Shadyside’s Jacob Visnic bulls into the end zone Friday night during the Tigers’ victory against Paint Valley at Sulsberger Stadium.

ZANESVILLE — Shadyside’s second trip to the Ohio High School Athletic Association regional finals in the last four seasons was nearly a repeat performance of 2014. Friday night at rainy and cold Sulsberger Memorial Stadium, the fourth-seeded Tigers put together a dominating all-around performance in routing a team from the Scioto Valley Conference for the second consecutive week.

Head coach Mark Holenka’s squad (10-2) played outstanding all three phases of the game in posting a convincing, 40-6, victory against top-rated Paint Valley (11-1) in an Ohio Division VI, Region 23 semifinal. The entire second half was played under the mercy rule as the Tigers roared to a 34-0 halftime lead. The previous time the two met (a 41-15 Tigers’ triumph) was in the Division VII, Region 25 semis.

“Overall, the kids came out and played hard. They were motivated,” Holenka said. “I thought we were a little more aggressive and physical than they were. That’s a nice thing to have happen.”

Here’s proof of Shadyside’s dominance.

Offense: The Tigers piled up 264 yards and four touchdowns, including 159 and three scores on the ground. Connor Banco and Jacob Visnic displayed their power and the guys up front — Andrew Jobe, Ryan Cain, Caleb Davis, Zeke Merryman, Ian Falcione and Sam Merryman — controlled the line of scrimmage.

“We had a pretty good combination tonight,” Holenka allowed. “Maybe early on the running game was clicking more than the passing game.”

Defense: The stingy Tigers held the high-powered Bearcats to 150 yards of total offense, with the majority of that coming late in the game against the reserves. They recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass. Matt Lucey, Jakob Klug, Gage Joseph and Sam Merryman held down the front line, while Banco, Visnic and Wyatt Reiman were forces in the middle. Jordan Joseph, Austin Price, Rhys Francis and Colin Holmes patrolled the outside as the Bearcats didn’t cross midfield until late in the third quarter. The Bearcats were 0-for-9 on third downs.

“Our defense did a good job,” Holenka said. “That’s coach (Sean) Grinch’s job and he does a great job of coordinating them. They play hard and get after it. When you do that, good things happen.”

Special Teams: This might have been the brightest unit as several players made contributions. Joseph made a diving stop of a punt on the Paint Valley 2 which led to a safety on the ensuing play. Kelly Hendershot ran a punt back 66 yards to setup a touchdown. Holmes returned a punt 35 yards for six points and the kick coverage teams, led by Mason VanNest, were superb. Sophomore Angel Velasquez even got into the act with his first-ever field goal, a 34-yarder in the first quarter.

When asked if this was the Tigers best all-around effort of the season, Holenka responded, “Maybe so. I thought we played well last week. I felt we played well this week. This can’t be our best though. It might be better than last week, but you’ve got to keep being better because your best can’t be it.”

The win sets up an all-Ohio Valley Athletic Conference matchup next Friday with No. 2 Fort Frye (11-0). That contest will be played at a site to be determined Sunday by OHSAA officials. The Cadets routed No. 3 Galion Northmor, 41-23, last night.

Joseph’s special teams play early in the game gave the Tigers’ defensive unit great field position. Banco broke through the line on first down and smothered Lane Mettler in the end zone for a 2-0 lead.

A nice punt return by VanNest set the Tigers up at the Bearcats’ 32. Five plays later, Banco powered his way into the end zone. The snap on the PAT was bobbled as the margin grew to 8-0.

Klug sacked quarterback Bryce Newland and forced a fumble that he recovered on Paint Valley’s next possession. The drive stalled, however, and Velasquez was summoned for his second field goal attempt of the season. He nailed it for an 11-0 advantage.

Hendershot picked up a bouncing punt at his own 25 and set sail across field a couple of different times en route to a 68-yard return to the Paint Valley 7. Banco’s 1 yard run and Velasquez’s PAT made it 18-0 at the end of one quarter.

Following a Jordan Joseph interception, Visnic bulled his way in from three yards out. Hendershot swept right end and dove inside the pylon for the 2-point conversion and a 26-0 lead.

Anthony Coggins found Hendershot in the left corner of the end zone for a 6-yard scoring connection. This time Visnic reached the end zone on the 2-point run for a 34-0 margin.

Holmes weaved his way through traffic and into the promised land from 35 yards out with a shanked punt to conclude the scoring.

Banco finished with 88 yards on 16 carries. Visnic added 31. Coggins was 6-for-18 for 105 yards and a TD.

In addition to Klug, Ryan Florence also recovered a fumble.