Declawed: Gritty Tri-Valley hands state-ranked New Lex first loss

NEW LEXINGTON — The Muskingum Valley League’s first place teams squared off on Friday night in a highly anticipated crossover battle at Jim Rockwell Stadium.

New Lexington, coming off a big win of West Muskingum last Friday, welcomed Tri-Valley. The Panthers hadn’t beaten the Scotties since 2008, a team that went to the state semifinals.

After trailing 12-7 at halftime, Tri-Valley’s defense shut down the league's highest-scoring offense, yielding only 62 yards in a second-half shutout. Coupled with the sensational play of Ashton Sensibaugh, the Scotties rallied for 16 unanswered points en route to a 23-12 win.

The loss was fifth-ranked New Lex's first after a 4-0 start that left it atop the Division IV, Region 15 playoff rankings. The win was Tri-Valley's fourth straight since an opening-week loss to Columbus DeSales and sent it to the top of Division III, Region 11, according to joeeitel.com.

Sensibaugh's play was a big reason.

The senior wide receiver caught 5 passes for 148 yards, including both of sophomore Max Lyall’s touchdown passes. Both scoring catches were more than 30 yards apiece.

Equally important was the Scotties' defensive line that exposed the Panthers' offensive line behind the impressive play by All-Ohio defensive end Aaron Freuh, who had eight tackles. None was bigger than his last — a massive sack on Panthers quarterback Lukas Ratliff with less than three minutes left. It was a one-possession game at the time.

Tri-Valley coach Cameron West was more than happy about the second-half response from his defense.

“We’ve been playing great defense all year," West said. "We just kept missing tackles in the first half that led to scoring plays. They do a really good job of spreading the field and making you defend the whole entire field, which is really difficult to do. They have really good players and a really good running game, but we made those plays when we needed it.”

The Scotties defense rose to the occasion quickly.

One play into the game, Panthers receiver Tatem Toth was stripped of the ball after catching a pass at his own 27-yard line. Scottie sophomore defensive lineman Chris Gargasz scooped the ball up and rambled to the Panthers' 2, where senior Hansel Holmes scored on the ensuing play. The extra point gave Tri-Valley a 7-0 lead with 11:43 of the first quarter.

The high-flying Panthers offense, led by Ratliff and running back Hunter Rose, needed to respond to the quick Tri-Valley score. The Panthers reached the Scotties' 34, but gave the ball back after Ratliff was intercepted by Thomas Williams on a deep ball with 8:43 still left in the first.

Tri-Valley had all the momentum, and it chewed up the rest of the first quarter. But Lyall’s pass intended to Jayden Walker, the 11th play of the drive, was intercepted by Bentley Hanson at the Panthers' 1.

It didn’t take long for the New Lex offense to get into rhythm.

Three runs by Ratliff and Rose got the Panthers out of the shadows of their own end zone. Ratliff hit Issac Dick on a quick seam route, pushing the ball to midfield. Rose finished off a 12-play, 99-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard scoring run at the 10:00 mark in the second, but the two-point pass attempt was no good, giving the Scotties a 7-6 edge.

New Lex defensive lineman Zack Robinson was a force on the Panthers' defensive line on the next series, helping forcing the Scotties on a three-and-out after a 73-yard kickoff return was called back after a holding penalty. The quick-paced Panthers gashed the Scotties on their next drive, as Toth took a bubble screen from 1-yard out at 2:54 in the second to cap an 11-play drive. The point after was missed again, but the Panthers took a 12-7 into half.

Tri-Valley came out of the break with major adjustments on both sides of the ball. One came from the passing game of the 6-4, 205-pound Lyall who found Sensibaugh on a crosser from the Panthers' 40 for a 60-yard catch-and-run for a score. Kicker Carter Dinan gave the Scotties a 14-12 lead early in the third.

New Lex’s defense caught a break late in the third when Jayden Wallace lost the ball at his own 43, and New Lex's Trace Wollenberg recovered to give the Panthers new life.

No matter what the Panthers tried to do offensively, however, the dam simply wouldn’t break in the red zone. New Lex ran 11 plays and failed to score on the drive, as Kam Karns sacked Ratliff on fourth-and-5 with nine minutes left to end the scoring threat.

Sensibaugh found the end zone again, this time from 31 yards out, but Dinan’s point after was blocked. It kept it a one-possession game at 4:58, with the Scotties up 20-12.

Karns recovered a Rose fumble at the Panthers' 34 on the next drive. But after a 20-minute delay, an ejected Scotties player for unsportsmanlike conduct and the rule book being read at the 50-yard line, the ball went from the Panthers' 2, back to the 16, and finally ruled back to the Scotties' 44.

Tri-Valley had to pin the Panthers deep, and Holmes, who averaged 42.3 yards on three punts, left New Lex at its own 11. Thanks to Frueh, whose fourth-down sack against Jackson in Week 3 also sealed a win, the Scotties never faltered.

Sensibaugh credited his teammates with the win.

“It was the offensive line that got us that win," Sensibaugh said. "If they don’t get it done, I’m not scoring. But I found ways to get open and made some plays.”

Tri-Valley held a 276-254 edge in total yards as Lyall was 10-of-18 passing with 164 yards. Drake Durst led the ground game with 61 yards on 19 carries, but the Scotties averaged only 2.4 yards per carry.

Sensibaugh proved to be the difference.

“They came out the second half wanting it more and they adjusted well," New Lexington coach Kevin Board said. "We could throw the ball deep on them playing Cover-4 (in the secondary) and we knew we weren’t going to beat them over the top. We gave their defense seven on the first play of the game and didn’t take care of the ball when we needed to.”

Ratliff finished 22-of-34 for 203 yards and Rose carried 20 times for 66. Jerek Braglin caught 7 passes for 57 yards and Toth hauled in 6 for 55; Rose also caught 4 passes for 43 markers.

The teams combined for 15 penalties for 165 yards.

zan-sports@gannett.com; Twitter: @danb235

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Gritty Tri-Valley football hands New Lexington Panthers first loss