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Playoff Preview: River set to host Eastern

Photo/KRISTIN MAZGAJ RIVER QB Brody Lollathin lofts a pass over the head of a Waterford defender during last week’s Region 27 playoff game. Lollathin and the Pilots are back at home this week, taking on Reedsville Eastern.

HANNIBAL — Playoff football is all about surviving and advancing to play another day. That’s exactly what River and Reedsville Eastern did last weekend. However, they did it in different ways.

The third-seeded Pilots (5-2) used a bend-but-don’t-break defensive effort and one big play on offense in slipping past visiting Waterford, 7-6, while the No. 11 Eagles (5-2) outscored homestanding Caldwell, 26-14, on Howard J. Devol Memorial Field in Noble County. The win not only avenged a season-opening, 34-20, setback to the Redskins, but it was Meigs Countians first-ever postseason triumph.

A berth in the Division VII, Region 27 championship semifinals will be on the line Friday night when the two squads collide on the artificial surface at Martin Flannery Field. Kickoff is set for 7. The winner meets the victor of No. 7 Shadyside and second-seeded East Knox on Friday, Oct. 30 at the higher seeded teams field.

“They are big and physical and like to play smash-mouth football,” veteran River head coach Mike Flannery said of this week’s opponent. “Their front three on offense average 260 pounds and their fullback weighs 250.”

That fullback is 5-10 senior Steve Fitzgerald who rambled for 234 yards and three TDs on 29 carries last week. Sophomore quarterback Brady Yonker (5-11, 155) completed 3 of 5 passes for 42 yards, with senior Conner Ridenour making all three receptions.

“They basically don’t have any splits. They remind me of the Lucas teams we’ve played in the past,” Flannery continued. “They are going to line up toe-to-toe and test our manhood.”

That manhood was definitely tested last week in the narrow victory over Waterford.

“We got a couple of critical stops last week. One in the first half and one in the third quarter,” Flannery recalled. “We played super on defense and we will need that same aggressiveness this week.

The Eagles are riding a 5-game winning streak since starting 0-2. In addition to falling to Caldwell, they also suffered a 10-7 setback to Trimble. They have defeated South Gallia (42-8), Waterford (10-8), Belpre (34-7) and Racine Southern (42-0) before having their first-round playoff encounter with Sciotoville East canceled.

“Reedsville is a totally different team than Waterford. They want to wear you down and eat up the clock,” Flannery added.

On the other hand, the Pilots have a lot of athletes they like to get out in the open.

“We’ve got some kids who can make some plays in space,” Flannery said. “We had to replace three kids on the offensive line and that was a big question for us entering the season. How would these kids respond. I think they’ve responded well.”

River is led offensively by the running of senior Carter Dennis. Sophomore quarterback Brody Lollathin has performed well in his first year as a starter, while fleet-footed Michael Johnson is a gamebreaker on the outside.

Dennis has rushed for 662 yards and nine touchdowns on 101 carries. Lollathin has completed 57 of 101 passes for 874 yards. He has thrown nine TDs, including a 78-yarder to Johnson for the Pilots lone score last week, and four interceptions. Jake Rose is the Pilots leading receiver with 24 receptions for 351 yards and two scores. Johnson has caught 11 passes for 278 stripes and four six-pointers while also rushing for 173 yards and five more scores. Avery Creamer has accounted for five TDs, three on the ground and a pair via the air.

The last time River advanced this far was in 2017 when it beat Harvest Prep and Sciotoville East on the road before falling to Danville (29-28).

Following a season-opening reversal at Bellaire (28-14), the Pilots reeled off four consecutive wins over Steubenville Catholic (42-14), Monroe Central (28-6), Magnolia (47-14) and Barnesville (27-0) before losing to Shadyside (27-25).

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