Raiders' Diving into the New Year

The Mustangs picked up a pair of wins against area teams in the past week. On Friday, Claymont knocked off visiting Indian Valley 53-22 and then traveled to New Philadelphia on Wednesday, coming home with a 62-18 win over the Quakers. The victories move the Mustangs to 16-2 with just over a month left in the regular season. Claymont dominated both contests. Against Indian Valley, the Braves won the first match of the night, but Claymont built a 53-13 lead en route to the win. In Wednesday’s match, the Mustangs rolled from the start. Mustang coach Kyle Warner is pleased with the progress of his young group. “We’ve got a super, super young team,” he said after the Indian Valley match. “We’ve got 14 freshmen in the room this year. We’ve got a lot of potential in that class and I’m seeing it all the way across the board from top to bottom. They get in there and get after it every day.” He was also pleased with the win over the Braves. “They’ve gotten the best of us the last four or five years and we returned the favor today. It was great to see that energy and the fan base.” The Mustangs are back in action this weekend as they will travel to Alliance for the Top Gun Tournament. RANKINGS Scrolling through some of the most current rankings on Flowwrestling.org, we found the following area wrestlers ranked in the Top 10. Division II  Carrollton: Cael Lowdermilk, 7th at 113 pounds. Claymont: Daniel McGarr, 9th at 120; Nile Abbuhl, 9th at 132. Indian Valley: Brodie Raymond, 6th at 106; Jaxon Burcher, 2nd at 215. West Holmes: Peyton Martin, 7th at 120; Louden Dixon, 2nd at 150. Division III Fairless: Virgil McVicker, 9th at 144; Collin Sullivan, 6th at 285. Garaway: Lukas Miller, 10th at 106; Matthew Frey, 10th at 165. Harrison Central: Knox McKibben, 6th at 215; Landen Thomas, 1st at 285. Malvern: Tyson Clear, 3rd at 165.

The University of Mount Union Women’s Wrestling team is making their mark as the first women’s wrestling team in school history. Standout freshman Emma Hanrahan is off to a successful start as a Raider. At the school’s first tournament at Adrian College, Hanrahan won the tournament in the 138 weight class. “My expectations when coming to Mount Union were to make history in our new program and have a team that supports me on the way. I have goals set for myself for college and I want to accomplish them. I want to be a national champion,” said Hanrahan. She has goals set and she is ready to put in the work to achieve them; “My individual goals for this season are to get on the national podium and become a scholar all-American.” Hanrahan, a Tippecanoe High School graduate, was a 2024 OHSAA State Champion. With a successful high school career, she was eager to begin her college journey and continue to grow her success, “I think being a state champion has helped my college career because in high school I wrestled on an all boys wrestling team and being the only girl made me pave the way for girls wrestling in my high school which is helping me pave the way for our first year program in college,” stated Hanrahan. In recent matches, Hanrahan has gone undefeated at the John Carroll Duals and Kalahari Duals as well as finishing third at the York Invitational. The success of Hanrahan does not happen without all of the work she puts in behind the scenes. The hours of training and preparation contribute to all of the wins she produces; “Seeing my hard work pay off is a good feeling to have because it means that all my time and effort that I spend training is not going to waste. I think that future commits that are coming to Mount and my current teammates see that the effort that I put into the sport and the effort my coaches put into our training is helping us achieve our goals,” expressed Hanrahan. The Raiders’ first ever home wrestling match will be on Sunday, January 19th where they will host the Mount Union Invitational. “I want to see our team place within the top 15 teams at nationals and for our team to have at least 5 national qualifiers. I think that Raider fans can expect our team to be aggressive and ready to compete because we all have the drive to win, and to show people that we can compete just like men can,” said Hanrahan regarding Raider fans' expectations for the remainder of the season. Be sure to come support the Raider Women’s Wrestling team and watch Hanrahan and the other Raiders’ continue to make history!

