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St. C. tops Wheeling Central; secures playoff berth

WHEELING — With scary weather conditions, that included rain, cold and very high winds on Halloween night, St. Clairsville Coach Brett McLean knew his team was going to have to be able to run the football to be successful against Wheeling Central.

And with dominating play from the offensive line and a three-headed-monster in junior quarterback Tyler Tonkovich and the Jordan brothers, sophomore Jacob and senior Aaron, the Red Devils were able to use an explosive running game to pile up 386 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Jacob Jordan (162-2 TD), Aaron Jordan (110-1 TD) and Tonkovich (108-2 TD) did all the damage the St. Clairsville offense needed as the Red Devils built a big lead and cruised to a convincing 35-20 victory over the Maroon Knights in dreadful conditions on Bishop Schmitt Field on the campus of Wheeling University.

The triumph capped an 8-2 regular season for McLean’s crew, which also cemented a top-eight finish in the Ohio Division IV, Region 15 assuring them a week 11 contest. St. Clairsville moved into the No. 5 spot in the region with last night’s victory and will need some help to get to the top four and a first-round home playoff game.

“The bar has been set high here at St. Clairsville and the postseason is a goal every season,” a happy McLean said. “Our seniors have played at a high level and through some midseason adversity (two losses), but they took ownership, refocused and stayed hungry.

“We were in jeopardy of not meeting that goal after those two losses, but our 18 seniors were not going to let that happen.”

Coach Mike Young’s Wheeling Central squad falls to 5-4 on the campaign, dropping their third outing in their last four, all of which senior quarterback Curtis McGhee III did not finish. McGhee III is out for the season with a knee injury.

The Maroon Knights close the regular season next Friday night at home against winless Magnolia. While Young’s group will be guaranteed an opportunity to defend their two-time Class A state championships, Central will probably be faced with at-least beginning the playoffs on the road.

Following a quick three-and-out for the Maroon Knights, St.C. went on an impressive 11-play, 79-yard drive featuring the Jordan brothers and Tonkovich. Jacob Jordan finished things off with a 1-yard burst with 5:20 showing in the first. Jake Bolyard’s PAT made it 7-0.

While Central (5-4) did get its initial first down on its second possession, the drive went nowhere, and the Red Devils took over on their own 36 before embarking on the second scoring march of the half.

Jacob Jordan busted off gainers of 14 and 15 yards on the first two plays of the drive while Tonkovich covered the final 3 yards a short time later at 10:11 of the second frame to push the lead to 14-0.

Young’s squad finally put things together on its third possession, converting a pair of third down plays and using a 15-yard St. Clairsville penalty to cut into the deficit. The Knights got Adam Murray going on the drive with three carries for 37 yards.

The biggest play was a third-and-14 call when Jacob Rine found Jalen Creighton over the middle for a 22-yard scoring strike at 6:12. The point-after failed to leave the tally at 14-6.

The Red Devils added a final score before the half with a nine-play, 60-yard drive that made it 20-6 on Aaron Jordan’s 10-yard run at 2:25. The PAT sailed wide right.

St. Clairsville held a 219-108 margin in total yardage at the break, however, one of the biggest differences was the fact that the Red Devils averaged nearly 8 yards a play on first down over the initial 24 minutes of play.

“The conditions were definitely conducive to running the football, even though both teams had big plays in the passing game,” McLean said. “I am very proud of this team, but extremely proud of our offensive line, tight end and fullback.

“Honestly, I think the beginning of this game was as physical as we have been all season long, we just have to be able to maintain that for four quarters. We have been trying to keep things balanced in the running game all year and the kids have been making plays and have been very unselfish.”

After driving deep into Central territory to begin the second half, the visitors were forced to punt after a pair of penalties. However, St. Clairsville sacked Rine twice on the ensuing possession and punter Jordan Waterhouse eventually took a knee in the end zone for a safety and a 22-6 score.

Tonkovich’s 39-yard touchdown run, off of a perfectly executed fake pitch near the line of scrimmage, all but put things away late in the third period with a 29-6 lead.

Central did sandwich a pair of Rine touchdown passes around Jacob Jordan’s 35-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Rine tossed a 1-yard scoring toss to Creighton before finishing things off late with a 58-yard scoring strike to Jordan Waterhouse, who made some nice moves to finish off the play and the scoring.

Rine finished with 153 yards passing and three touchdowns in his second start since the Knights lost McGhee III.

Young, a former coach and teacher at St. Clairsville, had nothing but praise for McLean and his group and wanted to make sure people realized his team is not done just yet.

“I wish them good luck in the playoffs,” Young said. “I have roots out there and that is a great program and that team is a tribute to Coach McLean and his staff. We played hard for four quarters (Thursday), but they had a good game plan which was to keep the ball away from No. 6 (Central all-stater Adam Murray).

“But he still made plays and I am very proud of his effort. We have Magnolia next and then the playoffs which we are all looking forward to. This team is not done, and I know we will be alright.”

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