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WHEELING - The 80th annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All Star Football Game was a back-and-forth affair Saturday night as both Ohio and West Virginia ran off 21 unanswered points.
However, it was the Buckeyes that scored the final three touchdowns to post an exciting 28-21 verdict over the Mountaineers before a nice-sized crowd inside Wheeling Island Stadium.
Trailing 21-7 midway through the second quarter, Ohio, which was expected to use its size up front to pound the ball on the ground, used three touchdown passes from St. Clairsville's Sam McLean to rally for the victory.
McLean, who was a meager 4-of-6 for three yards in the first half, found Steubenville tight end Nolan Blackburn for a leaping 5-yard catch in the back of the end zone with 75 seconds remaining in the first half that drew the Buckeyes to within 21-14 at the break.
Midway through the third stanza, McLean pump-faked on third-and-14 from his own 39 before delivering a strike to a wide-open Ollie Muhly, another former Red Devil, for a 61-yard scoring connection. Parker Galloway, also from St. C., evened the score with the third of his four PATs.
Ohio forced West Virginia to punt with just under eight minutes left to play. Starting at their own 21 after Muhly returned the kick 11 yards, Indian Creek quarterback Ian Starkey picked up three yards on a fourth-and-1 to extend the Buckeyes drive. On the very next snap, McLean fired a strike to Steubenville's Trevon Wiggins at the West Virginia 40, The elusive former Big Red broke free from the defender and sprinted the remaining distance for what turned out to be the game-winner. Galloway's PAT made it 28-21.
Another Steubenville product, Che'Mier Adams picked off the third pass of the game with a little more than three minutes remaining to seal the deal.
The Mountaineers relied on the running on Wheeling Central's Kade Koroneos and passing of Brooke's Ty Sperringer to rally from a 7-0 deficit with 21 straight points in the first half.
Sperringer, the lone QB on the West Virginia roster, connected with University's Glen Brown Jr. twice in the first quarter from 14 and 32 yards. Koroneos then sprinted 78 yards up the middle of the field to give the Mountaineers a 21-7 lead with 9:18 left before the half.
Koroneos would finish with 25 carries for 207 yards and the TD.
McLean was 2-for-2 in the second half for 128 yards and two scores and finished 6 of 8 for 131 and the two TDs.