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A determined Paint Valley football squad rallied around back-up quarterback Ian Cockrell in a 21-14 win at Adena, Friday. The Bearcats running back was called upon to replace four-year starter Bryce Newland, when he went down with a serious ankle injury with the game tied 14-14 with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.
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Newland was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to the hospital. Family member confirms on social media that Bryce Newland suffered a broken fibula.
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Cockrell would end up finishing that drive to score what would be the eventual winning touchdown on a two yard TD run with 6:12 left in the third period. That capped a 49 yard drive in 10 plays. Both PAT kicks were converted by Jackson Williams. From there, both teams had potential scoring drives, which were stopped by the respective defenses.
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The game started with Paint Valley scoring on their first two possessions for a 14-0 lead, while Adena's first two drives ended with three-and-out possessions. The Bearcats first two scores came at 8:00 of the first period when Brayden Ison ran 44 yards for a TD to cap-off a 60 yard drive in 5 plays. The second score was at 3:19 left in the quarter when Bryce Newland threw a TD strike to Cruz McFadden, capping a 53 yard drive in 5 plays.
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Adena got on the scoreboard at 10:19 of the second quarter when Nate Throckmorton ran 22 yards for a score, capping an 82 yard drive in 10 plays. The Warriors tied the game when a Eric Hurtt interception set up a 25 yard scoring drive in 6 plays. That drive finished with a 2 yard run by Preston Sykes with 28 seconds left in the first half. Adena's PAT kicks were made by Garrett Clark.
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Trailing 21-14 with 5:38 left in the game, the Warriors drove deep into Paint Valley territory, before Dane Miller intercepted a pass in the end zone to end that drive. Adena's defense held again, giving the Warriors offense one more shot. But, two plays later, Cruz McFadden intercepted another pass to end the threat.
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Paint Valley had 280 total yards, with 213 on the ground. They were 5/12 passing for 74 yards. Adena had 188 total yards, with 182 rushing. They were 3/10 passing for only 18 yards.
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Paint Valley committed three turnovers, while Adena had two. The Warriors committed 7 penalties for 80 yards, including two holding calls that took their offense out of potential scoring drives. PV was flagged 6 times for 45 yards.
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Nate Throckmorton rushed 18 times for 103 yards to lead all players, scoring once. Brayden Ison scored once with 80 yards on 8 carries while Ian Cockrell ran 19 times for 70 yards and a TD. Cruz McFadden caught four passes and scored a TD.
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Both defenses had two sacks.
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Paint Valley improves to (1-0/3-1) while Adena drops to (0-1/3-1). The Bearcats play at (0-1/1-3) Piketon next week, while the Warriors host (1-0/3-1) Unioto in the Herrnstein Hyundai WKKJ Game of the Week.
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