West Liberty-Salem’s football team sent an emphatic message in its showdown with rival Mechanicsburg on Friday, routing the Indians 35-15 to grab a share of the Ohio Heritage Conference North division title.
Also, the Tigers clinched a home playoff game for next Saturday.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” said WL-Salem head coach Dan McGill. “They’ve had tremendous senior leadership and have had to overcome our share of adversity and injuries. The depth and quality of our senior class is phenomenal. The younger classes have stepped up big time, too, and have really grown into high quality players.”
The Tigers will find out their first-round playoff opponent when the final computer ratings are released Sunday at www.ohsaa.org. It will be the Tigers’ first trip to the postseason since 2016 and the seventh playoff appearance in the last decade.
“It’s a sweet reward for these guys to be able to be in front of their home crowd one more time,” said McGill. “Knowing it will be our seniors’ last time on that field makes for an exciting atmosphere and we are just excited and grateful.”
WL-S finished the regular season at 9-1 overall and 4-1 in the OHC North. West Jefferson, which beat Fairbanks 58-32 on Friday, also went 4-1 in the league to earn a piece of the title.
The Indians are now 8-2, 3-2.
“That is huge for us,” said McGill. “League championships are hard to come by. A few years ago when the OHC expanded, we knew it would become more challenging and it has been. For us to get a share of the league title is very special.”
A defensive start to Friday’s game saw limited scoring opportunities for both teams in the first quarter.
After a fumble recovery, WL-Salem was able to reach Mechanicsburg’s 10-yard line. However, a high snap caused a Tiger fumble and the Indians were able to get the ball with 2:17 left in the opening period.
WL-Salem capitalized on its next offensive possession during the second quarter. Trevor Woodruff tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Larson with 9:21 to go in the half. Ethan Cole kicked his first extra point of the night for a 7-0 lead.
The Indians’ only score of the first half came minutes later when Chayse Propst zigzagged across midfield and raced 72 yards to the end zone with 7:34 left on the clock. Logan Hurst added a two-point run to give Mechanicsburg an 8-7 advantage.
Woodruff took over the game after that and commanded the Tigers offense with two quick scoring strikes.
He fired a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jace Wade at the 3:53 mark to put his team up 14-8.
WL-Salem forced M’burg to punt on its next possession. Woodruff moved the Tigers down field and found Nick Burden for a 17-yard TD strike that made the score 21-8 with 2.7 seconds left in the half.
WL-Salem pulled away in the third quarter.
The Tigers’ special teams delivered when Burden returned a punt 71 yards for a score. That put WL-Salem out to a 28-8 lead with 4:57 remaining in the third period. Woodruff added a 1-yard TD run with 2:14 left to play in the quarter for a 35-8 advantage.
Mechanicsburg rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter as Propst punched in a 4-yard touchdown run with 1:44 remaining in the game.
“I was extremely pleased with how we moved the ball all night,” said McGill. “Mechanicsburg’s defense is known to be ridiculously stingy. We made plays when they needed to be made. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort.”
Woodruff was efficient, completing 15-of-23 passes for 177 yards and three scores. Holden Nease had 75 rushing yards on 19 carries before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injury. Burden tallied 73 receiving yards on six catches and Zach Rosedale added 69 receiving yards on five grabs.
Defensively for the Tigers, Trenton Douthwaite led the way with nine tackles and one for loss, Ray Barik had seven tackles, Ethan Larson had 4 1/2 tackles, one tackle for loss and a fumble recovery, Kyle Wolfe had 4 1/2 tackles and Rosedale had an interception.
Look for WL-Salem state playoff information in Monday’s Examiner
INDIANS @ TIGERS
M’burg 0 • 8 • 0 • 7 – 15
WL-Salem 0 • 21 • 14 • 0 – 35
TEAM STATS MB • WLS
First downs 10 • 19
Total net yards 290 • 273
Rushes/yards 32/196 • 32/96
Passing 94 • 177
Comp-att-int 6-13-1 • 15-23-0
Punts/avg 5/33.8 • 5/34.8
Fumbles-lost 2-2 • 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-60 • 6-55