WARRIORS REFUSE TO LOSE

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ALLIANCE, OH- The West Branch Warriors have been red hot coming into Friday’s game, but were still looking for that signature win on the season. West Branch secured a signature 42-35 win over a very tough Alliance Aviators team on the road.

 

West Branch got on the board first when Quarterback Dru Deshields connected with Christian Martig for a 32 yard touchdown pass to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead. Alliance answered right back with a 23 yard touchdown run from QB B Zurbrugg to tie it up at 7-7! West Branch answered the challenge once again, scoring on a 10 yard touchdown pass from Deshilds to receiver Michael Kanagy making the score 14-7.

 

The two teams would continue to score points! Alliance took the late lead 35-34, but with 2:22 left in the game Dru Deshields let the warriors right down the field. West Branch converted on two big 4th downs to keep the drive alive. Running back Boston Mulinix scored the game winning touchdown for West Branch.

 

Leading the way for West Branch was Dru Deshields who had 283 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. Receiver Christian Martig also had a big game with 8 catches for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. Deshields also had 62 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Alliance was led by Quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg who had 169 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Aviator running back Kayden Davis also had a nice game with 2 touchdowns. 

 

West Branch travels to Carrollton next Friday for another key EBC matchup

*Contributed By YSN’s Michael Ginocchi

FITCH THE LAST ONES STANDING IN FOUR OVERTIME MARATHON

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WADSWORTH OH- An early October Friday night brought plenty of interesting matchups to the forefront of YSN. `With a brisk football breeze filling the air, the one-loss Fitch Falcons traveled to Art Wright Stadium for the first time to battle a two-loss Wadsworth Grizzlies football team! With a ton of computer points on the line, with Fitch sitting at 4th place (Division 2, Region 5) and Wadsworth at 3rd place (Division 1, Region 1) heading into Friday night. Being the third meeting all-time between the two programs, Fitch has staked claim to victory in the previous two matchups. The first one came all the way back on November 18th, 2014 with Wadsworth traveling to Fitch and dropping a playoff game to The Falcons 15-3. The most recent game between the two squads came in the 2021 campaign, when Wadsworth again visited Austintown, this time it was the first regular season matchup between the teams. 

A scoreless first quarter by both teams ensued, with both squads offenses testing the waters, but the defensive units on both sides slammed the door shut on early scoring opportunities. Wadsworth would strike first, thanks to Will Stack checking in under center for starter Luke Fischer, taking it to the house inside the goal line to put The Grizzlies up. An immediate response from Fitch on the very next play, with Dan Evans III (DE3) taking the first Falcon possession of the second quarter the distance on a kickoff return for a touchdown! Wadsworth had a response loaded in the form of a 32 yard striked from Luke Fischer to Aaron Keating, putting The Grizzlies back in front! A missed extra point by Wadsworth separated the two teams by six points, marking the second time in consecutive years that The Grizzlies would hold a halftime lead on Austintown.

Fitch attempted an onside kick that was thought to be recovered initially which would have made it Falcons ball to start the half. However, after a meeting by the officials, it was determined a whistle was never blown, erasing the play from the game. Motivated to get the ball back and not let Wadsworth add to their advantage. DE3 came up big once again for Austintown, this time Evans grabbed a key interception off of Fischer to give Fitch an opportunity at their first lead of the ballgame. DeShawn Vaughn Jr. found nearly 80 yards of running room, breaking out of the pocket and taking it all the way for a score! Josiah Baerni made the extra point to give Fitch their first lead of the game 14-13 in the third. 

Unwavered by the deficit, The Grizzlies Luke Fischer played game manager against The Falcons, effectively driving down the field ending with Fischer linking up with Stack for another score. Redeeming the missed extra point earlier in the game, Fischer found Keating for a two point conversion, putting Wadsworth up by seven. 

After being shut down in a couple drive attempts, Vaughn got The Falcons back in the red zone, where he once again utilized his legs to even things back up with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Little did the fans know that this would be the final score they would see in regulation, as both teams were deadlocked at 21 a piece after four quarters of play, meaning we were heading to overtime. 

