Barnesville’s perfect season ended Friday night, Nov. 13, as Girard won 39-26 at Shamrock Stadium in an Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V, Region 17 semifinal between two unbeaten teams. The final score is listed in the Mansfield News Journal’s statewide regional-semifinal list, The Columbus Dispatch’s third-round scoreboard, High School On SI’s statewide finals and the Reflector’s Friday scores.
Both teams entered the night 11-0, according to the OHSAA’s regional-semifinal pairings: Barnesville as the region’s No. 2 seed and host, Girard as the No. 3 seed. One of the state’s last unbeaten-versus-unbeaten matchups of the third round decided a berth in the Region 17 championship game.
Girard arrived in form. The Indians beat Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 35-21 in the Nov. 6 quarterfinal, avenging last year’s regional championship loss to the Cardinals, YSN and Lake Valley Sports Media reported. Girard quarterback AJ Pearson threw for 342 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three more scores in that quarterfinal, Lake Valley Sports Media reported.
Barnesville’s quarterfinal was a showcase for its senior star. The Daily Jeffersonian reported that running back Trey Toliver, the Shamrocks’ all-time leading rusher, scored four touchdowns on 28 carries as Barnesville beat Martins Ferry 35-18 on Nov. 6 to reach the semifinal at 11-0.
The sources used for this story published no individual scoring plays or player statistics for the semifinal itself, so none are reported here. The four statewide lists agree on the outcome: Girard 39, Barnesville 26 — the Shamrocks’ first loss of the season, in the third round of the playoffs.
Barnesville finishes 11-1. The Shamrocks’ seniors close a season that included an undefeated regular season, a first-round bye and a quarterfinal win over a Martins Ferry team whose only two losses all year came against Barnesville, the Barnesville Area News reported after the quarterfinal.
Girard improves to 12-0 and returns to the regional championship game it reached a year ago — this time as the team that ended the region’s other perfect season on the road.
What happens next: Girard meets Perry in the Division V, Region 17 final on Friday, Nov. 20. Perry blanked Garrettsville Garfield 45-0 in the other Region 17 semifinal on Friday, according to the Mansfield News Journal’s statewide list. The OHSAA will announce the neutral site on Sunday, Nov. 15.
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