Adena and Paint Valley football teams were both outmatched by the rain and mud Friday night, but when it came to the scoreboard, the Bearcats won the day with a 16-3 Gold Football Championship over the Warriors. It was the second year in a row that an SVC football team ran the table with a (10-0) regular season, with Southeastern doing it last year.
What a difference a year can make with a young team, and both the Bearcats and Warriors Two concluded the 2017 football season with a below .500 record, but bounced back a year later to play for the SVC championship.
Neither team could get much going throughout the game as the field quickly was chewed up with non-stop rain.
The first quarter of the title game saw each team possess the ball for only one possession. Adena took the opening drive 57 yards in 12 plays, scoring with 4:15 left in the period on a 27 yard field goal from Garrett Clark for a 3-0 lead.
Paint Valley also took their first possession 57 yards in 7 plays, scoring with :34 left in the first quarter on an 18 yard TD pass from Brice Newland to Cruz McFadden. A two-point conversion run by Lane Mettler gave the Bearcats an 8-3 lead, which remained the score until 3:29 left in the game.
The Cats would put the icing on the cake when Cruz McFadden picked-off a Preston Sykes pass and returned it 31 yards for the TD, followed by a two-point conversion by Mettler for the final margin of 16-3.
Paint Valley combined for 143 total yards with only 80 rushing and 63 passing on 3/6 night from Newland. The Warriors had 108 total yards, despite gaining 129 on the ground. Sykes was 2/7 passing for 28 yards, but -21 yards due to sacks pulled their total yards down to 108.
Adena committed two turnovers while Paint Valley had one. The Warriors were flagged 6 times for 50 yards and PV four for 35 yards.
Paint Valley wins the SVC Gold Ball and runs their record to (10-0) overall, one of only a handful of SVC teams to have a perfect regular season. The Bearcats, who were number one in Division 6/Region 23, are expected to remain in that slot and host a Week 11 playoff game.
Adena finishes in a three-way tie for second, with Unioto and Southeastern, and go (7-2) in the regular season. The Warriors were fifth in D-6/23 going into the game, and are expected to drop, but still advance to the playoffs.
Southeastern beat Westfall 40-0 and go (7-3), are are also expected to play in Week 11. Unioto's 34-6 win over Piketon is expected to be enough to gain them a playoff berth in Division 4/Region 15.
The official OHSAA playoff pairings will be announced Sunday afternoon, which we will post on our website.
(Bearcats players and fans celebrate their 10-0 season)
Listen to the replay of the SVC title game as heard with Mike Smith and B. Jay Dailey on 94 Country WKKJ, in our podcast link below...