STEUBENVILLE — Steubenville turned its first five possessions into touchdowns, then survived a wild second half to post a 48-28 senior night victory over Linsly Friday night inside Harding Stadium.

With the victory, Big Red finishes its regular season at 6-3 and has earned its 19th-consecutive trip to the Ohio playoffs. Late Friday, Joe Eitel had Steubenville, which entered riding a two-game losing streak, occupying the sixth spot in the Division III, Region 9 standings. Linsly, which started its season with seven-consecutive wins, finishes at 7-3.

“Just beautiful,” Big Red coach Reno 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.”

Tailback Tayveon Crawford and quarterback Randy Mitchell, both seniors, had huge nights for Saccoccia’s club. Crawford ran for 173 yards on 30 carries and four touchdowns. He now has 1,903 yards for the season and 27 rushing scores. Mitchell completed 10 of his 13 passing attempt for 137 yards and three six-pointers. He also collected 101 yards on just three rushing attempts.

Crawford’s scores came on runs of 17, 11, 9 and 2. Mitchell had scoring tosses of 27 yards to Stone Biacco, 22 to Noah Howarth and 8 to Niko Kausky. He had a 65-yard run on a fourth quarter drive capped by Crawford’s final score.

Big Red, which compiled 301 offensive yards in the first half, jumped out to a 34-0 lead. The Cadets got a score just before the half on a 5-yard pass from Hunter Kelley to Kobe Hill.

Linsly took the second half kickoff and immediately marched 63 yards for a score, which came on a 2-yard run by Kelley. Big Red then drove to the Cadet 1, but that threat ended with a fumble, Linsly’s Logan Gill recovering.

B.J. Depew’s squad responded by traveling 99 yards to make it 35-21. Talented senior Trevin Tush capped the long drive with a 13-yard run.

Steven Felton accounted for Linsly’s final score on a 1-yard run.

“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.”

Kelley was outstanding in defeat, completing 22 of his 29 passes for 276 yards. Tush finished with 10 receptions for 108 yards.

“I’m proud of both teams and the effort the players from both teams gave tonight,” 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 still have the possibility of hosting a Division III first round playoff game.”

Despite the three-game losing streak to end the season, Depew said he is proud of his Cadets.

“This is the best 7-3 Linsly team I have ever been around,” he said. “I’m so proud of my guys. We’ve had a tough schedule, got banged up and finished with one of the biggest games in school history.

“Nobody is hanging their head about our record right now. We’re really proud of how this team has performed all year long. I feel bad for our seniors that it is over. But they have so much to feel good about regarding how they played.”