St. Clairsville and Johnstown-Monroe collided Friday night in Zanesville for the 3rd round of the Ohio playoffs.
The Red Devils received the opening kickoff, and marched down the field with Matt Kinnick scoring from 13 yards out to give the Red Devils their first touchdown of the game.
St. Clairsville would get the ball back and quickly move down field before the Johnstown defense came up with a big defensive stand inside their redzone. The Devils settled for a fieldgoal, taking a 10-0 advantage.
In the ensuing possession the Red Devil defense forced and recovered a fumble. The offense only needed 3 plays before Michael Ferns scored on a catch and run.
St. Clairsville closed out the 1st half 17-0 in the Red Devils favor.
Johnstown got on the scoreboard midway through the 2nd quarter with a long touchdown run, closing the gap 17-7.
The Devils came right back on their next drive, scoring from 21 yards with a diving catch from Jerrid Marhefka. St. Clairsville connected on the extra point to take a 24-7 lead that would carry into halftime.
After a series of turnovers in the 3rd quarter, Johnstown was first to score in the 2nd half on a 10 play, 80 yard drive. Johnstown took advantage of an interception from their defense and scored again, narrowing St. Clairsville’s lead to 3 points.
St. Clairsville’s high power offense immediately answered back with a 66 yard touchdown pass to Marhefka. The Devils went up 31-21.
The Red Devil defense quickly followed up by forcing a Johnstown turnover on downs, deep in their own territory. The Devil offense capitalized with a touchdown to increase their lead 37-21.
Johnstown scored with 13 seconds left in the game to make the score look more modest. The Red Devils won 37-29.
St. Clairsville will face Norwayne, the defending D4 State Champions from 2011.
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Weirton Madonna and St. Marys matched up in Weirton for the 2nd round of the West Virginia playoffs.
St. Marys received the ball and quickly got on the scoreboard with a touchdown and two point conversion. Madonna answered right back with a pass from Comis to Nero for a touchdown. The Blue Dons converted on a two point conversion of their own to tie the game 8-8.
Both teams would exchange several punts before the Weirton Madonna defense changed momentum by stepping up and forcing a St. Mary’s fumble. Ross Comis marched The Dons down the field, scoring on a touchdown run.
Madonna took the lead heading into halftime 15-8.
St. Marys scored first in the 2nd half with a long physical drive, their two point conversation attempt was no good as they narrowed the Weirton Madonna lead 15-14.
The Dons answered right back with a touchdown run by Ross Comis, increasing their lead 22-14.
Weirton Madonna continued to build their lead with Comis and Nero hooking up again in the 4th quarter for a 53 yard pass to conclude the scoring. Weirton Madonna was victorious 29-14.
The Blue Dons will face the winner of Clay-Battelle and Tucker County, which will be played on Saturday at 1:30.