Both running backs were featured in the first overtime, with Wadsworth getting the first possession in OT, Kyle Figuray made The Falcons pay with a 6 yard rushing touchdown to open up extra football. Fitch’s D.J. Williams, who stepped up in place of a banged up Jamell James, broke the plane from 5 yards deep to send things to a second overtime. Austintown got the ball to start double overtime, as possessions alternate with each OT, meaning The Falcons needed to score. The Grizzlies beared down on defense and forced a rare interception by DeShawn Vaughn Jr. to give themselves an opportunity to get their first ever win against Austintown. Settling for a field goal, Wadsworth looked to walk it off on their homecoming night. All of a sudden, soaring in to make the save, J’Allen Underwood from The Falcons ate the field goal attempt in a game saving block. 

Forcing triple overtime, The Grizzlies were due to get the ball right back, which they handled in emphatic fashion! In a one play, one pass strike from Luke Fischer to Davis Nye for 20 yards, getting Wadsworth the lead once again. Fitch got the ball back and had to score or suffer defeat. The three headed dragon was featured once again, this time one offense, as DE3 grabbed a pass and catch attempt from Vaughn and finessed his way into the endzone from 16 yards. Thus sending the two teams to quadruple overtime, the longest game in the 96-year history of Austintown Football. The Falcons had the ball to start and kept feeding that man D.J. Williams, until the back hit paydirt for his second time on the night to give Fitch the advantage. With their backs against the wall, Wadsworth needed a score to force a fifth overtime. The Grizzlies, after an injury suffered by their running back Figuray, were forced into a pass heavy attack on offense. Then, with easily the play of the night, Davion Pritchard grabbed the game-winning pick off Fischer in the endzone to cap off the instant classic and seal it as a Falcons victory! 

A tough loss for Wadsworth (5-3) will now see The Grizzlies play host to North Royalton (4-4) in a battle of The Bears on Friday, October 14th! The win will now send Fitch (7-1) back home to entertain their ultimate rival in The Boardman Spartans (4-4) also on October 14th. 

Scoring by Quarter

Q1: Fitch 0 – 0 Wadsworth

Q2: Fitch 7 – 13 Wadsworth

Q3: Fitch 7 – 8 Wadsworth

Q4: Fitch 7 – 0 Wadsworth

OT: Fitch 7 – 7 Wadsworth

2OT: Fitch 0 – 0 Wadsworth

3OT: Fitch 7 – 7 Wadsworth

4OT: Fitch 7 – 0 Wadsworth

Final: Fitch 42 – 35 Wadsworth

Stats (Fitch)

Passing-

DeShawn Vaughn Jr. : 11/18, 111 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT. 

Rushing-

D.J. Williams: 33 CAR, 139 YDS, 2 TD. 

DeShawn Vaughn Jr. : 11 CAR, 132 YDS, 2 TD. 

J’Allen Underwood: 1 CAR, 5 YDS.

Receiving- 

Dan Evans III: 6 REC, 33 YDS, 1 TD. 

Jayden Eley: 2 REC, 49 YDS.

D.J. Williams: 2 REC, 26 YDS. 

Cam Smith: 1 REC, 3 YDS. 

Defense:

Dan Evans III: 4 TAK, 1 INT. 

Christian Latone: 11 TAK, 1 TFL, 1 Sack. 

Xavier Dahn: 9 TAK.

Davion Pritchard: 5 TAK, 1 INT. 

DeShawn Vaughn Jr. : 5 TAK.

J’Allen Underwood: 5 TAK. 

Brian Robinson: 5 TAK, 1 TFL. 

D.J. Williams: 1 TAK, 1 TFL, 1 Sack. 

Special Teams/Kicking-

Josiah Berni: 7/7 XP, 0/1 FG (25 YDS). 

Dan Evans III: 1 TD Returned (88 YDS)

J’Allen Underwood: 1 Blocked Field Goal 

Stats (Wadsworth)

Passing-

Luke Fischer: 17/37, 273 YDS, 3 TD, 2 INT. 

Rushing-

Kyle Figuray: 28 CAR, 121 YDS, 1 TD. 

Will Stack: 4 CAR, 12 YDS, 1 TD. 

Receiving- 

Will Stack: 9 REC, 96 YDS, 1 TD. 

Davis Nye: 4 REC, 73 YDS, 1 TD. 

Aaron Keating: 3 REC, 86 YDS, 1 TD. 

Tommy Arnold: 1 REC, 18 YDS. 

Defense-

Maverick Blackburn: 10 TAK, 1.5 TFL. 

Gavin Madigan: 8 TAK, 2.5 TFL.

Ian Kaufman: 5 TAK, 1 INT. 

Davis Nye: 5 TAK, 1 TFL.