When the postgame discussions were complete, Indian Valley senior Jaxon Burcher stood in the interview room, clutching the Division IV state championship trophy. He said he wasn’t planning to let go. “They’re going to have to make another one, I’m not giving this back,” he joked. Burcher did, indeed, let go of the trophy, handing it to teammates as they all celebrated at a post-midnight community celebration at Brotherhood HVAC Stadium in Gnadenhutten. Here’s what the celebration was about: Indian Valley edged Sandusky Perkins 37-36 in the Division IV final to win not just the first high school football state championship in school history, but the first to ever win a championship game in Tuscarawas County, in an absolute classic played at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton Saturday night. “I’m proud of our young men and how hard they worked,” said Indian Valley coach Matt Lancaster, who just wrapped up his 18th year at the school. I’m happy to say it paid off for them.” The game was an offensive shootout from the start. Both sides scored almost at will and neither team punted. It wasn’t until sophomore cornerback Carsen Hostetler slapped away a fourth-down pass with 4:16 left in the game did either team record a defensive stop. “We needed to get one defensive stop and finally came up with one,” Lancaster said. The numbers were wild and crazy. Indian Valley had 55 carries for 355 yards. Grady Kinsey, the game’s MVP, had 36 carries for 247 yards. His five touchdowns and two, two-point conversion runs, accounted for a Div. IV championship record 34 points. Quarterback Ryker Williams had 15 carries for 112 yards. On the Perkins side, quarterback Sam Schweinfurth and receiver Braylon Collier were equally incredible. Schweinfurth hit 18 of 24 passes for 370 yards and five touchdowns. Collier had eight receptions for 207 yards and three scores. The Braves, trailing 36-29, scored the only touchdown of the fourth quarter. Kinsey fumbled the ball at the goalline, but recovered the ball for a score that left the Braves behind by a single point. Kinsey then took a direct snap and bowled into the end zone for a two-point conversion with 8:15 left in the game to put his team up 37-36. The Pirates were far from done. They drove deep into Indian Valley territory and looked to take the lead when Collier made a diving catch in the end zone. The touchdown was nullified on a penalty. On fourth down, Schweinfurth threw a pass inside the 5 that hit Collier in the hands, but Hostetler showed up in time to slap the ball away and give it back to Indian Valley. A field goal would have given the Pirates a lead. “We felt confident in Grant’s (Hickman) ability to go out and kick a field goal, but it came down to there was too much time on the clock,” said Perkins coach Jalen Santoro. “It was one of those things where a field goal wouldn’t do you any good if they had the ball at the end.” After the turnover on downs, it was Kinsey, Kinsey and more Kinsey as the Braves ran out the clock and secured the championship. On one play, the junior tailback broke through the line and had a clear path to the end zone. Once the first down was secured, however, he slowed and slid to a stop to keep the clock rolling with under two minutes to play. “That was more of an instinct,” Kinsey said when asked if the slide was part of a plan. “I know their offense was real. No. 1 (Collier) is super explosive. He was one of the best players we’ve played in years. “I just wanted to grind it out, get a few first downs, run the clock out and win by one point.” There were very few miscues in the game. Trailing 7-0, Indian Valley scored on the first play of the second quarter, but the PAT attempt was blocked, leaving the Pirates on top 7-6. On the kickoff, the Pirates fumbled the ball. Indian Valley recovered and scored. The two-point conversion put the Braves up 14-7. With the game tied 22-22, Perkins recovered an on-side kick to open the second half. Down 29-22 in the third quarter, Indian Valley was pushed back to the 9 on a penalty. On 1st and 19, Kinsey took a toss sweep and ran to the right. He stopped and fired a pass back to Williams. The play went for 50 yards and was Indian Valley’s longest play of the night. The drive ended in a Kinsey touchdown and a 29-29 tie. Williams only threw the ball twice in the winning effort. He completed a 4-yard pass to Jaxon Burcher and later hit Burcher with a two-point conversion. GRINDING IT OUT Indian Valley’s ground attack was the difference in the game. The Pirates knew what was coming, but were unable to stop it. “We knew they were going to stack the box,” said senior center Hunter Peterman. “We knew that if we could get on them fast enough that nobody was arm tackling our guys. We were obviously outsized, so we had