Dewy, foggy, hazy, I cannot find the words to best describe the night at West Family Stadium on the campus of West Liberty. It was a great night for high school football, though. And we had one of the most anticipated OVAC matchups of the season between the Steubenville Big Red and the Linsly Cadets.
Not only this, but it was also homecoming night for Linsly. It was great to see Linsly student Lexi Finley on the homecoming court for the Cadets. I have known Lexi since she was born, got to see her grow up, and even had her in class.
A packed, raucous crowd filled West Family Stadium for both Steubenville and Linsly. After last year’s instant classic which saw the Cadets come away with a 28-27 victory, we were looking forward to another fantastic match up.
The game began as a defensive battle as each team’s offense struggled to gain yards against each stout defense. Using a combination of the run game and the pass game, Steubenville was able to strike first on a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Aydan Manning (190 yards and a touchdown in the air). The key play on the drive was a fourth down conversion pass from Manning to standout wide receiver/tight end Isaac Hill.
Steubenville was able to strike again in the first quarter. This time on a 4-yard touchdown run by outstanding running back Savier Faulks (15 carries 30 yds). Steubenville now led 14-0 going into the second quarter.
Defense took center stage again in the second quarter as each team could not muster much on the offensive end. The key to the only score of the second quarter started with a Keith Lewis interception for the Big Red that set them up in great field position. Linsly’s defense made Steubenville earn every yard on the short field. But they were unable to keep Cajun Bryant out of the endzone on the drive. The Bryant 4-yard run gave the Big Red a 21-0 lead with just over 4 minutes to go in the half. Bryant finished the game with 48 yards on 14 carries.
During the halftime festivities Emily Klempa was crowned homecoming queen. It was a great evening for all the young ladies on the court.
As much as the defense took center stage in the first half, the second half started with an offensive explosion for each group. Atley Cowan started off hot in the half as he hit Lucca Troullos for a 73-yard touchdown on the Cadets first drive of the half. This was part of a great night for Cowan as he passed for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night.
Later in the quarter Cowan went back to the air again as he hit a wide-open Jaxon Murray who took the pass in for a 60 yard catch and run. This touchdown pulled the Cadets to within 8 at 21-13. The Cadet faithful and students were now back into the game going into the 4th as back-to-back victories over Steubenville were now in their grasp.
Defense ruled the 4th until very late in the game. With about 2 minutes left in the game, Manning found LeeAnthony Sewell for a 36-yard touchdown to seemingly put the game out of reach for the Big Red, who now led 27-13. Cowan and the Cadets had other ideas, though.
Just 30 seconds after the Big Red put their last score on the board, Cowan came up big again for the Cadets. He threw a bomb to star receiver Malte Feil who scored from 59 yards out to cut the Steubenville lead to 27-19.
After holding the Big Red to a 3 and out and a punt, the Linsly offense came back onto the field to see if they had anything left in the tank. Linsly was able to get the ball to midfield after the Big Red punt. The ensuing Hail Mary pass fell incomplete to the turf, which ended an exciting night of OVAC football action.
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