Big Red secures 19th-straight appearance in the playoffs
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STEUBENVILLE -- Following Friday's 48-28 victory over Linsly inside Harding Stadium, veteran Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia briefly discussed his 23 seniors who were recognized prior to the opening kick.
"That was probably their last home game -- their last walk-up the ramp from the fieldhouse," he said. "I guarantee you they are going to miss it, and we are going to miss them -- but it's not over."
With the win, Big Red finishes its regular season at 6-3 and has earned its 19th-consecutive trip to the playoffs. As of late Saturday afternoon, Joe Eitel had Steubenville, which entered the Linsly game riding a two-game losing streak, occupying the fifth spot in the Division III, Region 9 standings. Saccoccia's club will hit the road for Week 11, probably visiting unbeaten Aurora. The official pairings will be announced today.
Linsly, which started its season with seven-straight victories, finishes at 7-3.
Big Red turned its first five possessions into touchdowns, then survived a wild second half to earn the senior night triumph.
"Just beautiful," Saccoccia said about his team's start. "I'll definitely take that every time. That was a good win. Linsly is a very good team with a really good offense.
"We just seem to keep people in the game, but that's how it goes. Linsly took advantage of its opportunities in the second half, and we didn't do a really good job of closing things out. Overall, I'm happy with the way we rose to the occasion. It's been a long three weeks."
Big Red took the opening kickoff and quickly traveled 65 yards for a touchdown. It came on a 27-yard pass from Randy Mitchell to Stone Biacco. The conversion attempt was blocked.
The hosts struck again later in the quarter following a short Linsly punt. This time, Mitchell connected with Noah Howarth for a 22-yard score. Rodney James, Jr. ran for the two-pointer. The score moved to 21-0 thanks to Tayveon Crawford's 17-yard scoring jaunt. Jared Roberts nailed the extra point.
Crawford would find the end zone two more times before the half on runs of 17 and 11. Tanner Power's kick following Crawford's second score made it 34-0.
Linsly went 58 yards just before the break and scored on a 5-yard pass from Hunter Kelley to Kobe Hill.
During the opening 24 minutes, Big Red's offense ran 37 plays for 304 yards and five scores. Meanwhile, the Cadets were held to 94 plays on 24 snaps.
The Cadets took the second-half kick and immediately marched 63 yards for their second score, which came on a 2-yard run by Kelley. Big Red immediately responded, driving to the Linsly 1. That threat ended with a fumble, with Logan Gill recovering.
B.J. Depew's squad then traveled 99 yards to make it 35-21. Talented senior Trevin Tush capped the long march with a 13-yard run.
Big Red took the ensuing kickoff and moved 80 yards, Crawford doing the honors from 2 yards away. The drive featured a 65-yard scamper by Mitchell. The Cadets weren't done, however. Steven Felton's 1-yard run cut the deficit to 41-28.
An unsuccessful onside kick attempt allowed Steubenville to start its next possession at its own 48. Several snaps later, Mitchell found Niko Kausky for an 8-yard touchdown.
"In the first half, we scored on our first five possessions, and we held them to a touchdown," Saccoccia said. "On our first possession of the second half, we drove to the 1. So, on our first six possessions, we put ourselves in position to score six times.
"As a coach who has been around for a while, I realize when you go up 34-0 on a team, there is a sort of a letdown. But, after our letdown, I thought we did a great of continue to score points."
Big Red finished with 477 offensive yards compared to 360 for the Cadets.
"I'm extremely proud of our guys," Depew said. "It was 34-0, and it's tough to be down 34-0 to anyone let alone Big Red. I do believe a lot of teams would have folded up shot at that point. Our guys impressed me so much. They made our school and our football program proud. I'm so happy with the way they fought.
"In the second half, we started to get our passing going a little which opened up the run. Scheme is one thing but, more than anything else, these kids never quit playing. They kept doing the things they have been coached to do and believed in each other. We were able to move the ball and played better defensively. We got a huge turnover at the goal line and turned it into a 99-yard drive. We'll look back at all those things, remember them and be so proud of the way this team performed tonight."
Crawford moved closer to the 2,000-yard rushing mark, finishing with 176 yards on 29 carries. He now has 1,906 for the season and 27 scores via the ground. Mitchell completed 10 of his 13 passing attempts for 137 yards. He also collected 91 rushing yards on just three tries.
Kelley was outstanding in the defeat, completing 22 of his 30 passes for 276 yards. Tush was his favorite target, hauling in 11 catches for 111 yards.
"I'm proud of both teams and the effort the players from both teams gave (Friday)," Saccoccia said. "I'm most proud of my team for the way our guys handled the schedule we played.
"We have three losses, but we made the Division III playoffs and nearly earned a home game."
Steubenville 48, Linsly 28
Linsly 0-7-14-7 -- 28
Big Red 14-20-0-14 -- 48
BIG RED: Biacco 27 pass from Mitchell (kick blocked)
BIG RED: Howarth 22 pass from Mitchell (James run)
BIG RED: Crawford 17 run (Roberts kick)
BIG RED: Crawford 11 run (kick failed)
BIG RED: Crawford 9 run (Power kick)
LINSLY: Hill 5 pass from Kelley (Lima kick)
LINSLY: Kelley 2 run (Lima kick)
LINSLY: Tush 13 run (Lima kick)
BIG RED: Crawford 2 run (Roberts kick)
LINSLY: Felton 1 run (Lima kick)
BIG RED: Kausky 8 pass from Mitchell (Roberts kick)
RUSHING: Linsly 26-84-3 (Nyh 5-44; Kelley 13-23-1; Felton 4-6-1; Tush 4-11-1); Big Red 49-340-4 (Crawford 29-176-4; Mitchell 3-91; Tuttle 4-9; James 2-13; Kausky 3-12; Zorne 1-2; Bozica 7-37).
PASSING: Linsly 22-30-276-1 (all by Kelley); Big Red 10-13-137-3 (all by Mitchell).
RECEIVING: Linsly 22-276-1 (Tush 11-111; Zaccirey 1-52; Hill 5-32-1; Felton 2-9; Nyh 2-76; Kaufmann 1-(-4)); Big Red 10-137-3 (Biacco 2-33-1; Roberts 3-53; Howarth 1-22-1; Tuttle 1-9; Zorne 2-12; Kausky 1-8-1).
FIRST DOWNS: Linsly 18; Big Red 26.
PENALTIES-YARDS: Linsly 8-58; Big Red 4-30.
PUNTS: Linsly 4-25; Big Red 0-0.
FUMBLES-LOST: Linsly 1-0; Big Red 1-1.