to get there fast and hit them as hard as we could ... every time.” As a part of Indian Valley’s offense, Kinsey and Williams often lined up side by side in the backfield. Twice in the game, the snap went to Kinsey, who then handed it off to Williams for positive gains. “Grady took a lot of the defense with him with his fakes and the linebackers were reading Grady all night,” said Williams. “He went the opposite way I went most of the time and it worked out for us.” BY THE NUMBERS Kinsey finished the season with 3,278 yards. “I’ve never been around a tougher competitor, a harder worker and a better young man,” Lancaster said of Kinsey. “The kid rocks it in the classroom and off the field in everything he does. The kid is a great leader for our younger guys. “He’s just a heck of a football player. There are a lot of Grady doubters out there ... he’s not big enough, he’s not fast enough, but in the state championship game against one of the great D-IV teams in the state, I think he showed he’s a pretty good running back.” In the game, the Braves ran 57 offensive plays and racked up 409 yards. The Pirates ran 40 offensive plays and had 441 yards. The Braves ended the season at 16-0. Photo Credit: ANDREW DOLPH/TIMES-REPORTER LINK

They call it six seconds of maximum effort. Every play, all game long. That mindset has led Indian Valley’s football team to 15 straight wins and a berth in a championship game. The Braves (15-0) will take on Sandusky Perkins (14-1) on Saturday at 7:30 at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, with the winner being crowned the Division IV state champion. “We’re ready to go,” said senior Eric Golder. “We fully believe we can go out and win this game for our town and our community.” The Braves earned their spot in the title game with a 29-20 win over Cincinnati Taft last Friday at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus. Perkins advanced with a 13-11 victory over defending state champion Cleveland Glenville at Clyde. The Braves have faced plenty of tests this year, beginning in Week 4 when they traveled to Dover where they picked up their first win against the Tornadoes in a 45-41 shootout. “That’s when we figured out that we’re going to be really good this year,” said tailback Grady Kinsey, a finalist for Ohio’s Mr. Football award. “We went in there and we weren’t really that tested, but we played our butts off and got a win and I’m not sure if anything has topped that yet.” “After we beat Dover, I was on Cloud 9 and I thought ‘we can win it all’” said two-way lineman Hunter Peterman.”And then we beat Garaway and Ridgewood and then kept winning in the playoffs, I thought we can really do this and it's pretty surreal to be playing in Canton this week.” The Dover win was, indeed, a milestone for Indian Valley and the Braves have made the most of it. The Braves followed that with wins over unbeaten Garaway and Ridgewood in Weeks 7 and 8 in picking up the Inter-Valley Conference South Division title. “Those were big wins and obviously they prepared us for a playoff run and the way we’ve played in the playoffs has, hopefully, prepared us for this week,” said Head Coach Matt Lancaster. Indian Valley is not only playing in the championship game for the first time, the Braves are the first team from Tuscarawas County to advance to the title game. The Braves key to victory in the title game? “It’s going to be the same thing that got us here ... it’s going to be running the ball,” Kinsey said. “It’s going to be Indian Valley drives ... slow, grinding drives. “We like our chances running downhill. We like what we do. We’ve been tested by good defenses before in Dover, Garaway, Ridgewood and Taft, last week. I believe Taft was the best defense we’ve played all year. They were super fast and they were coached well.” A physical running game is Indian Valley’s trademark. In the win over Taft, both Kinsey and Williams bowled over would-be tacklers inside the 5 on their way to touchdowns. “It’s pretty cool (for lineman) to have running backs who can hit as hard as they can,” Peterman said. “Nothing gets you hyped up like seeing your quarterback truck-stick a linebacker.” “We have to be physical,” Golder said. “We’re not gonna shy away from our game plan, but we have to keep their offense off the field. We have to keep our offense moving. We’re going to play Indian Valley football and we’re not going to try to do anything out of our character.” BY THE NUMBERS Despite playing just 27 of 40 quarters during the regular season, Kinsey led the state in rushing yards ... and hasn’t let up. Through 15 games, he has 3,031 yards on 263 carries, which is tops in Ohio. That works out to 11.5 yards per carry. Williams has 1,322 yards on 161 carries (8.2 per carry). Golder has 399 yards on the season. Williams