photo by: Kim North

St. Clairsville defensive end Colten Florence (27) pressures West Holmes quarterback Morgan Smith last week. The Red Devils meet Indian Valley this week in Zanesville in the Ohio Division IV, Region 15 championship game at John D. Sulsberger Stadium. Both teams are 13-0.

ZANESVILLE – Despite his team being 13-0 and playing in the Ohio Division IV, Region 15 championship game on Friday night, veteran St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said his team still needs to get better.

“It seems crazy to say in week 14, but we’ve got to get better. You’ve got to at this point in the season because they are no weak teams anymore,” he said. Everyone still playing is a good team.

“We need to play extremely well to have a chance, but you should have to play well in a regional final to have a chance.”

The top-seeded Red Devils will meet No. 2 Indian Valley (13-0) on the artificial surface at John D. Sulsberger Stadium with a trip to the Final Four at stake. Kickoff is set for 7.

“The kids are determined. We know what lies ahead,” McLean said. “We played a year ago in a game that was a battle and went to the fourth quarter.”

He was referring to a week 5 contest in which St. Clairsville won 24-20. Despite playing Jr. High and JV level games against Indian Valley for years, the two schools have never met in the postseason.

“We have never played each other in the playoffs despite being in the same region. We’ve watched them from afar and we’ve helped each other from afar make our programs better. I think it’s really neat that we’re going to play them in a game like this,” McLean continued. “I just hope we get great fan support from both teams on this big stage. The kids are very deserving of it on both sides.”

St. Clairsville punched its ticket with a 35-21 victory over No. 13 Millersburg West Holmes last week at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium in New Philadelphia. The final margin was closer than the game itself as the Red Devils led 21-0 and recovered a squib kick but couldn’t add to their margin.

“Give them (West Holmes) credit. They never quit,” McLean recalled. “We had that moment in time where we could’ve really got away from them, but we didn’t and they made a play and scored. Then they scored again and got the onside kick and scored on the next play.

“The momentum definitely shifted.

“Where I was most proud is that we didn’t clam up … fall back. Coaching-wise, we said we’ve got to play to win, not play to lose. The kids went out there with that mentality and we had that long drive and scored.”

With their advantage sliced to 28-21, St. Clairsville proceeded to march 79 yards on 14 plays as senior quarterback Brady Schafer capped the drive with a short TD run, his second of the night.

“We’ve been in that situation a couple times this year and I warned them about it, and I’m going to warn them again,” McLean stressed. “If you have that opportunity to be ahead, you’ve got to keep it going. We’ve gotta have that killer instinct. We gave them a chance to get back in it.

“We don’t like to pound the quarterback with the run and get him banged up all season, but it’s win-or-go-home time now. There are some things that we’ll do now that we wouldn’t normally do 7-8 weeks ago. We always knew he was capable of doing things like he did.”

Schafer accounted for four touchdowns last week, two on the ground and two more via the air. He had 270 yards of total offense.

“Football is like a chess match. You take advantage of what the opponent gives you. We spread the wealth around and utilize the talents of everyone. That keeps them invested and doesn’t make us one dimensional.”

When talking about Indian Valley, one name pops off the charts. That being junior running back Grady Kinsey. The 5-9, 200-pound junior rushed for 2,347 yards on 178 carries during the regular season. He scored five touchdowns and 156 yards last week as the Braves scalped New Lexington, 42-23.

“There’s no doubt that their running back is lights-out. I not only got to coach against him last year as a sophomore but I also got to see him against Steubenville in the regional semifinal game. He’s put together. You can tell he’s a weight room fanatic. He’s really the engine that makes them go, but what he does they are able to build off of,” McLean added. “When you concentrate on stopping him they can sting you with the pass. The Williams kid, their quarterback, is very, very talented.”

Another potential situation the Red Devils will have to battle is the weather. A snowstorm is expected to pass through the region on Thursday.

“We’ll probably have to deal with adversity with the weather change. It might be nice out there today (Monday) but it’s not going to be later in the week unless all the meteorologists are wrong,” McLean pointed out. “We’ve got to be able to have productive practices no matter what the weather conditions are. We need to practice smart and be efficient.”

As for the game being played in Zanesville.

“They do it very professionally. We’ve always been treated well at Zanesville. They’ve hosted so many playoff games that they’ve got it down to a science.”

EXTRA POINTS

– This will be just the third meeting between the two programs, with each team winning once so far. The Braves claimed a 21-14 victory at Midvale in 1996 before the Red Devils prevailed last fall.

– This will be St. Clairsville’s 19th postseason appearance. They are 23-19 and have advanced to the Final Four in 1983, 1986 and 2012 when they made the state finals.

– Indian Valley is in the playoffs for the 11th season. The Braves are 11-10 overall.

– The winner of Friday’s game will meet the winner of the No. 5 Cincinnati Taft (11-2) vs. No. 10 Kettering Archbishop Alter (8-5) in the state semifinals on Friday, Nov. 29 at an undetermined site. The D-IV state championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.