High School Sports

Shadyside Takes Down Central in the Trenches, 33-21

WHEELING -- In a marquee matchup of two premier teams in the Ohio Valley, Shadyside controlled the line of scrimmage, the clock and ultimately -- the outcome.

The Tigers ran for 264 yards and won the time of possession in the third quarter 10:13 to 1:47 and defeated Wheeling Central for the first time in six years, 33-21, on Friday night at Bishop Schmitt Field on the Campus of Wheeling University.

The Tigers only threw for 42 yards but behind a powerful O-line, all-state running back Wyatt Reiman couldn't be stopped. The senior ran for 233 yards on 29 carries and a trio of touchdowns.

"Sometimes we only got the first down by a yard or a yard-and-a-half," Shadyside coach Mark Holenka said of a 6:48 scoring drive in the third quarter. "We have a thoroughbred back there in the back field who knows where to go down. Wyatt has great vision not only running the football but knowing where to get to and it was our quarterback Ben Wach doing a great job of managing the clock and taking snaps when he should.

"A penalty really helped us get out of the hole and once the field position changed in the third quarter, that's when we got control of the game."

In a 27-14 game at halftime, both teams exchanged punts to start the third. Then, the Tigers went on a 6:48 march that began at their own 17-yard line with 6:42 to go in the third.

Following a Wach completion to Korey Beckett for 25 yards on fourth-and-nine to get the Tigers down to the 6, it was Reiman who found paydirt on the first play of the fourth to deliver what felt like the back-breaker.

"They outplayed us and credit to coach Holenka, his staff, their team and their program," Central coach Mike Young said. "It was a hard-fought game but Reiman is a heck of a back. He's a stud. When you have a horse like that and you can ride him the way they do and their line does an excellent job of getting off the ball -- they beat us at the point of attack.

"I thought we hung with them pretty well at different times but the biggest thing about the game is blocking and tackling and that was the difference in (Friday's) game. They blocked and tackled better than us and we have to get better in those areas if we are going to be a good football team."

The first half was a battle of explosive plays. In fact, the shortest touchdown of the first half came from 25 yards out.

On Central's opening drive, Lorenzo Ferrera raced 72 yards for a score on third-and-22 to give the Knights the 7-0 edge.

Reiman answered with a 35-yard dash for six after an interception by Shadyside's Ryan Florence gave the Tigers the ball.

Central went back to work quickly and Payton Hildebrand launched a dime to Braxton Anderson for a 75-yard TD connection and a 14-7 advantage.

Once again, it was 'The Reiman Show' as the 6-foot, 180-pound captain provided a 73-yard touchdown jaunt and also delivered the equalizer on the PAT to even the score at 14-14.

Central never led again.

The Knights fumbled on its ensuing drive and Andrew Osman later recorded a 25-yard TD burst for Shadyside's first lead at 21-14 with 6:49 remaining in the first half and it didn't look back.

The Tigers forced a Central punt with 5:30 to go in the second quarter and it found the hands of who else? Reiman -- who charged 65 yards to the end zone to give Shadyside a 27-14 halftime upperhand.

Reiman tallied 246 of the Tigers' 306 total yards of offense but Shadyside's defense was also a crucial reason for the success.

Holenka's squad held the Knights' offense to 171 yards in the first half and 147 of those yards came on two scoring plays.

"We gave up too many explosive plays in between a great performance," Holenka said. "But, we rallied back and that is resiliency. I give our kids credit, they could have cracked and said 'just like the last few years when they had explosive plays.' But, the resiliency of this team was great and they are feeling confident in themselves.

"We had a nice push on them, defensively. They moved us sometimes but we started getting pressure on them and started winning the line of scrimmage."

Along with his touchdown grab, Anderson also hauled in an interception for Central and quarterback Michael Toepfer threw for 100 yards on 7 of 16 passing in his first game behind center this season due to an injury, while Hildebrand charted 80 yards through the air.

"Michael is getting stronger and Hildebrand is doing a great job and they are both playing their hearts out," Young said.