MATCHING FOR YARDS — Big Red’s Ziare Scully struggles with a tackle from an Athens defender after making the catch during a Division III, Region 11 playoff game Friday at Harding Stadium. – Andrew Grimm
STEUBENVILLE — The final walk down the ramp was a happy one indeed for the Big Red seniors.
Steubenville, playing its final game of the season at Harding Stadium, played on both sides of the ball Friday night, crushing visiting Athens 35-14 and advancing to the regional semifinals.
“I’m proud of the way our players played and I’m proud of the way our coaches prepared.” Big Red head coach Leno Saccoccia said. “I’m happy to be a part of the senior class. This is a great senior class. I’m glad they got the win and shut down Harding Stadium.”We are happy but not satisfied. We still have work to do. ”
The Big Red, currently 12-0 and the No. 2 seed in Division III, Region 11, will play No. 11 Dover next week at a neutral site. The Crimson Tornadoes came back from a 21-0, 35-21 deficit to defeat No. 3 Tri-Valley 37-35 on Friday.
“It gets harder from here, but that’s what I want to do.” Mr. Saccoccia said. “The further we go, the harder it gets. But the further we go, the harder we get.”
The Big Red defense made two big fourth-down stops on its own end in the first half to keep the seventh-seeded Bulldogs (10-2) at bay, while the offense struggled in the second and third quarters. Things started to get underway in earnest, and we started moving towards the opening. 35-0 lead.
“We swerved, but (the defense) didn’t break down. I think the second group was good as well.” Mr. Saccoccia said. “We stopped them on a couple of fourth downs. Congratulations (Athens) on a good season.”
Jalen Minniefield had seven carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns, and Aiden Davis went 11-of-15 for 247 yards and one touchdown and another score. I aimed. He spread the ball out to six different receivers, with Nolan Blackburn catching three passes for 88 yards and a score.
When Big Red first got the ball, they moved right down the field and used an eight-play, 79-yard drive to take the lead. Davis went 3-for-3 for 72 yards on the drive, hitting Brody Saccoccia for 27 yards and Tre Wiggins for 39 yards before crossing the goal line himself for a 7-0 lead.
The score remained the same after several stops by both defenses, but again a big pass from Davis set up the score early in the second quarter. Davis hit a 65-yard pass to Ziare Scully for a 65-yard connection and then scored in the next quarter. On the next snap, Kajuan Bryant continued the rest of the game to make it 14-0.
Athens pushed it to the Big Red 2 with their next attack, but a false start made 4-1 turn into 4-6, and Big Red’s defense stopped them.
On the next drive, Steubenville gained 93 yards in 12 plays, and Minniefield gained 64 yards on the drive, capping it off with a 5-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 by halftime.
In the third quarter, Davis scored a 39-yard touchdown for Blackburn to make it 28-0, but he scored again on the next drive, this time for 32 yards to bring Athens to the eight points and Minnie Field. set the stage for his second TD. Next snap.
The Bulldogs stopped the running in the fourth quarter with a scoring run from Alex Pero (177 yards on 34 carries) and a TD pass from Daniel Heitland to Leo Martin.
OHSAA Division III, Region 11 Playoffs
Regional Quarterfinals at Harding Stadium
2nd place Steubenville 35, 7th place Athens 14
A 0-0-0-14 – 14
S 7-14-14-0 – 35
Scoring the play
1st quarter
S: Davis 1 run (Bowers kick) 10:44
2nd quarter
S: Bryant 5 runs (Bowers kick) 8:49
S: Minnie Field 5 runs (Bowers kick) 1:11
3rd quarter
S: Blackburn 39 Pass from Davis (Bowers kick) 4:41
S: Minnie Field 8 runs (Bowers kick) 1:49
4th quarter
A: Pero 4 runs (Porter kick) 4:06
A: Martin, 18 passes from Heitland (Porter kick) :46
Rush: Athens 44-198-TD (Perro 34-177-TD; Heitland 8-9; Martin 2-12); Steubenville 19-118-4TD (Hopkins 2-10; Davis 3-5-TD; Scully 1 -5; Bryant 3-24; Minniefield 7-72-2TD; Hyson 2-3; Haney 1-(-1)
Pass: Athens 8-14-105-TD (all by Heitland). Steubenville 11-17-247-TD (Davis 11-15-247-TD; Haney 0-2)
Receptions: 8-105-TD (Sutton 3-44; Hart 1-8; Martin 4-53-TD); Steubenville 11-247-TD (Saccoccia 1-27; Hopkins 1-9; Wiggins 1-39; Crozier 3-11; Scully 2-82; Blackburn 3-88-TD)
First downs: Athens 14; Steubenville 12
Penalty Yards: Athens 4-20; Steubenville 2-20
Lost fumble: Athens 0-0. Steubenville 1-1
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