Photo by Michael D. McElwain A Linsly players makes a reception while Steubenville’s Zack Smith (16) begins his pursuit.

Anything can happen when good teams meet and that was on full display Friday when Linsly stunned Steubenville 28-27 at Harding Stadium and Cambridge stood strong at Union Local in a 35-33 win.

Both Steubenville (6-1) and Union Local (5-2) had been undefeated entering the night and had been rolling through their respective schedules (OHSAA made the Jets forfeit their season-opener, which was originally a 38-9 victory). Big Red was coming off a 69-28 thrashing of Wheeling Park and UL had just ran all over Weir, 42-6.

Linsly (5-1) and Camrbdige (5-2) are no slouches themselves, however, and showed it Friday with impressive wins.

“We finally played four quality quarters of football. When we do that we can be a very good football team,” Cambridge head coach Ray Leek said after the game. ” Hats off to Union Local. They are a good team and played very hard.”

The Bobcats got a sensational performance from quarterback Caden Moore, who scored five total touchdowns with 305 passing yards and 58 rushing stripes.

Cambridge suffered back-to-back losses to Indian Valley and Bellaire in the middle of September, but wins over Martins Ferry and UL the last two weeks have the Bobcats in strong playoff position.

“We cleaned up our mistakes (Friday) and it paid dividends,” Leek said. “Our passing game was very effective. If we keep improving we can make a nice run in the playoffs.”

While there are no playoffs in Linsy’s future, the Cadets are making the most of their regular season and then some.

The one-point win over Steubenville — the Cadets’ first in 10 tries against Big Red — was Linsly’s fourth win in a row. The Cadets have beaten Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, St. Clairsville, Fort Frye and Steubenville in that stretch.

“They are all excellent wins,” Linsly headman BJ Depew said. “These wins give our kids the confidence they need moving forward…There’s no doubt these weeks are taking their toll physically but they also are giving us confidence. They are bringing us together as a team and it sure feels good.”

A handful of plays made all the difference for the Cadets in their triumph. Sensational playmaker Luca DiLorenzo blocked a Big Red PAT that ended up being the difference, keeping Steubenville’s lead at 27-21 with less than six minutes to play. Mateo Dimitrioski recovered a fumble to give Linsly the ball back with a chance to take the lead with little more than one minute to play.

Atley Cowan made good on that chance by hitting Malte Feil for the 18-yard go-ahead touchdown. Santiago Graneros kicked the PAT to give the Cadets the one-point lead.

Finally, Raymond Kovaleski ended Big Red’s last drive with an interception to seal the win.

“It feels absolutely incredible,” Depew said. “We talk about the next play being the most important play of the game and there were so many moments you can point to.

“We knew it was going to take all four quarters and our best effort could potentially not be enough. We thought we would need a couple of breaks and we definitely got a couple of breaks that kept it close throughout.

“I’m so proud of our guys and the effort they gave (Friday). I’m really speechless. It was tough to come up with some words for the guys in the huddle at the end.”

Linsly will take this week off before another bruising matchup, this time against Dover. Cambridge will host Warren as the Ohio season starts to wind down.

Offensive Player of the Week

Brett Phillips, Wheeling Park — Played effectively a perfect game at quarterback as the Patriots picked up a quality win over Morgantown. Phillips made it look easy, completing 26-of-31 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns. He could’ve had a fifth touchdown pass, but a backwards pass resulted in a rushing touchdown for Jerrae Hawkins. He also finished as the team’s leading rusher with 45 infantry yards.

Defensive Player of the Week

Kason Angel and Wes Starcher, Cameron — The Dragons have scored a bevy of defensive touchdowns this season and Angel and Starcher added on to the total in the span of 11 seconds Friday. Angel began the second half with a 42-yard pick-six and Starcher followed with one of his own from 13 yards soon after. Those scores ballooned Cameron’s lead from 14-8 at halftime to 27-8 less than a minute into the half.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Luca DiLorenzo, Linsly — DiLorenzo is making the case to be considered the top playmaker in the valley this season. Against Big Red he caught seven passes for 118 yards and a touchdown and also ran in a touchdown. On defense he made five tackles and blocked a PAT that ended up being the difference in the game.

Ground Gainers

Taison Starr, Barnesville — Gained 102 yards and scored two touchdowns on just seven rushes.

Caleb White, Beaver — A 99-yard toudhdown will make anyone’s stats look good, but White went beyond that, finishing with 147 rushing yards on just six carries and making five receptions for 44 yards and another score.

Michael Marshall, Bridgeport — An 80-yard touchdown inflated his numbers to 107 rushing yards on just five attempts.

J Ross, Cameron — Led the undefeated Dragons with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown in their win over Madonna.

Gavin Wright, East Liverpool — Ran the ball 18 times for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Talan McClurg, Edison — Led the still-undefeated Wildcats with 148 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.

Zion McGee, Indian Creek — Toted the rock 33 times for 123 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

Tev’n Williams, Martins Ferry — Ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on the ground, but his biggest play was a 60-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 14 in the first half.

Matt Greenlief, Oak Glen — Led the Golden Bears in their victorious return home with 85 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Brody Lollathin, River — Led the Pilots with 157 rushing yards and a trio of touchdowns. Also caught two passes for 30 yards.

Kaden Johnson, River — Ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Jacob Feldner, Shenandoah — Carried the ball 30 times, which produced 217 yards and a touchdown.

Jacob Walker, St. Clairsville — Powered the Red Devils with 158 rushing yards on 24 carries while finding his way into the endzone four times.