has passed for 1,004 yards, hitting 66 of 110 passes. He has 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Golder has 20 catches for a team-leading 305 yards and four touchdowns, while tight end Jaxon Burcher has 11 catches for 226 yards and three scores. Kinsey has 45 touchdowns on the season, while Williams has 15 and Golder seven. Burcher leads the team defensively with 102 tackles, while junior Rowan Piccin has 86 and freshman linebacker Bradley Barr 83. Golder and sophomore corner Carsen Hostetler have 68 each. “We’re going to need our defense to step up,” Lancaster said. “That’s been a key to our success. Early in the season our defense was very suspect. We have a lot of young guys playing on that side of the ball. As the season has gone on, those guys have progressed and gotten better and we’ve been playing our best defense here in the playoffs. “We’re going to need to continue that and have everybody on the same page against a very good Perkins offense.” TWO-WAY LEADER Many quarterbacks don’t get the chance to play defensively, but Williams has not only done the job offensively, but he’s been a standout on defense as well. The sophomore has a team-leading 12 sacks and an interception to go along with 66 tackles. He said that he enjoys playing defense, but it comes with a price. “I always look forward to playing both ways and being out on the field,” he said. “But I get very exhausted, especially by the fourth quarter, I’m out there sucking wind.” T-COUNTY CONNECTION One member of the Perkins coaching staff is more than familiar with Tuscarawas County. Travis Crabtree, a 1991 Claymont graduate, is an assistant coach for the Pirates. He is also the father of inside linebacker Dylan Crabtree, a 5-10, 165 pound, senior. Dylan, who will play college baseball at the University of Findlay, leads the state’s Div. IV linebackers with 170 tackles. Travis played football and wrestled during his time at Claymont. He has been the head wrestling coach at Perkins since 2001 and has a record of 317-108. He is also an assistant baseball coach at the school. With the football season extended, Crabtree is taking part in two practices a day. “I go to wrestling first from about 3 to 4 and then I turn it over to the assistant coaches and go to football,” he said. MORE ON PERKINS The Pirates also feature a strong offensive game. Isaac Bunts leads the team in rushing with 2,316 yards and 32 touchdowns. Quarterback Sam Schweinfurth has hit 165 of 256 passes for 2,632 yards with 35 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Braylon Collier, who will play at Michigan State, is the leading receiver with 76 catches for 1,216 yards and 22 touchdowns. Also of note, linebacker Mikey Young will play at Harvard and lineman Eli Sanchez has not selected a college, but has six Div. I offers, according to Crabtree.

It was a disastrous start, but an incredible finish for Indian Valley. The Braves scored twice in the second half and played shutdown defense in pulling out a 29-20 win over Cincinnati Taft in the Division IV state semifinals played at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus. The win earns the Braves (15-0) a spot in Tom Benson Stadium next Saturday, where they will face Sandusky Perkins (14-1) for the Division IV state championship. The game featured a strong turnaround for the Braves after a nightmare of a beginning. The Senators scored on the opening kickoff and, following an Indian Valley interception, scored again on a long scramble by quarterback Monsanna Torbert. Less than 2 1⁄2 minutes into the game, the Braves were facing a 15-0 deficit and looked physically outmatched. “We intentionally sky-kicked early because we were afraid of their returners because they’re athletes. We took poor angles and they took it to the house and that was a horrible start,” said Indian Valley coach Matt Lancaster. “Our opening drive we didn’t get much out of and they went down and scored right again. “That’s a credit to them. They’re a great team. I think it took us some time to catch up to their speed. You can’t simulate that in practice. Once we settled in, I was really pleased with how our defense played.” The Braves did settle in and held the Senators out of the end zone the rest of the game. Taft held a 20-15 lead at halftime and a third-quarter touchdown by Ryker Williams gave Indian Valley a 21-20 lead. Indian Valley’s defense twice stopped Taft on downs in the fourth quarter, the last coming with 5:42 left in the game. That’s when Indian Valley gave the Senators a large dose of Grady Kinsey. The junior tailback, a finalist for Ohio’s Mr. Football award, carried the ball on every play of a 77-yard drive that ended with a 7 yard touchdown with :58 seconds on the clock. “That was my favorite drive of my whole career so