium.
Ashton Boron opened the scoring for St. Marys (7-2) with a 36-yard punt return for a score at the 1:03 mark of the first quarter, which put the Blue Devils in front 7-6. On the ensuing drive, Noah Wince returned another punt to the East Hardy 29. The Blue Devils did not convert on their end, but the Wince's effort turned the field around in St. Marys' favor.
Combined with a personal foul penalty, St. Marys began its next drive at the East Hardy 13. On the fifth play of the drive, Owen Ramsey caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Luke Powell.
Leading 14-13 at halftime, East Hardy (7-2) scored on its final points of the game on the opening drive of the second half.
Trailing 21-13 late in the third quarter, East Hardy faced 4th-and-inches from its own 27. Boron made the hit on the ballcarrier, who lost control of the ball. Teammate Sharkie Lewis recovered the fumble and returned the scoop-and-score 15 yards. With 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter, St. Marys tied East Hardy at 21-21.
An East Hardy drive in the fourth quarter lasted seven plays and covered 47 yards before it stalled out at the St. Marys 18. Placekicker Dawson Price kicked the 35-yard field attempt wide left, and gave St. Marys an opportunity to take the lead.
The Blue Devils' ensuing drive began at their 20. On third-and-6 from the East Hardy 48, St. Marys executed the hook-and-lateral beautifully with Chance Cox handing the ball to Boron for a 23 net gain.
On the very next play, Ramsey sprinted 25 yards for the game-winning touchdown. After the two-point conversion, St. Marys led 29-21 with 1:10 showing on the clock.
East Hardy nearly had an answer when Ashton Haslacker returned the kickoff into the St. Marys red zone. A holding call on the play brought the ball back to the East Hardy 43. St. Marys held on downs and secured the win.
Williamstown 41, Doddridge County 14
WEST UNION -- In almost a duplicate of last year's Class A semifinal game, top-ranked Williamstown erupted for 34 points in the first half and defeated eight-ranked Doddridge County, 41-14.
At the same site last season in the playoffs, the Yellowjackets took a 40-0 lead into halftime against the Bulldogs.
In the third meeting between the two schools in less than two years, Williamstown scored on its first possessions and added a fifth TD when Harbor Haught returned a blocked punt 33 yards for a fifth Yellowjacket TD.
Williamstown worked the clock on its first two drives, needing nine plays to convert both times. Rickie Allen scored on a 5-yard line on the game's first series. After the Bulldogs went three-and-out, the Yellowjackets went to work again, converting both third-down attempts on the drive.
Out of the T-formation, quarterback Maxwell Molessa scored from three yards on the keeper. At the 1:14 mark of the first quarter, Williamstown led 14-0.
Doddridge County which did not record a first down until the second quarter, faced fourth-and-3 from the Williamstown 40, but defender Logan White knocked the ball out of Seth Richards' hands on a potential first down catch.
The Yellowjackets needed just three plays to drive 60 yards, which was capped by Lynken Joy's touchdown pass to Molessa.
Another Bulldog three-and-out was followed by a Yellowjacket drive which resulted in a13-yard TD pass from Colt Hesson to Haught.
Williamstown's special teams rose to the occasion. Forced to punt on the ensuing Doddridge County punter Gabe Stewart had his kick blocked and Haught picked up the loose ball and raced 33 yards for the TD with 2:41 still remaining in the first half.
The Williamstown defense allowed just three first downs by halftime.
Point Pleasant 28, Ripley 24
RIPLEY -- Ripley fell behind by two touchdowns with three minutes remaining in regulation, Ripley gave itself an opportunity but ran out of time in a 28-24 loss to Point Pleasant on Friday.
Virgil Myers scored the last of his three touchdowns with 1:20 showing to cut into a 28-16 deficit. He finished with 215 yards on 28 carries.
Evan Roach led Point Pleasant with 162 yards rushing and four TDs.
Clay-Battelle 40, Calhoun County 6
BLACKSVILLE -- Zachary Hall carried the ball 27 times for 320 yards and scored three touchdowns as Clay-Battelle defeated Calhoun County 40-6 on Friday night.
Clay-Battelle, which improved to 5-4, gained 502 yards on the ground and did not attempt a pass.
Ian Persinger scored the lone TD for Calhoun County (1-8) and finished with 156 yards on 18 carries.
Ohio Division VI, Region 23 Playoffs
No. 1 Fort Frye 57, No. 16 Elgin 6
BEVERLY -- A 57-point first half was the story of Fort Frye's 57-6 first-round playoff victory over Elgin Friday night.
