Playoff Roundup: West M makes history, advances with OT win

PROCTORVILLE — West Muskingum coach Nathan Brownrigg didn't shy away from a win-or-go-home scenario on Friday night.

No. 7 seed Proctorville Fairland scored first in overtime, but Rashid Sesay answered with a 4-yard TD run for the 10th seeded Tornadoes.

With the school's first playoff win in history at stake, Brownrigg played for the win. After Fairland was called for holding on an incomplete pass on their first two-point try, the Tornadoes cashed in on the second attempt as senior running back Ty Shawger burst into the end zone to give his squad a 22-21 victory in a Division V, Region 19 first-round game.

Sesay, hampered by an ankle injury for much of the season, ran for 165 yards on 20 carries as West held a 283-256 edge in total yards and was 6-of-13 on third down conversions.

West Muskingum (9-2) advanced to the second round with a trip to No. 2 seed Canal Winchester Harvest Prep on the horizon. Harvest blanked Pomeroy Meigs, 47-0, in their first-round game.

The Dragons (7-4) scored in the first quarter, but the Tornadoes answered in the second on Sesay's 6-yard scoring run, which was set up by Jake Anton's interception.

The game was tied at 7 at halftime after Fairland missed a field goal to end the first half.

The Tornadoes went up 14-7 with 3:11 left in the third when Anton connected with Slater Sampsel for a 29-yard scoring strike, and Silas Kuhn added the extra point.

Fairland tied the game at 14 with Steeler Leep's 63-yard touchdown pass with 1:21 left in the fourth to top target Brycen Hunt, and Leep ran in from 7 yards out to score first in overtime.

Anton was 10-fo-15 passing for 80 yards and Sampsel caught 5 passes for 59 yards. Shawger, a 1,000-yard rusher, was held to 13 carries for 27 yards but had 13 solo tackles — four for losses — and two sacks to lead the defense.

Hunt had 11 catches for 124 yards and Leep carried 27 times for 74 yards to pace Fairland. Leep was 12-of-14 passing for 136 yards.

Division III

Sheridan 26, Circleville 0: Reid Packer had a pair of scoring runs and was a force at safety, as the top-seeded Generals held the 16th-seeded Tigers to 115 yards and nine first downs in a first-round win at Paul Culver Jr. Stadium.

Sheridan overcame special teams errors and untimely penalties that kept the Tigers within striking distance in the first half, but the Generals' defense took control in the second half to allow the offense to eventually pull away.

Sheridan (10-1) advanced to play No. 9 seed Washington Court House, a 61-54 winner against Columbus South, in next week's regional quarterfinal at Culver Stadium.

Sheridan took its opening drive in for a score, as Packer ran the ball in from three yards out, and Spencer Showalter added the extra point for a 7-0 lead at the 9:57 mark of the first.

The Generals (10-1) didn't score again until Caden Sheridan connected on a 9-yard scoring strike to AJ Winders with 1:05 left in the second quarter, a span that saw the Generals fumble a punt in its own territory and see Andrew Holden's interception called back due to a penalty.

Sheridan had another chance to score before the half but was intercepted after the Tigers went three-and-out. The lead was 14-0 going to the half.

Winders struck again with an interception on Circleville's first drive of the second half, but nothing came of it after Showalter's field goal on a long drive to the Tigers' 5-yard line was blocked. That came after a false start from the 6.

Holden then returned a punt for a touchdown later in the quarter, but it was called back due to a Sheridan penalty.

Sheridan finally broke the game open in the fourth, as Alex Poirier had a 4-yard TD run and Packer scored from 29 yards out after an interception to cap the scoring.

Justin Munyan ran for 78 yards on six carries, Poirier had 39 yards on 11 carries and Packer went 5-of-8 for 132 yards and added 34 yards on the ground to highlight the offensive effort.

Winders caught three passes for 55 yards and grabbed a pair of interceptions, Holden also had two receptions for 72 yards and Holden and Packer collected interceptions for the winners, who had 365 total yards.

Division IV

St. Clairsville 40, Morgan 20: In a season-long theme, the 16th-seeded Raiders fell behind 19-0 in the first half on the road, but got as close as 26-20 in the second before ultimately falling in the Region 15 first-round contest at Red Devil Stadium.

Trailing 19-0, Logan Niceswanger hit Adam Cooper for a 21-yard TD late in the first half to give Morgan (6-5) momentum headed to the locker room.

The Raiders scored again, as Niceswanger hit Kole Searl from nine yards out to cap an eight-minute drive to open the third quarter.

After the Red Devils answered with Jacob Walker's third TD run, Wade Pauley rumbled seven yards to the end zone early in the fourth to cut the deficit to 26-20.

But, St. Clairsville put the game away on Andrew Vera's 37-yard scoring run. Walker finished with 117 yards to pace the Red Devils, who held a 206-94 edge in rushing yards.

Niceswanger completed 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards with an interception and added 45 yards on 11 carries, Searl had eight receptions for 65 yards and Carson Copeland caught six passes for 66 yards and ran 11 times for 60 yards to lead the Morgan attack.

Indian Valley 34, Philo 0: The fourth-seeded Braves (8-3) held a 353-99 advantage in total yards in advancing past the 13th-seeded Electrics (5-6) in the Region 15 playoffs.

Grady Kinsey's 5-yard TD run in the first quarter put the Braves on the board, while Kolton Thomas helped extend the lead in the second quarter. He connected with Remmington Myers for a 45-yard scoring strike then added a 4-yard scoring run late in the half to make it 20-0.

Gavin Henry and Jaxon Burcher had short scoring runs in the third quarter for the Braves, who ran for 270 yards on 49 attempts. Henry had 101 yards on 13 totes, Kinsey ran 11 times for 78 yards and Thomas added 64 yards on 15 rushes.

Talon Preston was only 4-of-13 passing for 27 yards with an interception, Drew Lincicome ran 10 times for 53 yards and Cade Searls was held to one reception for 11 yards for Philo, which had two turnovers and failed to convert a third down on seven attempts.

Division VII

Newark Catholic 49, Rosecrans 0: Miller Hitchison threw three TD passes and Brendan Sheehan ran for three more, as the top-seeded Green Wave scored all their points in the first half to dispatch the 16th-seeded Bishops in the Region 27 contest at White Field.

Hitchison hit Grant Moore from 19 yards out to start the scoring then found Owen Helms on a 78-yard TD for an early 14-0 lead after a pair of Jose Lopez extra points.

Sheehan's first score was from four yards out and Michael Hess broke off a 27-yard TD run for a 28-0 lead after one quarter.

Touchdown runs of 1 and 12 yards by Sheehan and a 63-yard scoring connection between Hitchison and Moore capped the scoring in the second quarter.

Hitchison was 7-of-7 for 180 yards, Hess ran 11 times for 128 yards and Sheehan had 34 yards on five carries to pace the Green Wave, which had 376 total yards.

Rosecrans (3-8) was held to 97 yards and four first downs. Brendan Bernath was 11 of 26 for 101 yards with an interception, Weston Hartman had three catches for 57 yards, Nick Bernath caught three passes for 31 yards and Brody Zemba was held to 7 yards on 14 carries.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Playoff Roundup: West M makes history, advances with OT win