TIGERS UNCAGED, WELLSVILLE ICES DEVILS

LISBON, OH – In Columbiana County high school football history, only two teams have played for an OHSAA state championship – the Lisbon Blue Devils and Wellsville Tigers. Tonight, those teams faced off in Week 2 of EOAC conference play, with the Tigers coming away with a convincing 31-0 victory. 

The Tigers got things started off quickly on their first drive of the night. After holding the Blue Devils to a punt on their opening drive, the Tigers went right down the field and capped things off with a 6 yard touchdown run by senior tailback Jason Tice just 5:03 into the opening frame.  Tice would finish the day with 75 yards and a touchdown on just 9 carries. 

It was all Tigers in the first half as Troy Carter hooked up with his favorite target in the 2nd quarter – senior do-it-all wide receiver Darien Suggs – for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Suggs made a nice move to get free and increase the Tigers lead to 14-0 just 2:13 into the 2nd quarter. 

Senior fullback Justin Sarge capped off the first-half scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run with 7:22 remaining in the first half. Junior kicker Casey Lemasters kicked a 31-yard field goal at the end of the first half to put the Tigers up 24-0. Lemasters would finish the evening as the YSN player of the game, going 4/4 on extra-point attempts, 1/1 on field goals, and notching a touchdown-saving tackle on the Blue Devils first kickoff return of the second half. Lemasters is also a starter on the Tigers soccer team. 

The second half saw just one score – a 10-yard touchdown run by freshman running-back/defensive back Isaiah Greathouse. Greathouse hit pay-dirt with 5:16 left in the game. The Freshman Phenom led the Tigers in rushing with 99 yards on just 11 carries. Tice was second on the team for the evening with 75 yards and a touchdown on 9 carries. 

The Tigers had a touchdown was taken off the board on their opening drive of the 3rd quarter – a 20-yard touchdown pass from Carter to Suggsn – because of a block in the back penalty. It was the 3rd touchdown pass of the year that has been dropped or called back because of penalty for Carter.

The Tigers host East Palestine next week for homecoming night, while the Blue Devils travel to undefeated Southern Local. Southern defeated Crestview 41-24, while the Bulldogs took one on the chin from the United Eagles, 43-14.

 

*Story contributed by YSN’s voice of Wellsville, Gary Althiser.