Red Devils Explode In Second, Best Wheeling Central
Photo by Nick Henthorn Trending
WHEELING - After a competitive first few exchanges, the Red Devils started laying in haymakers.
St. Clairsville raced away with a 60-24 road victory Friday against Wheeling Central Catholic at Bishop Schmitt Field, getting explosive plays across the roster in an attack spearheaded by junior running back Dino Burk.
"We showed some character," St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said. "It was a slugfest there early in the game, and I complimented Coach Young and this whole staff because we knew coming down here that they're going to be prepared, they're going to have a scheme, they're going to have a plan.
"The game kind of went back-and-forth, and we couldn't lose our composure over that, we had to stay in the fight. Our kids are capable of doing a lot of good things if our minds are right."
St. Clairsville struck first with 8:17 in the first, Burk getting the first of his four touchdowns on a 43-yard dash straight up the gut, but Wheeling Central was able to get on the board in the opening quarter as well, the Maroon Knights' Joey Hall stepping in front of a curl route to intercept a pass and set up a short field for Central Catholic. Eli Tucker knocked a 30-yard field goal straight through to end the drive.
The first quarter ended with a 25-yard punt return by the Red Devils to start the second frame deep in Wheeling Central turf, and Burk powered in a one-yard score from there.
Burk finished with 157 yards on 13 totes, good for just over 12 yards a carry.
The Maroon Knights struck back on their next possession, quarterback Seth Cover dropping a ball in a bucket to Braden McWreath, a deep pass landing right in his arms on a fade route down the field despite tight coverage. McWreath went 45-yards into the end zone, and Wheeling Central brought the game back within two points, 12-10 with 10:25 to play before halftime.
From there, it was all Red Devils.
Burke had touchdown runs of 22 and 54 yards, a Liam Tomlinn fumble recovery set up a Cole Thoburn 34-yard touch pass on an end-around, Harison Kazmirski returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and Gage Wolfe snagged a 10-yard touchdown catch, all packed in the final 10 minutes of the second quarter.
A 76-yard touchdown run by McWreath, untouched up the middle, was a brief repose for the Maroon Knights in a quarter where they surrendered 40 points.
"We stayed with them on a couple good punches early, we battled back," Wheeling Central Catholic head coach Mike Young said. "They're very well coached, we're very young, but we can only use that statement for so many games before we've got to start playing with more intensity and a little more heart.
"They've got a big team, a good team, an aggressive team, and we've got to start answering the call, answering the plays. We were there at times to make plays and we didn't make them. Part of that is our youth, part of that is our lack of experience. We're going to get back to practice Monday and get ready to go."
Ahead 46-17 at halftime, the Red Devils received the ball to start the second half, and ended another touchdown drive with a three-yard rush by Ollie Muhly, who took over as lead back in the second half and ran for 70 yards and two scores.
Muhly scored again from two yards out with 23 seconds to go until the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, the Maroon Knights got a 17-yard touchdown dash from Kade Koroneos, who himself got some work in the second half and totaled 43 yards on the ground.
The Red Devils had seven plays of more than 20 yards Friday, not including Kazmirski's kickoff return, and made big plays on defense as well. Marcus Bush pulled down a sack, while Gavin Schoolcraft, Brennan Stout, Kaleb Walz, JR Adams, Colt Westlake, Max Fogle and Colten Florence all recorded at least one tackle for loss in a game where St. Clairsville was constantly in their opponent's backfield.
"We got big plays, punt returns, kickoff returns, big throws, big runs," McClean said. "We spread the ball around a good bit and it's exciting to get a win any week of the season. Real proud of the way the kids handled themselves."
McClean credited his whole team for the explosive performance Friday.
"It's a team game. There's five guys up-front on those big plays, four or five defensive linemen for big plays on defense," McClean said. "The credit goes to all of them, and the credit goes to our coaching staff for preparing them.
"We're healthy, we get out of here clean, that's always big, we'll enjoy the win. There's so much pressure on these young kids to go out and do this and it's not easy. We don't take it for granted as coaches."
Wheeling Central (1-2) remains at home next week to play Midland Trail (2-1). St. Clairsville (3-1) will return home to play Indian Valley (3-1)