The Cadets (10-1) advanced to the Division VI, Region 23 quarterfinals where they'll take on Shenandoah next week.
The top-seeded Cadets could not be stopped on the ground Friday, rushing 30 times for 395 yards as a team.
Owen Brown rushed four times for 116 yards, with all four attempts going for touchdowns. Ethan Duskey (4 carries, 84 yards) and Austin Powell (3-78) both had rushing touchdowns as well while Braxton Brown had a 40-yard touchdown catch from Clayton Miller.
Fort Frye also had a defensive touchdown when Keegan Strode returned a fumble 19 yards to the house.
Miller was 3 for 4 passing for 64 yards.
Division VII, Region 27 Playoffs
No. 5 Waterford 47, No. 12 Southern 6
WATERFORD -- Jake Pantelidis had the passing attack working in Waterford's 47-6 first-round playoff victory over Southern Friday.
The senior quarterback completed 12 of 17 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. The Wildcats (8-3) will visit Eastern in next week's Division VII, Region 27 quarterfinals.
Mason Heiss was Pantelidis' top target, hauling in six passes for 114 yards and a 42-yard touchdown. Max Roberts (16 yards) and Lane Cline (18 yards) also had TD receptions.
Dylan Taylor had a big game on the ground, rushing nine times for 125 yards and two scores, including the go-ahead touchdown in the first quarter.
The game was tied at 6-all after Pantelidis rushed for an 8-yard touchdown and Southern answered with a 12-yard TD run by Brady McCauley.
Waterford then scored 41 unanswered points, including a 4-yard TD run by Cline.
The Wildcats' defense shut down the Tornadoes (4-7), limiting them to 77 total yards of offense.
Division VII, Region 27 Playoffs
Eastern 34, Shadyside 6
REEDSVILLE, Ohio -- The Eastern Eagles made history with their 34-6 first-round playoff victory over Shadyside Friday.
The Eagles (9-2) claimed the first home playoff victory in Meigs County history, a significant accomplishment for this year's group.
"It's definitely an amazing event in the lives of these young men," said Eastern head coach Jason Jackson. "It's great for the community, the administration, the school, the students. We had the game in hand, but everybody here stayed the whole time. When they announced it was the first home playoff win in county history, the stadium went crazy. These kids have worked so hard. I'm very proud of them."
Rylee Barrett rushed 21 times for 121 yards and a touchdown. Gavin Smith added 18 rushes for 120 yards and a pair of scores. Brady Yonker was 3 for 5 passing for 27 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Murphy, and also ran for 40 yards and a touchdown on five attempts.
The Eagles will play host to Waterford next week in the regional quarterfinals. Eastern fell to the Wildcats 29-13 in regular season play.
"That's a well-coached team," Jackson said. "Coach (Eric) McCutcheon does a great job. (Jake) Pantelidis is one of the best quarterbacks we've seen."
Wirt County 34, Madonna 21
WEIRTON -- Trailing 21-14 late in the third, Wirt County scored 20 unanswered points to claim a 34-21 victory Friday night.
Chase Lowe's 75-yard touchdown run, followed by a Brandon Richards two-point pass to Cole Winnell, gave Wirt (5-4) the lead for good. Lowe finished with 160 yards on 18 carries.
Channing Lowe helped secure the win for the Tigers, catching a 15-yard TD pass from Richards and rushing for an 11-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
Channing Lowe had four total touchdowns as he scored on runs of 2 and 60 to help Wirt take a 14-7 lead in the third before Madonna (4-5) answered with 14 straight points. Channing Lowe carries 11 times for 95 yards.
Madonna saw quarterback Lucas McAllister complete 16 of 31 passes for 368 yards and three touchdowns, two to Shawn McFarland, who had eight receptions for 268 yards.
Tyler Consolidated 55, Valley (Wetzel) 7
KIDWELL -- Valley Wetzel gave Tyler Consolidate a bit of a scare for nearly a full quarter before the Silver Knights responded with 55 unanswered points for a 55-7 victory on Friday.
Gavin Derby's 6-yard run put Valley in front 7-0 at the 4:53 mark of the first quarter. The shutout remainined intact until Tyler Consolidated's Brady Strode for a 13-yard touchdown pass to Branson Winfrey on the final play from scrimmage in the period. Strode finished with 176 yards through the air and four TDs.
Branson WInffrey finished the night with 127 yards on the ground and three TDs, including a pair in the fourth quarter on runs of 36 and 63 yards. Teammate Sage Landis caught a pair touchdowns receptions, while Sean WInfrey led the Silver Knights with 152 yards rushing.