NEW PHILADELPHIA — Big Red squared its all-time series with New Philadelphia thanks to a hard-fought 20-0 victory Friday inside Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium.

After a slow start, Steubenville’s offense found its rhythm in the second quarter and turned three straight possessions into the scores. Meanwhile, the defense pitched a shutout for a second consecutive week, holding the Quakers to less than 100 yards of total offense.

Steubenville now is 2-0 while New Philadelphia falls to 1-1. The series between the schools now stands at 7-7-1.

“I love the enthusiasm of this team and the way it keeps working,” Big Red coach Reno Saccoccia said after delivering post-game remarks to his team. “We just keep grinding and that’s something we have to keep doing.

“We had a beautiful performance defensively. Offensively, we left points on the field and not on the scoreboard. It’s just little things — little things on every play. We still have to focus on fixing those little things.”

Saccoccia’s crew got on the board with 11:16 left in the second. Senior quarterback Phaeton Hill and junior wideout Isaac Hill connected on a 38-yard pass and catch. I. Hill went up and snatched the ball away from a Quaker defense before strolling into the end zone. Freshman Cole Bowers nailed the extra point.

Steubenville’s second touchdown came with 2:21 left before half. Hard-running senior Spencer Ostovich capped the 67-yard drive with a 6-yard run.

It appeared Big Red had scored a few snaps earlier after P. Hill scrambled in from 16 yards out.

A penalty at the one, however, nullified that score. Bowers again split the uprights.

In the opening half, New Philadelphia was held to just 48 offensive yards, one first down and all five of its possessions ended with punts.

Big Red took the second half kick and traveled 80 yards for the game’s final score. The six-pointer came courtesy of a 13-yard sprint by junior Savier Faulks.

New Philadelphia’s best scoring opportunity came late in the third after Big Red fumbled a punt. The Quakers moved to from Steubenville’s 35 to the five. On second and goal, Ostovich broke through from his defensive end spot and delivered a huge sack of quarterback Keaton Fausel. Two passes then fell incomplete and Big Red took over on downs.

The Steubenville D recorded four quarterback sacks during the contest.

Big Red finished the game with 374 yards of offense, 219 via the ground and 155 through the air. Senior Gavin Bozica paced the running attack with 104 yards on 16 trips. Many of Bozica’s yards came in the second half with the Steubenville offensive line really began controlling the trenches. P. Hill threw for the 155, going 14 of 20. I. Hill had seven catches for 95 yards.

“Our line played great on both sides of the ball in the second half,” Saccoccia said.

Steubenville did hurt itself in the penalty department, drawing nine flags for 75 yards. Nearly half of those penalties were for false starts.

“Timing was a big part of that,” Saccoccia said. “We may have to cut down on the number of guys we are playing on offense that might help with our timing. We will see on Monday.

“I might be pulling at straws with that but that is what I am thinking. We started the second half with an 80-yard scoring drive and there were no penalties. When we can avoid penalties, we will be good. That is just something we have to fix.”

The Quakers could muster just 78 yards against Big Red’s stingy defense. New Philadelphia had 12 rushing yards. Fausel finished with 66 passing yards.

UP NEXT

Saccoccia and his Big Red will host powerful Archbishop Carroll from Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Sept. 3. The kick for the 2022 Legends Night celebration is set for 11 a.m. Seniors from the 1994 team will be honored.

New Philadelphia will travel to Wooster on Friday.

Steubenville 20, New Philadelphia 0

Big Red 0 14 6 0

N.P. 0 0 0 0

BIG RED: I. Hill 38 pass from P. Hill (Bowers kick)

BIG RED: Ostovich 6 run (Bowers kick)

BIG RED: Faulks 13 run (kick failed)

RUSHING: Big Red 40-219-2 (Bozica 16-104; Ostovich 4-28-1; P. Hill 3-7; Faulks 8-60-1; Edwards 2-4; Sims 2-13; Minniefield 2-(-1); Simmons 1-5; West 2-(-1); New Philadelphia 21-12 (Fausel 11-(-13); Bean 9-23; Wallace 1-1.

PASSING: Big Red 14-21-155-1-int (P. Hill 14-20-155-1; Manning 0-1-int); New Philadelphia 9-17-66 (all by Fausel).

RECEIVING: Big Red 14-155-1 (I. Hill 7-95-1; Buggs 2-30; Smith 2-10; Edwards 1-15; Bozica 1-8; Pierce 1-0); New Philadelphia 9-66 (Wallace 3-21; DiDonato 2-21; Wells 2-16; Tetzloff 1-3; Delacruz 1-5).

FIRST DOWNS: Big Red 16; New Philadelphia 5.

PENALTIES-YARDS: Big Red 9-75; New Philadelphia 5-40.

PUNTS: Big Red 0-0; New Philadelphia 7-36.

FUMBLES-LOST: Big Red 1-1; New Philadelphia 0-0.