The Paint Valley Bearcats stay undefeated as they rallied to beat previous SVC unbeaten Unioto, 26-21 Friday at Knisely Memorial Field.
In a game that saw both teams trading scores and leads, the Bearcats regained the momentum from the Shermans when star running back Jamarcus Carroll went down with a knee injury with approximately 8 minutes left in the game.
Unioto led 21-20 at that time, with Carroll being injured at the end of a 26 yard run for a first down into Paint Valley territory. After that, the Bearcats defense forced Unioto to punt, which led to PV's go-ahead scoring drive that covered 74 yards in 7 plays. Quarterback Brice Newland connected with Malique Davis on a 31 yard scoring pass to give Paint Valley a 26-21 lead with 3:12 left in the game. PV failed on a two-point conversion, then held Unioto again, before running the clock out for the victory.
Before leaving the game, Unioto's Jamarcus Carroll had rushed for 235 yards and three TD's, accounting for the majority of their 292 total yards. His TD runs were from 1, 32 and 64 yards.
The Bearcats amassed 330 total yards with 247 rushing and Brice Newland threw 10/20 passing for 92 yards and two scores. Brayden Ison ran 15 times to lead Paint Valley with 128 yards, while Iann Cockerell ran 16 times for 95 yards and two TD's.
Despite committing two turnovers, Paint Valley was able to regroup, picking up 18 first downs in the game, twice what Unioto had.
After intercepting a Unioto pass on their opening possession, Paint Valley drove 76 yards in 10 plays and scored with 6:25 left in the opening quarter when Brice Newland found Cruz McFadden for a 12 yard TD pass. The PAT kick was blocked, making it 6-0 Paint Valley. The scoring drive was kept alive when Paint Valley successfully converted a fake punt for a first down.
Unioto took a 7-6 lead at 1:28 left in the first quarter, when they went 54 yards in 10 plays, capped off by a Jamarcus Carroll 1 yard run. Brice Robinson's PAT kick followed.
The Shermans increased their lead to 14-6 at 5:18 to play in the second quarter, when Carroll ran 32 yards for a score, capping an 84 yard/8 play drive. That was the score at halftime.
Paint Valley evened the score at 14-14 with 3:53 remaining in the third quarter, driving 11 yards in 2 plays and concluding with a Iann Cockerell 7 yard TD run. He also ran a two-point conversion to tie the game. Cruz McFadden's 39 yard punt return set up the short drive.
It didn't take the Shermans long to get the lead back, as Carroll ran 64 yards for a TD on their next play from scrimmage. The PAT kick from Robinson put Unioto up 21-14 at 3:40 left in the third quarter.
The Cats when cut the deficit to 21-20, when they drove 61 yards in 10 plays, scoring on the first play of the final quarter when Cockerell scored on a 6 yard run. The PAT kick failed, leaving PV a point down.
After Carroll's injury, Paint Valley got the ball back and drove 74 yards in 7 plays for the winning score.
Unioto Coach Jeff Metzler said Carroll's injured knee would be evaluated by medical staff Saturday morning.
Paint Valley improves to (3-0/6-0) while Unioto falls to (2-1/4-2).
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