Bellaire's RayRay Pettigrew, left, and Terrin Frazier celebrate Pettigrew's 12-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter Saturday night against Nelsonville-York in a Division VI, Region 23 semifinal at Philo High School's Sam Hatfield Stadium. The Big Reds won, 20-0.

DUNCAN FALLS, Oh. – Not since 2006 had Bellaire advanced to the regional finals in football. The just over a decade-and-a-half wait is over.

Using an opportunistic offense and a tough-as-nails defense, the third-ranked Big Reds (9-4) punched their ticket to the Ohio Division VI, Region 23 championship game with a 20-0 blanking of No. 2 Nelsonville-York (10-2) Saturday night at chill-filled Philo High School’s Sam Hatfield Stadium.

“It might not have been our prettiest game of the year, but at this time of the season, a win is a win is a win,” Bellaire head coach Mark Bonar said. “We capitalized off of a couple of their mistakes and our defense pitched a shutout.”

On the Buckeyes first play from scrimmage, tailback Gavin Richards put the ball on the turf and Bellaire senior RayRay Pettigrew pounced on it at the Nelsonville-York 31.

Seven plays, 31 yards and 3-minutes, 12-seconds later, Pettigrew took a swing pass in the right flat from quarterback Jake Heatherington , got to the outside and waltzed into the end zone to complete a 12-yard pitch-and-catch. The PAT was wide left as the Big Reds led 6-0 with 5:54 showing.

Nelsonville-York was driving early in the second quarter as it reached the Bellaire 17. However, the Big Reds buckled down to setup a fourth-and-10. Mahki Williams’ pass to Leighton Loge picked up 4 yards, but when Loge attempted to lateral the ball to teammate Dakota Inman who was trailing the play, the ball got away and Bellaire’s Jayson Lemley covered it at the Big Reds’ 30.

The designated visitors drove 70 yards on nine plays as Heatherington connected with Logan Edgar on a 23-yard scoring pass with 3:25 left before the half. The junior tight end was crossing the field from right to left and caught the pass five yards deep in the end zone. The two-poit conversion failed, leaving the score 12-0.

RayRay Pettigrew made his presence known once again, how this time on defense. He picked off a pass at the Bellaire 38 and Bellaire seemed to catch a break when the officials ruled a first down, after a measurement, on a key fourth-and-1. Tailback Drew White was near the line to get but the ball came loose and teammate Jakob Dowling fell on it. When the sticks were brought out, the Buckeyes and their fans were delighted when the ball was apparently just short, but to their dismay, the referee signaled first down.

Four plays later, tailback Brayden Roth crashed in from 9 yards out, losing possession of the leather just as he broke the plain. However, it bounced right back to him. A Heatherington Terrin Frazier pass for the two points made it 20-0 with a mere 29 ticks remaining in the first half.

“That was a huge score,” Heatherington said of Roth’s TD run. “That made it a three possession game.”

Although said he missed too many passes and didn’t play real well, Heatherington finished 15 of 22 for 170 yards and the two TDs. Pettigrew hauled in half-a-dozen for 67 yards and Dowling grabbed four for 32. Edgar caught three for 42.

“Jake’s hand got cold there in the second half and he couldn’t grip the football,” Bonar said. “We will work on that.”

When asked how important the shutout was to the defense, Bonar was all smiles.

“They have played really, really well down the stretch, and tonight was no different,” Bonar said of his defense which recovered two fumbles and intercepted three passes. Frazier had the third INT.

Pettigrew ended with two of the three picks and a fumble recovery, while Edgar, White and Braylon Kinder were all over the field, as were Roth and Lucas Littell.

Roth ran for 84 yards on 19 carries and became only the eighth Bellaire running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He needed just 21 going into the contest and now totals 1,073 on the season. He is also the second leading rusher all-time in program history.

With the win, Bellaire advances to the regional final on Saturday against Fort Frye, a 27-14 victor over Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant, also on Saturday night. The top-seeded Cadets (13-1) thumped the Big Reds, 62-26, in week 2.

“We’ll be ready. At this point in the season, everyone you are going to play is good,” Bonar said of the rematch.

The site will be announced late Sunday by OHSAA officials. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the state semifinals.