Photo/KRISTIN MAZGAJ SHADYSIDE JUNIOR tight end Elijah Brock turns up field as River's Brody Longwell moves in for a tackle during the first half of Saturday night's Division VII, Region 27 semifinal at Purple Rider Stadium. Brock had a big game, including a touchdown catch in the second half to help spark the Tigers to a 43-28 victory.

MARTINS FERRY — A lot of the talk surrounding Saturday night’s Division VII, Region 27 semifinal between Shadyside and River centered around the fact that the Tigers were going to play with their third different starting quarterback of the season because of injuries.

While the Shadyside quarterback job has become a position of flux, tailback has not. And that spelled doom for red-hot River on the turf at the Dave Bruney Football Complex inside Purple Rider Stadium.

Shadyside senior Wyatt Reiman — with the help of a determined offensive line — saddled up once again for the Tigers, rushing 29 times for 246 yards and four more touchdowns. That performance fueled Shadyside to a cherished 43-28 repeat victory against the rival Pilots.

“We have a horse (in the backfield),” smiled Shadyside head coach Mark Holenka. “He’s the best running back I’ve ever been associated with, so when crunch time comes, we feel confident.”

The win sends the Tigers to the regional championship game at a site, which will be announced later today, to take on perennial power Newark Catholic for the seventh time in the postseason. The Green Wave eliminated East Knox, 35-7.

Before Shadyside could shift any thought to the regional championship game, it had plenty of work to do with a Pilots team, which hadn’t lost since falling at Fleming Field on Sept. 24.

River played flawlessly in the first half, scoring both on long drives and big plays.

The Pilots extended their lead to 14 when senior Avery Creamer ripped off an 82-yard touchdown run with 8:52 to go in the half. Zach Hocutt’s subsequent PAT made it 21-7.

The Tigers didn’t seem to even flinch.

“We’ve shown resiliency all year and had the next-man-up mentality,” Holenka said.

Shadyside battled back to tie the game at 21. Senior Mason VanNest ignited the rally when he took a reverse to the end zone from 42 yards out. A 15-yard penalty led to Shadyside going for two and the pass fell incomplete.

After a three-and-out and a 7-yard punt, Shadyside was back in business. Reiman carried five straight times, including the final 4-yarder and then plowed in for the 2-point conversion to knot the game at 21.

River, however, showed its own level of resiliency and grabbed the momentum back when sophomore quarterback Kabel Isaly found junior Brody Lollathin on a 27-yard touchdown with just 17 seconds to play in the half.

“We’d not been behind at halftime before, but we had lost when we were ahead at halftime, so we needed to come out (in the second half) and show what we were made of. And we did. It’s a testament to the coaching staff with the adjustments.”

Though Reiman was the go-to guy throughout for the Tigers, it was the Shadyside passing game, which swung the momentum.

Senior Korey Beckett, who has taken over the controls at quarterback because of injuries to Rhys Francis and Ben Wach, looked like a savvy veteran and not a player who was making his first varsity start and playing the position for the first time since he was a freshman.

Beckett, who was 10 of 10 passing for 78 yards in the game, had his biggest completion of the night with 9:27 to play in the third quarter. He found junior tight end Elijah Brock in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown to cap a five-play drive that covered 66 yards.

Wanting to take the lead, Shadyside elected to go for two and handed the ball to Reiman who plowed into the end zone for the conversion and put the Tigers on top, 29-28.

The momentum had officially swung.

Shadyside’s defense was lights out in the second half. It bottled up the Pilots ground game, produced five sacks when River attempted to pass and only gave up a handful of first downs. Ryan Florence, Gage Joseph, Reiman, Andrew Osman are just a few of the Tigers who had big nights on the defensive side of the ball.

“Momentum is very important (in football), and we didn’t show up in the second half, offensively or defensively,” a disappointed Mike Flannery said inside an emotional Pilots locker room. “We didn’t have a good offensive or defensive game in the second half.”

While the Pilots were struggling to find traction, Shadyside continued to feed Reiman. Whether it was straight handoffs, out of the ‘Wildcat’ or any other way Holenka and his offensive staff could dream up, Reiman got the ball with consistency.

The biggest problem for River wasn’t just the clock the Tigers chewed up, but the fact that they finished the drives with touchdowns.

Reiman added touchdown runs of 21 and 19 yards in the second half. Actually, Shadyside scored on three consecutive possessions in the second half.

“We had a great first half and I guess we just couldn’t handle prosperity,” Flannery said.

Shadyside finished with 429 yards of offense, including 351 on the ground. River finished with 252 and 217 of those came on the ground. Creamer was the leading rusher for River with 139 yards on seven carries. Isaly scored a pair of touchdowns on sneaks.

While the Tigers are preparing for next week’s regional championship game, Flannery is bidding farewell to a small, but talented senior class.

“It was a special ride with a special group of kids,” Flannery said. “There are no adjectives to describe these dudes. It’s just a super, super bunch of kids that stems from the senior leadership. I’ve been doing this 39 years and 39 times I’ve had to say goodbye to a group of seniors and it’s not a real fun moment.”

Division VII

Region 27 Semifinal

(at Purple Rider Stadium)

Shadyside 43, River 28

Shadyside 7 14 16 6 — 43

River 14 14 0 0 — 28

R — Isaly 1 run (Hocut kick).

S — Reiman 5 run (VanNest kick).

R — Isaly 2 run (Hocut kick).

R — Av. Creamer 82 run (Hocut kick).

S — VanNest 42 run (pass failed).

S — Reiman 4 run (Reiman run).

R — Lollathin 27 pass from Isaly (Hocut kick).

S — Brock 26 pass from Beckett (Reiman run).

S — Reiman 21 run (Reiman run).

S — Reiman 19 run (kick failed).

Rushing: River, 42-217-3td (Isaly, 12-(-9)-2td; Av. Creamer, 7-139-td; Au. Creamer, 13-41; Lollathin, 8-22; Longwell, 1-24). Shadyside, 38-351-5td (Reiman, 29-246-4td; Beckett, 4-37; Osman, 3-24; VanNest, 2-44-td).

Passing: River, 3-8-35-1TD (All by Isaly). Shadyside, 10-10-78-1td (All by Beckett).

Receiving: River, 3-35 (Lollathin, 1-27-TD; Longwell, 1-2; Thompson, 1-6). Shadyside, 10-78 (Brock, 4-50-td; VanNest, 4-10; Osman, 1-12; Reiman, 1-6).

First Downs: River, 14; Shadyside, 22

Fumbles: River, 1-0; Shadyside, 1-1.

Penalties: River, 3-40; Shadyside, 8-85.