Brayden Probst: 4 TAK, 1 TFL.

Brandon Sams: 3 TAK, 1 TFL. 

Parker Ross: 2 TAK, 1 TFL. 

Special Teams/Kicking-

Jack Dinwiddie: 3/4 XP, 0/1 FG (24 YDS)

Penalties/YDS (Game)

Austintown: 11/89 YDS

Wadsworth: 7/56YDS

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

UNITED STAYS GOLDEN

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Week in and week out Friday nights for United could be looked at as another trip to the office. The Golden Eagles reported for work this week and it was business as usual as United quickly dispatched Wellsville 41-8 on Homecoming night.

The United offense struck quickly as Andrew Ogilvie put the Eagles on the board, capping off their opening drive from 1 yard out making it 7-0. The Eagles defense quickly handed the ball back to its offense forcing a Tiger 3 and out. Gavin Berger would this time cap off the United scoring drive on a 9 yard rushing touchdown making it 14-0. Next possession for the Eagles saw Brock Rhodes start his stellar performance on the night with a 15 yard touchdown reception making it 20-0 at the end of the first quarter. Rhodes would finish the night with 3 catches and 60 yards receiving. Luke Courtney would add a 1 yard 2nd quarter score to make it 27-0 at the half.

Out of the locker room both coaches agreed to a running clock making the 3rd quarter go by quickly.  The 4th quarter finally saw some offensive fireworks by both teams playmakers. United back up quarterback Parker Newburn would hit Grant Knight in the flats and the talented wideout did the rest as he took it 73 yards  for the score putting United on top 34-0.  The next drive saw Wesllsville finally crack the code on offense as the Tigers relied heavily on Gavin Kountz, 19 carries 70 yards, as the Tigers were able to move the football. Isaiah Greathouse would finish the drive on a spectacular 34 yard scamper making the score 34-8. Greathouse would finish the night carrying the ball 13 times for 95 yards. United’s Brock Rhodes would finish the scoring frenzy in the 4th quarter as the senior wideout would take the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to the endzone for his second kick return touchdown in as many weeks, capping the score at 41-8.

Wellsville (3-5, 2-3),currently 17th in Division VII Region 25, is still alive for a playoff berth, as they return home next Friday welcoming Valley Christian to Tiger Town. United (6-1, 4-1), currently 10th in Division VI Region 21 must keep the winning pace to work their way into the top 8  if they are to secure a home playoff game. The Eagles  welcome Lisbon to Hanoverton for a week 9 matchup.

*Contributed By YSN’s Chris Sigler

EAGLES PERCH THEMSELVES ATOP EOAC

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SALINEVILLE OH- On the coldest night of the year so far, the two top teams in the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference met on the gridiron with history in their minds. The Southern Indians came in with hopes of their fourth conference title in five years and their second undefeated season since 2019. They defended home field for the first time against the Valley Christian Eagles who came in on the hunt of their first conference crown in fifteen years and a shot at their first ever undefeated season.

This game was an instant classic that sent us back in time as Southern’s nearly 100-year-old offensive scheme dominated the trenches for three quarters of football. Their offensive line opened some huge holes that the Indians runners were able to gallop through time and time again. They were led by Wyatt Morris who had some of the biggest runs of the day. Quarterback Ryan Exline was the only Indian to reach the endzone, as he punched it in on a QB sneak in the first half. Drive after drive they were able to push onto the Valley Christian side of the field, but Valley’s defense eventually stopped them before the endzone. However, despite the dominant front line this would be the only six points they could muster against the ferocious War Eagles redzone defense.

Valley Christian did not have a great start to the game. They had to punt over and over and couldn’t get the ball moving. The 4-4 Southern defense shut down every run Valley Christian tried to put on the field. The Eagles would go three quarters without even sniffing the redzone. That would all change as the clock ticked inside of the final twelve minutes. As on the first play of the fourth quarter Jhordan Peete would complete just his second pass of the day as he found VeShun Gurley streaking over the middle of the field for the first time all night for a 41-yard touchdown reception. This would light the fire for the dormant Valley Christian offense. As off the touchdown they would hold Southern to a three-and-out. Then disaster struck the Indians, as a high snap on the fourth down punt was muffed and punter Markell Smith would attempt to pick it up and find a lane, but Valley was in hot pursuit and tackled him down at the one-yard line. The next play Valley would send in the beast known as Jon’Trell Mixon who jumped down the middle of his offensive line through a horde of Indians to score their second touchdown of the fourth quarter.

