Top-seeded Indian Valley watched a 27-7 lead disappear Friday night, then leaned on senior quarterback Ryker Williams one more time to beat West Muskingum 35-28 in a Division IV, Region 15 quarterfinal in Gnadenhutten. Williams scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 4-yard run with 6:32 remaining, according to The Times-Reporter.
Indian Valley looked in complete control early. Williams opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and after an interception by the Braves’ defense, Reese St. Clair broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead, The Times-Reporter reported.
West Muskingum answered with a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, but Williams connected with St. Clair on a 30-yard touchdown pass and added another 4-yard rushing score to build the 27-7 advantage, according to The Times-Reporter. Then the Tornadoes stormed back: a 60-yard touchdown run with 42 seconds left in the first half, a 63-yard touchdown run to open the second half, and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter gave West Muskingum a 28-27 lead after 21 unanswered points.
The Braves failed on a fourth-down try, but their defense forced a fumble to give the offense one more chance, and Williams finished the drive with the winning run, The Times-Reporter reported. He finished with three rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown.
“We’ve been facing a lot of adversity this year,” Indian Valley coach Matt Lancaster told The Times-Reporter. “We know we’re going to get everybody’s best, and West Muskingum is a really good football team. So we overcame the adversity and were able to get a turnover and capitalize on it tonight.” Williams told The Times-Reporter the Braves never panicked: “We still had 12 minutes left, and we were only down by one point.”
For West Muskingum, the loss ended a bounce-back season. “All we could ask for was a chance in the fourth quarter, and we had that,” Tornadoes coach Nate Brownrigg told The Times-Reporter.
Unbeaten Indian Valley now gets a rematch with Claymont in the Region 15 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 13. The Braves escaped the regular-season meeting 7-6 on Oct. 23 — Claymont’s only loss — and Claymont advanced Friday by beating Johnstown 35-19, according to The Times-Reporter.
Photo: Roseohioresident, CC BY-SA 4.0