Savier Faulks, Steubenville — Led Big Red with 107 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Jaksan Price, Union Local — Ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns, breaking three school records in the process including touchdowns in a season (22), rushing yards in a season (1,472) and career rushing yards.

Issac Martin, Wheeling Central — It was an all-around effort by the Maroon Knights on the ground so no one player had huge numbers, but the bruising freshman managed 52 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries.

Aerial Attack

CJ Hannahs, Barnesville — Completed 8-of-13 passes for 163 yards and a pair of touchdowns while rushing for 45 yards and another score.

Austin Cline, Beaver — Completed a dozen passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.

Colin Jackson, Bridgeport — Scored five total touchdowns, three passing and two rushing. Completed 11 passes for 211 yards and a trio of scores while rushing for 14 yards and two more.

Ty Sperringer, Brooke — Accounted for both of the Bruins’ touchdowns, throwing for 113 yards and a score and rushing for 29 and the other.

Caden Moore, Cambridge — Sensational for the Bobcats, throwing for 305 yards and three touchdowns while running for 58 stripes and two more scores.

Gage Cline, Edison — Accounted for four total touchdowns with 164 passing yards and three scores with 51 rushing yards and another trip to the endzone.

Atley Cowan, Linsly — In the Cadets’ stunning upset of Steubenville, Cowan completed 19-of-27 passs for 256 yards and three touchdowns.

Landon Beatty, Oak Glen — His eight completions went for 100 yards and resulted in a trio of touchdowns.

Braxton Barnett, Shenandoah — Finished a tidy 8-of-9 for 74 yards and three touchdowns.

Phaeton Hill, Steubenville — Threw for 201 yards on 20 completions with a touchdown and also ran in a score.

Mr. Everything

Reed Smith, Beallsville — Returned a kickoff 61 yards for a touchdown.

Avante’ Hayes, Edison — Ran in a touchdown, caught two balls for 51 yards and another score and even picked off a pass on defense.

Zach Byard, Indian Creek — Returned a punt 40 yards for a touchdown in the second half and also made six stops of defense.

Baron Lucey, Martins Ferry — Threw a 60-yard touchdown to Tev’n Williams, ran for a 74-yard score and made four receptions for 36 yards.

Cole Thoburn, St. Clairsville — Responded to a Bellaire touchdown with an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown. Also deflected a pair of passes on defense.

BJ Fallon, Steubenville CC — Rushed for 88 yards on 17 carries and also combined to score a safety on defense.

Tyler Ialenti, Steubenville CC — Made his first start at QB and led the Crusaders with 108 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He also picked off a pass on defense to set up the team’s first score.

Gavin Derby, Valley — A down week for the Lumberjacks, but Derby still managed 116 rushing yards and a touchdown and 123 passing yards.

Corey Lyons, Weir — Did not touch the ball a lot, but made it count when he did, rushing for a touchdown and catching two others despite having only 46 total offensive yards.

Lorenzo Ferrera, Wheeling Central — In limited action, Ferrera still managed to top 100 all-purpose with two touchdowns. Ran for 34 yards and a score and racked up 87 receiving yards and another touchdown on just two catches.

Good Hands Team

Dylan Ferguson, Beaver — Made four receptions for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Mason Aberts, Bridgeport — Half of his production came on a 52-yard touchdown as he finished with four catches for 106 yards.

Anthony Bachinski, Brooke — Had quite the connection with his quarterback, making seven receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown.

Davion Bahr, Cambridge — Made five receptions for a whopping 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Malte Feil, Linsly — Caught the game-winning touchdown against Steubenville, finishing with 67 yards on five grabs.

River Thompson, River — Caught two second-half touchdowns, finishing with four receptions for 72 yards.

Jerrae Hawkins, Wheeling Park — Made half a dozen receptions for 98 yards and scored a rushing TD late in the game on a backwards pass.

Jameson Maynard, Wheeling Park — The sophomore impressed in his first real varitsy playing time. Three of his four catches went for touchdowns as he finished with 63 yards.

Wrecking Crew

Ray Ray Pettigrew, Bellaire — Usually an offensive playmaker, Pettigrew recorded a 68-yard pick-six just before halftime against St. Clairsville.

Logan Gaschler, Brooke — Had a busy night, making eight tackles, two tackles for loss and grabbing one of the Bruins’ three intercetpions.

Justin Vergona, Indian Creek — Credited with 10 total tackles, seven solo, with a sack.

Raymond Kovalesky, Linsly — Was credited with a massive 19 total tackles, nine solo, and had an interception for the Cadets.

Mateo Dimitrioski, Linsly — Came up with the huge fumble recovery that allowed the Cadets to score the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Finished with 11 total tackles, seven solo.

Skiler Adams, Marietta — Recovered a fumble in the endzone for the Tigers’ only score against Brooke.

Ben Wach, Shadyside — Picked up a fumble on one bounce and outran everyone for an 88-yard touchdown.

Drew Jozwiak, St. Clairsville — Stood out from his defensive end spot with seven total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.

Robert Shuble, Weir — Capped off the Red Riders’ scoring with a 45-yard pick-six in the third quarter.

Erick Brothers Jr., Wheeling Park — Made 11 solo tackles, 13 total, including a tackle for loss as the Patriots’ defense rebounded nicely.

Miquan Macklin, Wheeling Park — Finished with 10 total stops, eight solo, and ended a Morgantown drive with a sack on third down.

Big Boot

Liam Watson, Edison — Kicked true on seven PATs to help the Wildcats stay perfect on the year.