One of the season-long goals established by the Indian Valley football team was to schedule a practice on Thanksgiving morning. To do that, all they needed to do was to win a regional championship.

Mission accomplished.

The Braves blasted previously unbeaten St. Clairsville 48-7 in the Region 15 championship game Friday night at Zanesville’s Sulsberger Stadium to play another week and schedule the Thanksgiving Day practice.

“It’s everything for us. On our scouting reports every single week, from week one on, it says our goal of practicing on Thanksgiving morning starts today,” explained junior tailback Grady Kinsey.

“So that’s what we get to do next Thursday and that’s super exciting. That’s just a testament to our kids and our coaches and everything that ties together into a great program.”

“We’re excited about getting to practice on Thanksgiving morning,” said veteran coach Matt Lancaster. “It’s going to mean a little more work for my wife because I usually cook, but we’re excited about it.”

The Braves improved to 14-0 with the win. They will play in the Div. IV state semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. when they face Cincinnati Taft (12-2) at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.

Indian Valley played a complete game, dominating the action on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The Braves led 34-0 at halftime and rolled in the second half with a running clock.

The Braves scored two defensive touchdowns and held the Red Devils offense in check. St. Clairsville didn’t run a play for positive yards until its third possession of the night.

Kinsey had three rushing touchdowns. Eric Golder scored twice, once on an interception return and another on a 51-yard pass from Ryker Williams, who also ran for a touchdown. Kyler added a score on an interception return and Colt James kicked six PATs.

Indian Valley led 7-0 after one quarter, but put 27 points on the board in the second quarter.

Kinsey had the first score, on a 13-yard bone-crushing run. The second touchdown was equally as spectacular. On the first play of the second quarter, Williams, playing defensive end, hit St. Clairsville quarterback Brady Schafer on an attempted pass. The ball popped up in the air and landed in Golder’s hands and the Indian Valley senior returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.

“It was an outside linebacker blitz and we were fortunate Eric was there at the right time and took it to the house,” Lancaster said. “That was a big time play.”

Williams made it 20-0 with a short run and turned the game upside down when he faked a handoff to Kinsey and hit Golder with a 51-yard pass down the middle for another score.

“It feels great to throw the ball,” Williams said. “We knew we could take the top off their defense if we got our running game going.”

“They were loading the box,” Lancaster pointed out. “Both teams were focused on stopping the run and they were leaving some things open in the middle of the field and Ryker took advantage of it.”

Williams completed just three passes on the night on five attempts, but he had 103 passing yards and a touchdown. He also completed a 36-yard pass to senior tight end Jaxon Burcher, who also had a strong defensive game, and was named the Klar’s Excel Screen Printing Player of the Game.

“This means a lot,” Burcher said of the win. “We’ve all been working really hard for this moment. And now we just want to keep going … we want to keep the train rolling.

Burcher said he enjoyed the team’s defensive efforts.

“We just go … that’s a part of our game plan and we just go. Our offense is great and our defense was lights out tonight. I don’t like looking back, but last week, we were slow. This week, I liked how we came out. If we keep doing this week after week, we’ll do good things. This is very special for us and the community as well.”

The regional championship is the first for the Braves in school history and that fact wasn’t lost on anyone.

“It’s a credit to all those who played before and put in all the hard work and to my entire coaching staff who have been with me for decades,” Lancaster said. “It’s long been a goal of ours to get to the Final Four. Our community – Braves Nation – have been so supportive and I know they’re so proud of their kids and their team and their school and to bring something home to them like this has long been a dream of mine.”

The team picked up an escort in Port Washington on the way home and were escorted by police and fire department vehicles on the way back to Gnadenhutten.