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SPORTS
Friday night filled with action, disappointment
After a wild week on the football field, I am a little afraid to write this article. Friday night was filled with excitement and disappointment. Ironton's Coach Lutz, Chesapeake's Coach Davis and South Point's Coach Shilot must have felt like they were riding the Fire Hawk at Kings Island. Throughout their games, they were either on top of the world of excitement or in the pits of disappointment.
Coach Davis was the only coach to finish the night on top. Chesapeake defeated Oak Hill 30-29, but not without a nail-biting moment with 4.4 seconds left in the game. After Aaron Donahoe found Peter Hintz on a 36-yard touchdown pass followed by a run by Donahoe, the Panthers led 30 to 23, only for the Oaks to march down the field to score in the final seconds. Oak Hill lined up the two-point conversion and the win. Oak Hill quarterback had his sights on the receiver, but the pass fell short and the Panthers left with the win.
This game featured 12 fumbles and three interceptions. Donahoe finished with 214 yards passing on eight attempts and two touchdowns while he also rushed 19 times for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Kyle Webb caught four passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
Ironton's Coach Lutz felt his team was going finish on top only to fall to the ground in the final seconds. The Tigers took a 22-16 lead with three minutes to play after trailing by 16 at one point in the game. Wheelersburg backup quarterback stepped in the huddle with poise and led his team down the field and scored the winning touchdown with only 33 seconds to go in the game. Ironton lost 23-22.
In the losing effort, Johnathan Schweickart completed eight of his 16 passes for 86 yards. Keith Wetzel rushed for two touchdowns while Lukas Morris recovered a fumble and returned a Pirate punt to the four-yard line to set up one of Wetzel's touchdown.
Coach Shilot found his Pointers down by 14 early in the game, only to come back and take the lead 15-14. Doug Dillon gave the Pointers the lead early in the fourth quarter after the Pointers defense forced a safety. Portsmouth decided they had had enough and scored two more touchdowns for the 28-15 win. The Pointers' Jacob Seagraves carried the ball 12 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Portsmouth West spoiled Fairland Coach Snyder's second debut as the Dragons head coach with a 21-0 win. The Dragons, like everyone else that played on Friday night, were plagued by the turnover bug. The Dragons defense had to play with little or no field at their backs all night, but in the losing effort Cole Hatfield led the defense with an interception.
Symmes Valley got a huge win over Racine Southern by a score of 35-3. Evan Herrell led the Vikings rushing attack with 151 yards on 10 carries. He also added 35 yards on one catch. Kyle Bowman led the Vikings through the air with 76 yards passing on three completions with two of those completions leading to touchdowns. Bowman also rushed for one touchdown.
Rock Hill had a strong first half as they took a 7-7 score to the locker room, but Zane Trace decided they were going to steal the ball in the second half. The Redmen only ran 15 plays in the second half, which resulted in a loss 26-7. Freshman Will McCollister threw his first varsity touchdown pass as he connected with Mitchell Davenport in the first quarter.
Coal Grove amassed several yards Friday night at Meigs, but unfortunately they had a hard time finding the end zone. The Hornets lost 18-7. Chris Brammer carried the ball 29 times for 167 yards while teammate Frank Delawder had 76 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown.
My week was a lot like the week that these coaches faced -- not perfect, but there were some bright spots as I finished 3-3.
GAME OF THE WEEK: The Game of the Week will be Wheelersburg (1-0) at South Point (0-1): The Pirates are coming off a huge victory and could be in for a big letdown. The Pointers are looking to bounce back from their loss in a big way, but come up short once again. Prediction: Wheelersburg 17, South Point 13.
UPSET OF THE WEEK: The Upset of the Week will be Lucasville Valley (1-0) at Rock Hill (0-1): Coach Knipp will rally his team as they welcome the Indians to Redmen Country. Look for the young Redmen to settle their nerves and get their first win of the season in an upset. Prediction: Rock Hill 21, Lucasville Valley 17.
CHESAPEAKE (1-0) at WAYNE (0-0): Wayne will be opening up at revamped Pioneer Field and don't look for them to just throw out the welcome mat for the Panthers. The Pioneers will circle their wagons around the Panthers and tame them again this season. Prediction: Wayne 28, Chesapeake 7.
OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL (0-0) at IRONTON (0-1): The Olympics are over, but this week in Ironton it will be USA vS. Canada. The Tigers have had great success against the teams from up north, and don't look for things to change. Ironton sends Our Lady back to Mississauga, Ontario, wondering why they came all the way to Southern Ohio just to lose this game. Prediction: Ironton 35, Our Lady 14.
FAIRLAND (0-1) at MEIGS (1-0): Fairland has struggled this season with putting the ball in the end zone, but look for that struggle to end this week in Pomeroy. The Dragons learn how to score, but they struggle with the Marauders rushing attack. Both teams light up the scoreboard, but at the end of the night, Meigs will shine brighter. Prediction: Meigs 35, Fairland 28.
PAINT VALLEY (1-0) at COAL GROVE (0-1): The Hornets ran a lot last week, but got tripped up before they reached the end zone. Look for their luck to change this week. Paint Valley will try several different defenses to stop the rushing tandem of Delawder and Brammer, but nothing will work as the Hornets roll. Prediction: Coal Grove 28, Paint Valley 17.
MATEWAN (W.Va.) (0-0) at SYMMES VALLEY (1-0): This game will be so good, they are going to wait until Saturday night to play it. Matewan will make the long trip to Willow Wood looking for a win, but they will only be able to find a loss as the Vikings send them back nursing their wounds. Prediction: Symmes Valley 21, Matewan 14.
ILLINOIS STATE (0-0) at MARSHALL (0-0): Sports Illustrated has said Marshall will only win one game this season. Unless they meant the Herd would not win after the first week, they could be dead wrong. Marshall gets off on the right foot this season as they get the win. Prediction: Marshall 35, Illinois State 33.
YOUNGSTOWN STATE (0-0) at OHIO STATE (0-0): The Buckeyes kick off a third-straight quest toward the National Championship game and the "Beanie" Wells for Heisman Campaign in Columbus as they dominate the Penguins. Wells runs wild through the Youngstown secondary. Prediction: Ohio State 35, Youngstown 10.
Jeffrey Gorby is a freelance writer who lives and writes in Lawrence County, Ohio. He can be reached at gorby6@marshall.edu.