This would be the final nail in the coffin of tonight’s instant classic as Valley’s defense forced another stop with a two-possession lead and was then able to drain the clock down to zeros to win the game. Valley Christian and Southern put together the best game in the EOAC this season and left everyone wanting a rematch. Southern’s undefeated season comes to an end following Friday night’s loss as they are now (7-1), but despite the loss their title hopes are not completely out of the picture. They will travel on the road next week to take on East Palestine and then will finish the season back in the Wigwam against United. They can still win either the whole or a partial title if Valley was to lose one or both of their next two games and they were to win out. That doesn’t seem overly likely as Valley Christian is now (8-0) and has Wellsville on the road next week, and East Palestine in Week 10 back in John Knapick. If Valley Christian wins just one of the two games they will split the title, but if they win out and complete their first ever undefeated season, then they will be known as the undisputed 2022 EOAC champions.

*Contributed By YSN’s Alek Koberna

WILDCATS CREATE PROBLEMS FOR NILES

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NILES OH- Playoffs are on the horizon and for these teams a win can save your season, but a loss can make you go packing. Niles needs just two wins in order to make the playoffs, while a Struthers win could get them some more points and get a lock in. That action took place at Bo Rein Stadium, the Eastwood Mall Field on Friday as the Jim Parry led Niles McKinley Red Dragons (2-5) hosted the NE8 conference rivals John Bayuk and Struthers Wildcats (3-4). Niles has a record against Struthers in the 2000s with it being 10-8 but would that happen Friday?

A few keys in this game was also some returning players for the Red Dragons in Matt Keeley making his return for a second week while Antuan Gardner was wearing a cast but would play both sides of the ball. Gardner did not play for the last six games before opening week against Howland.

The start of the first quarter was a defensive struggle for both teams up until the end of the first where Struthers got two touchdowns. The first was an Alec Grzyb five yard run making it 7-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Red Dragons talented receiver in Nathan Coots had a nice return but fumbled the ball as it was recovered by Struthers. One play later, Tyler Sanchez took it up the middle 61-yards for the score making it 13-0 after the missed PAT.

In the second half, Struthers extended their lead, taking a play from the 2017-18 super bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Wildcats used a Philly special with Grzyb and Robert Carcelli making it 20-0.

Many thought that would be it but it wouldn’t. Niles got the offense rolling with quarterback Anthony Budak finding chemistry with Coots. Which led to Coots scoring six yards out making it 20-6. Niles then recovered a Keyshon Talley onside kick which led to Budak finding Jamari White in the back of the endzone in tight coverage making it 20-13.

However, Struthers turned up the jets. Instead of running the clock, Jason Dukes off a play action found Grzyb as both switched places. The play worked to perfection resulting in a touchdown making it 27-13. Niles drove down the field but a few run plays with Gardner and a missed fourth down conversion ended up being the game as Struthers saved their playoff hopes with a 27-13 victory.

Stats
Struthers:

Grzyb: 6-8 72 yards passing. 14 carries for 76 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Sanchez 13 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Niles:

Gardner: 23 carries for 85 yards

Coots: seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown.

Next
Niles (2-6) will have to win their next two matchups, the first being against the Hubbard Eagles (5-3) (2-3 in NE8) at Hubbard next week.

Struthers (4-4) will host Girard (6-2) (3-2) in the NE8 and can be locked in fully with a win next week.

After the game, Ian O’Brien caught up with coach John Bayuk and quarterback Alec Grzyb about the game and what to expect next week.

*contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*

SALEM RUNS OUT IF BULLETS IN SHOOTOUT

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In series that’s been decided by a total of five points over the last three meetings, the Quakers and Warriors did not disappoint on Friday night, with the Warriors winning a shootout 39-34 over the Quakers at Sebo Stadium.

For Carrollton, the game plan was Chase Ohlstrom early, Chase Ohlstrom often and they would ride him the duration of the game to the tune of 36 carries for 285 yards and 4 scores. Not to be outdone, Brock Smith would turn in on a 100+ yard night and a score of his own.

Salem would have opportunities to get back in the game, however could get no closer than four points in the second half. Jackson Johnson led the Quakers with another impressive night through the air, going 24-37 for 386 and three scores (Oesch, Davidson, Swiger)

Salem (5-2, 1-2) travels to Marlington next week to take on the Dukes.

*Contributed By YSN’s Jarrod Niederhiser