When it’s time for Friday night football, Linda Williams doesn’t just pick up and go where the local team is playing. She doesn’t exactly flip a coin, but she does have to make a decision on where to travel. When teams line up for the regional championship game on Friday night, Williams will have two grandsons playing in two different locations. Locally, grandson Ryker, the sophomore son of Matt and Darcy Williams, will be lining up as the quarterback for the Indian Valley Braves. Somewhat further to the north, grandson Jake, the son of Ryan and Kristie Williams, will take the field as a senior center for the Gilmour Academy Lancers. “I usually try to divide my time to make it equal,” said Linda, who was a longtime volleyball coach at Tuscarawas Central Catholic and still runs the food service program at Immaculate Conception Elementary in Dennison. “I went to Ryker’s game last week and watched Jake’s on my phone. “This week, I’m going to Jake’s game and I’ll stream Ryker’s, so I can watch them both.” Indian Valley’s game will be streamed live on the BigTimeSportsOhio YouTube channel on Friday. Going to both games would not be possible. Jake and the Lancers will be playing in the Division III, Region 9 championship game against Youngstown Ursuline at Portage Community Bank Stadium in Ravenna. Ryker and the undefeated Braves will play in the Division IV, Region 15 championship game against unbeaten St. Clairsville at Sulsberger Stadium in Zanesville. Linda is grandmother to 11 and great-grandmother to two.  “I’m very proud of all my grand kids,” she said.

They call it an Indian Valley Drive. While the Braves have had plenty of big-strike scores this year, they pride themselves on the grind ... the long drives that wear out of their opponents. They showed that all night long in a 42-23 win over New Lexington in a Division IV, Region 15 semifinal game at Coshocton’s Stewart Field. The win moves Indian Valley into a berth in the Region 15 championship game, where it will face St. Clairsville next Friday at Zanesville. The winner at Zanesville moves into the Division IV state semifinals. The Braves and Panthers were tied 8-8 early in the game and the Panthers put on a solid drive. Indian Valley’s defense stiffened and took the ball away on downs at the 5 on the last play of the first quarter. Then came the Indian Valley Drive. With Grady Kinsey, Eric Golder and quarterback Ryker Williams running the ball, the Braves pounded the ball down the field, eating up just over half of the second quarter and scoring from inside the one on a plunge by Kinsey. “I loved that,” Kinsey said of the long drive. “That’s one of my favorite things as a football player. The coaches call it Indian Valley Drive. Wherever we go, people know we’re going to run the ball and we still do it. That’s one of the most fulfilling things we can do.” It was all our offensive line again. I think we only threw the ball like five times, we just ran behind our tackles and guards and just destroyed them. “Our line just kept moving them five yards back,” pointed out Williams, who ran for 105 yards, in addition to playing a solid game defensively. “It’s pretty impressive what our line can do. I think we only threw the ball like five times tonight.” “We’re kind of a different team in that regard,” Indian Valley coach Matt Lancaster said, discussing the team’s ground attack. “Didn’t have as many big plays, but we’re OK with that. That’s traditionally what Indian Valley does with those long drives. We sustained some long drives tonight and finished all of those drives. That’s on our O-Line and our backs.” Kinsey had another outstanding evening, finishing with 156 yards and five touchdowns. “I’m just riding behind the line,” Kinsey said. “I just love those guys, they’re doing the dirty work. They might not be the biggest guys or the strongest guys, but they’re smart and they come off the ball and I love that.” Indian Valley got on the board again after that when Rowan Pucccin intercepted a tipped pass and returned it for a touchdown and sent the Braves into the half with a 22-8 lead. Kinsey got into the end zone twice in the third quarter and led 36-15 heading into the fourth quarter. Kinsey’s fifth touchdown moved Indian Valley past the 40-point barrier, a mark they’ve hit in every game this season. Lancaster also praised his team’s defensive effort on the night. “That’s probably the best our defense has played in a while,” he said. “It helps to have Ryker out there. We ask a lot of him, but we also have a freshman out there – Bradley Barr – at inside linebacker and he had a whale of a game. They tried to attack him, but he didn’t back down.” Next week’s showdown with St. Clairsville will mark Indian Valley’s third trip to the regional finals, with the last coming in 2022. The Braves and Red Devils are both 13-0 and finished as the top two teams in the Region 15 rankings. St. Clairsville advanced with a 35-21 win over West Holmes in the semifinal played at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium. OTHER GAMES Indian Valley is the final area team in the football playoffs. In other games: Steubenville defeated Dover 42-14 in a Division III semifinal. South Range beat Garaway 42-14 in a Division V game. In a Division VI contest, Northmor beat Ridgewood 21-7. In a pair of Division VII games, Eastern outlasted Conotton Valley 39-33 and Hillsdale edged Malvern in a 50-48 shootout.