far,” Kinsey said. “It was the epitome of an Indian Valley drive. “I think that’s a testament to our kids, all the way through our whole year. Just going out there and being selfless, doing their job and going out and being physical and being nasty and that’s what I love about Indian Valley football.” Kinsey actually stopped himself on the next-to-last play of the drive, sliding to a stop on the 7 without being tackled. “It wasn’t something I was thinking of before the play, but I knew the situation we were in, wanting to run some clock,” the junior tailback said. “I knew if we wanted to get into the end zone that we were going to get into the end zone, that’s just how our O Line was playing at the time. We were being physical and we were moving people. I have so much love for those guys and that was awesome.” “I told Coach Pete (offensive coordinator Chad Peterman) that only No. 22 was going to touch the ball the rest of the game,” Lancaster said. “He’s a machine and he’s the best football player we’ve ever had. And if we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down with the ball in his hands. You saw what he did behind our offensive line that put together a good drive to finish the game.” Kinsey’s touchdown made the score 27-20, but the Braves iced the game on the PAT. The snap was low and not clean, so Williams – the holder on the kick attempt – picked up the ball, rolled to the right and fired a pass to the left side of the end zone, where kicker Colt James pull in in for the two-pointer that made it 29-20 and a two-score game with less than a minute to play. SHOWING UP Indian Valley players and coaches credited a large and vocal crowd that showed up to support the team in a game played two hours from home and in frigid conditions. “The 12th man definitely helped out tonight,” Lancaster said. “It was a great high school football presence. Our crowd was phenomenal. I know there were more people than just Indian Valley up there. It was T-County and we’re going to need that support next week.” “A huge shout out to our fans,” Kinsey said. “We almost filled out a whole Major League Soccer stadium and it was awesome.” COMING UP Indian Valley/Perkins will be the final game in the championship weekend at Tom Benson Stadium. The schedule is as follows: Thursday Division II: Avon vs. Anderson at 7 p.m. Friday Division VII: Hillsdale vs. Marion Local at 10:30 a.m. Division III: Toledo Central Catholic vs. Watterson at 3 p.m. Division I: Olentangy Liberty vs. Archbishop Moeller at 7:30 p.m. Saturday Division VI: Kirtland vs. Coldwater at 10:30 a.m. Division V: Liberty Center vs. Ironton at 3 p.m. Division IV: Perkins vs. Indian Valley at 7:30 p.m. PHOTO CREDIT: ANDREW DOLPH/TIMES-REPORTER LINK

It’s not like opposing teams don’t know what they’re getting when they face Indian Valley’s football team. Here’s an imaginary scouting report: They’re going to run the ball ... a lot. Indian Valley’s running game has, in fact, helped the Braves run up a record of 14-0 and a spot in this Friday’s Division IV state semifinals. They will face Cincinatti Taft (12-2) Friday night at Historic Cooper Stadium in Columbus. The numbers speak for themselves. Tailback Grady Kinsey and quarterback Ryker Williams have combined for nearly 4,100 yards rushing on the season. As a team, the Braves have just over 5,000 rushing yards. While the backs are often perceived as the stars, it’s a solid offensive line that lays the foundation. “It all starts up front,” said veteran coach Matt Lancaster. “Players at Indian Valley take a lot of pride in what they do up front.” The Braves start three seniors on the line in Hunter Peterman, David Striker and Jaxon Burcher. Junior Koy Haney and sophomores Titan Peterman and Brogan Wilson round out the starters. While they represent a solid group, they’re generally facing an uphill battle. “I don’t think we’ve been the bigger team in any game we’ve played this year,” Lancaster said. So what are the keys to the team’s success? “A lot of it is coming off the ball fast and not letting their size scare us,” said Peterman, the starting center. “We have to hit them like we’re 6-foot-6 even though most of us are 5-8.” “It’s just doing the little things right,” said offensive coach Chad Peterman. “We tell our kids we’re not the biggest, we’re not the strongest, we’re not the most athletic, we just do things right. “We do things differently, we don’t do the zone schemes that other teams do, when we double team, we truly want to move people. We focus on the little things – true technique – and being masters at what we do.” It seems to be working. Not only have the Braves won all 14 games they’ve played, there are very few that have been close. The team is averaging 43.8 points per game. They’ve scored 40 points or more every