Monroe Central’s defense spent a month building a reputation, and on Friday night it cashed it in. The fourth-seeded Seminoles routed fifth-seeded Newcomerstown 49-8 in Woodsfield in a Division VI, Region 23 quarterfinal, ending the Trojans’ seven-game winning streak.
The final score was confirmed on the statewide scoreboards published by The Columbus Dispatch, the Mansfield News Journal, the Zanesville Times Recorder and the Ironton Tribune. Monroe Central improved to 8-3, while Newcomerstown finished its season 9-3.
The matchup was billed as a collision of strengths. As the Times Reporter outlined in its quarterfinal preview, Newcomerstown arrived averaging 41.6 points per game and having outscored its opponents 458-174 on the season, while Monroe Central came in allowing just 11.7 points per game, with three shutouts during a four-game winning streak that closed the regular season.
Friday settled the argument decisively for the defense. The Seminoles, who had a first-round bye, held the Trojans to a single score while putting up 49 points of their own — Newcomerstown’s lowest output of the season by a wide margin, after the Trojans’ 38-22 first-round win over Centerburg.
For Newcomerstown, the loss closes a 9-3 season built on one of the most explosive offenses in the region. For Monroe Central, the win is a fifth straight victory and the program’s deepest statement of the postseason: the Seminoles opened their postseason by leaning on the defense that carried them through October.
The Seminoles’ closing stretch explains the confidence. The four-game winning streak that carried them into the bye included three shutouts, among them a 34-0 win over Shadyside in the regular-season finale, according to the Times Reporter’s preview. Friday’s 49 points were their most emphatic offensive night of that run, and it came against the most productive offense they have faced all season.
Monroe Central’s road now runs through the region’s top seed. The Seminoles advance to a Region 23 semifinal on Friday, Nov. 13, against No. 1 Hannibal River, which beat Fredericktown 49-34 on Friday night to stay unbeaten. The winner reaches the regional final on Nov. 20.
The other Region 23 semifinal sends Garaway — a 49-28 winner over Nelsonville-York on Friday, as NewsForce247 reported — against Waterford, which edged West Jefferson 21-14. Southeast Ohio will have a team in the Region 23 final either way; Monroe Central plans on it being the Seminoles.
Photo: Bwsmith84, CC BY 3.0