Photo credit: Kim North
No matter what high school football game fans were attending around the Ohio Valley on Friday, they all experienced some sort of weather delay, to varying degrees, but Mother Nature was the real winner.
The weather creator unleashed his fury in the third week of the season, bringing rain, lightning and thunder to games from Burnsville to Woodsfield, Morristown, Wheeling, St. Clairsville, Bellaire, Tuscarawas County and beyond.
In Burnsville, fans had to endure not one, not two, not three, not four but five 30-minute stoppages in the game early in the second quarter when the Shamrocks were leading 21-0 against Buckeye Trail. After each 30-minute stoppage, the teams returned to the field to warm up, only to be told by the referee to return to their respective locker rooms due to thunder and lightning.
After the fourth stoppage, play resumed and the Warriors scored to close the gap to 21-8, but before the home team could get the ball in, thunder rumbled again and they returned to the locker room with just over five minutes left in the second quarter. It was 10:35 p.m., more than three and a half hours after kickoff.
When play resumed around the 11:00 mark, Burnsville quickly built a 30-point lead and, with the clock never stopping in the second half, won 47-8 with the final time at 11:30.
“It was definitely tough,” Burnsville head coach Blake Allen said.
At Red Devil Stadium in St. Clairsville, the Red Devils and visiting team Beaver Local played until 12:40 a.m., St. Clairsville coach Brett McLean said.
“We had a couple of delays,” McLean said after his team cruised to a 27-21 victory.
At Jets Field in Morristown, Union Local withstood a valiant challenge from Indian Creek, with the Redskins failing on a two-point try just over five minutes into the game.
“The game ended at 11:26 p.m.,” Union Local Athletic Director Nick Nardo said in an email. “It lasted four and a half hours.”
At Monroe Park in Woodsfield, the game between the county rivals was stopped in the fourth quarter with the Seminoles holding a commanding 52-6 lead.
At Wheeling Island Stadium, Wheeling Park was trailing Spring Mills, 27-0, when lightning halted the game late in the third quarter.
Further up the road at Wheeling University, Wheeling Central lost to Fort Frye 38-19 with the game ending with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter.
At Nelson Field in Berea, the Big Reds were leading Bishop Tonos of Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, 16-13 just two plays into the third quarter before the game was finally called off.
At Trojan Stadium in Zoirville, Martins Ferry and Tuscarawas Valley were thwarted multiple times, but the Purple Riders came away with a commanding 34-3 victory.
Game canceled while injured Wildcat recovers
Late in the first quarter of Friday night’s Paden City-Torcia game in Glen Hayes, Wildcats senior lineman Isaiah Brady suffered a knee injury and was taken off the field in an ambulance.
Paden City athletic director Stacey Yoho said Brady is recovering well and is awaiting an MRI.
“He’s doing well,” Yoho reported.
Paden City also announced that its scheduled home game against Greenbriar West on Friday night at Burger Field has been canceled.
“Due to injuries and illness, Paden City High School has canceled its game against Greenbrier West scheduled for Sept. 13,” Yoho said in a statement Monday. “Our number one priority is the health and safety of our players. We thank the football community and Greenbrier West for their support. We will now focus on getting healthy so we can complete the season.”
Seminoles Scoring Machine
Monroe Central’s Tucker Howell ran for six touchdowns in the Seminoles’ dominating 52-6 win over Monroe County rival River on Friday. The senior quarterback ran 10 times for 263 yards.
Striped Shamrock
Burnsville defeated Buckeye Trail 47-8 to remain unbeaten and win its 29th straight regular season game. It has also won 13 straight home games. Both streaks date back to the 2021 season.
Running Wild
St. Clairsville’s Dino Burke carried the ball 25 times for 257 yards and four touchdowns as the Red Devils held off Beaver Local, 27-21.
Union Local’s Brody Perzanowski carried the ball 29 times for 184 yards and the Jets withstood a threat from Indian Creek en route to a 27-26 victory. Creek’s Zion McGee ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass for a total of four.
Do it all
Toronto quarterback Zeb Kinsey ran for points twice and threw touchdown passes of 64 and 85 yards as the Red Knights shut out Weir High School, 50-0.
Edison College quarterback J.D. Henderson contributed five of the Wildcats’ six scores and 307 of the Wildcats’ 367 yards of offense, completing just six passes for 182 yards and two scores and rushing nine times for 125 yards and three runs into the end zone in a 42-24 win over Southern Local College.
Madonna quarterback Maddox Bowen passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for six more scores in a 28-8 win over Clay Battelle, with four of his passes going for 34 yards or more.
Buckeye local Chase Waura rushed all over the field, scoring two rushing touchdowns, recovering a blocked punt for six points and forcing two fumbles.
First career win
Buckeye Local rookie head coach Chris Kiedaish earned his first win as the visiting Panthers defeated Shadyside 41-20 at Fleming Field.
Prior to serving as an assistant for the Cadets, Kiedaish played quarterback at Linsley High School.
(This summary has been compiled from statistics reported to The Intelligencer Sports Department. Stats can be sent to knorth@theintelligencer.net or nhenthorn@theintelligencer.net preferably on the Friday night after the game, but no later than Monday.)
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