DAYTON — A series of explosive plays propelled West Liberty-Salem to a three-touchdown halftime lead Friday, but it was the hard-earned yards in the game’s final minutes that secured the Tigers a spot in the Division V, Region 20 final and with it a place in school history.
The Tigers (12-1) outlasted Waynesville 45-42 Friday in a semifinal contested at the University of Dayton Welcome Stadium and became the first WL-S football team to win 12 games in a season.
“We talked about no team in our school’s history has won (12 games in a season), so that’s a first and it’s a goal we’ve had,” WL-S head coach Dan McGill said.
This will be the fourth appearance for WL-S in the regional finals and first since the OHSAA playoff format expanded to 16 teams. The Tigers will play Indian Lake next week in a regional final game at a site to be determined.
Indian Lake defeated Greeneview 28-13 Friday to clinch their spot in the regional final.
“We’ve never won (a regional final) and so I told the guys that’s the next goal. Find a way to win,” McGill said.
The Tigers built their big lead on the strength of five second-quarter touchdowns and 21 unanswered points to close out the first half. WL-S returned a kickoff for a touchdown and scored TDs on five plays of 25-yards or longer as the Tigers tipped what had been a topsy-turvy game into their favor.
The Spartans narrowed the gap with 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to draw to within one possession late in the game. WL-S staved off Waynesville’s comeback bid with successive first downs in the final 2:54 of the fourth quarter to run out the clock and close out the game.
“I’m super proud of my guys. They kept fighting, especially in the face of adversity,” McGill said. “We told the guys in the locker room, this is not going to be a game of finesse. This is going to be a street fight, and we gotta keep showing up and swinging.”
The Tigers rushed as a team rushed 35 times for 258 yards — none bigger than the yards churned out on the ground in the closing minutes to run out the clock. WL-S recovered an onside kick around their own 41 yard line with less than three minutes to go and moved the ball on the ground from their own 41-yard line down to near the Spartans 20 yard line to run out the clock.
“We had to pick up those first downs there and make them burn their timeouts, and it was a gutcheck time for the offensive line,” McGill said. “My guys have been undersized pretty much most of the year, but they’re scrappy.”
The Tigers scored first, but later trailed early in the second quarter prior to their scoring barrage. Nick Shifflet capped off a scoring drive with a 1-yard TD run on a quarterback sneak to put WL-S ahead 7-0 following a successful PAT by Gideon Cole.
The Spartans reeled off 14 straight points of their own midway through the first quarter to pull ahead. Alex Amburgy put Waynesville on the board with a 3-yard TD run that tied the game at 7-7 after the PAT. Garrett Lundy gave the Spartans the lead later in the first quarter with a 23-yard TD run that made the score 14-7.
WL-S responded early in the second quarter. Shifflet connected with Jacob Evans for a 27-yard TD pass that tied the game at 14-14.
A highlight reel touchdown run from Josh Wilcoxon put the Tigers back on top later in the second quarter. Wilcoxon took a handoff and appeared to be stopped in the backfield for a loss when he pulled away from the grasp of a Waynesville defender, spun around and reversed field 45 yards for a go-ahead score that put WL-S up 21-14.
A special teams touchdown drew Waynesville even in the second quarter. The Spartans broke through the line and blocked a punt that bounced into the end zone and was recovered for a defensive touchdown that tied the game, 21-21.
WL-S responded a special teams touchdown of their own to pull ahead for good. Reese Oder fielded the ensuing kickoff and returned it 92 yards for a touchdown that put the Tigers back up, 28-21.
The Tigers continued to add to their lead before halftime. Shifflet rushed 27 yards for a touchdown that pushed the WL-S lead to 35-21.
WL-S added to its lead even further late in the first half. The Tigers took over possession at their own 19 yard line with 1:13 in the first half with a chance to extend their lead. It took less than 40 seconds.
Shifflet found the end zone for a third time in the first half from four yards out to push the lead to 42-21. That short scoring run was set up by a 65-yard run by Shifflet deep into Spartans territory.
As they had previously, the Spartans answered. Waynesville received the opening kickoff to begin the third quarter and drove the length of the field to cut into the the lead. Amburgy scored on a 4-yard TD run to make the score 42-28.
Following a three-and-out, the Spartans got the ball and again capped off an extended scoring drive with a touchdown that made the score 42-35. Lincoln Buck scored on a 10-yard rushing touchdown to pull Waynesville to within one possession.
The Tigers generated points on their next possession. An extended drive stalled near the Spartans goal line, but Cole connected on a 21-yard field goal to push the lead back to double-digits, 45-35.
Waynesville drew even closer with a TD drive in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three points, 45-42. Trenton Davis caught a 20-yard TD pass from Amburgy to give the Spartans defense a chance at a stop.
They never saw the ball again.
“Credit to them, they did a great job second half coming out and being patient and we were having a tough time with their run game,” McGill said. “We were just hoping to keep pace with them. We struggled a little bit in some of those early third quarter drives, but the guys kept battling.”
Schifflet carried 20 times for 156 yards to go along with three touchdowns. He also completed 12 of 17 passes for 173 yards.
Wilcoxon rushed 12 times for 96 yards. Evans logged six receptions for 90 yards. Five different Tigers receivers caught at least one pass in the game for WL-S.
Josiah Stidham was credited with 10 tackles to help lead WL-S defensively. Hunter Knotts intercepted a pass in the second quarter. Taran Logwood recorded five tackles and a sack in the game.