game and have topped the 50-point mark twice. The line has opened enough holes for Kinsey to run for 2,844 yards and 42 touchdowns, both numbers that lead the state. Williams has added 1,255 yards and has passed for 966 more. Burcher is the tight end, but has the ability to play fullback or anywhere on the line, as needed. “We just practice physically every day,” Burcher said. “It’s a non-stop grind for us. It’s all thanks to Coach Pete. He’s a really good coach, but we’re a bunch of hard-nose players and we like to grind. We like hitting people.” The line showed their grit last week as the Braves jumped out early and beat previously unbeaten St. Clairsville 48-7 in the regional championship game at Zanesville. The ride home provided some excitement as well. A number of police and fire trucks from the various communities that make up the district waited at a gas station in Port Washington and escorted the team back to the school in Gnadenhutten. “That definitely wasn’t expected,” Hunter Peterman said after a community pep rally in the school’s gym Monday evening. “They told us we couldn’t ride home with our parents. I was upset at first because I was going to go get some Raising Canes, but once I found out what it was, I was pretty excited. It was pretty cool.” “It was nice to celebrate with people I’ve been around with my whole life,” said Striker. “It’s exciting for us ... it’s exciting for everyone around here,” Burcher said of the celebrations. “The community is excited, all the little kids are excited, I’m excited. It really means a lot to all of us. We’re ready for another week.” “Quiet Dave has really worked hard to make the most of his ability,” Lancaster said. “Jaxon does a lot from different positions. He’s always pushing. And Hunter is the brains of the operation. He’s the key to our communication and he helps everyone.  “All those guys are selfless. They do what they do for our backs.”

Jeffrey Mansfield was a key player during the 2022-2023 Men’s Basketball season. The 2022-2023 team made it to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, where they ended up as the DIII Basketball Championship runner-up. “It’s a memory that will last forever. That team was special. It was a group of guys that liked being around each other, hung out all the time and only cared about winning,” said Mansfield. During the 2022-2023 season the Raiders had a record of 30-3. Mansfield led the team in assists and was recognized as All OAC Honorable Mention. Mansfield, a 2023 University of Mount Union graduate, is a current assistant coach for the University of Mount Union Men's Basketball team. The transition from being a college athlete to coaching college athletics could be tricky for some, but Mansfield has made the transition with ease; “I’ve learned a lot in my transition. But the biggest thing I’ve learned is how to take the discipline that comes with being an athlete and put it towards coaching. The other huge thing I have learned is to be the coach that you would want to play for.” Mike Gregg, a University of Mount Union Men’s Assistant Basketball Coach, has been a mentor and influence for Mansfield during his time as a student and coach at Mount Union; “Mike Gregg helped me a lot in my time at Mount. Being three hours away from my friends and family, Mike Gregg really filled that void. From helping me with schooling and basketball to a person who just cared about me as a person.” Mansfield hopes to have the same influence on his athletes that Mike Gregg has had on him. “My main goal as a coach is all about helping athletes become the best version of themselves on and off the court. It is one of the best feelings watching your athletes grow as a person. Being a coach to me is all about helping impact the lives of all the athletes I interact with,” stated Mansfield. Mansfield spent the first three years of his college athletic career at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio. He then transferred to the University of Mount Union where he finished his final year of basketball and received his bachelor’s degree in sport business. Mansfield has spent the past two years coaching college athletics and is happy to call Mount Union home, “Mount Union is a special place and will forever be a place I consider home. Mount Union has taught me a lot about myself and contributed a lot to my personal growth. I have met some of my closest friends here and will forever be thankful for this place.” The Men’s Basketball team’s next home game is next Saturday, December 7th where they will take on Capital University. Be sure to come support Mansfield, the players, and other coaches as their season is just getting started.

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.

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.