Mike Brown
Sports reporter
EAST LIVERPOOL — Traditional St. Clairsville had a strong running game that offset a determined effort from East Liverpool, and the Red Devils remained unbeaten with a 35-14 win over the Potters on Friday night at Patterson Field.
With the win, the Red Devils improve to 5-0 on the season and have outscored their first five opponents 179 to 77. St. Clairsville has defeated the Potters 5-2 and has won the past five games in the series.
The loss drops East Liverpool to 1-4, but the Potters, who were trailing the Red Devils 7-7 late in the first half, can take some positives from the game in that they played well against the strongest team on their schedule.
“It’s disappointing to lose, but (there were) a lot of positives,” East Liverpool head coach Paul Cusick said. “They (the Red Devils) are a very good, solid football team and our guys gave it their all this time, but hats off to them. Sometimes you get beaten by better teams and that’s exactly what happened tonight.”
St. Clairsville held a 2-1 advantage in time of possession and also produced some impressive performances on the ground. The Red Devils finished with 314 rushing yards, led by speedy senior running back Gavin Schoolcraft’s 180 yards and three touchdowns. Not to be outdone, junior running back Ollie Muley added 120 rushing yards and six points.
“They’re a good, physical team and we knew it was going to be that kind of battle tonight,” Kasich said. “That’s the kind of team they are and they do it well. When I was at Crestview, coach Brett McLean was there (at St. Clairsville) and I think he did the same thing. They’re doing it well, but I think we’re getting there.”
“I thought we managed our time of possession well, slowed down a little bit, put on the brakes and played patiently,” St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said. “Our backs blocked well, read the play well and made a lot of good plays, so I give a lot of credit to them and our line.”
It was Schoolcraft’s second straight 180-yard rushing performance.
“The coolest thing is I ran for 180 yards and two touchdowns last week and that was my first breakout game,” said Schoolcraft, who surpassed that mark with 180 yards and three touchdowns against East Liverpool.
East Liverpool and St. Clairsville were tied at 7-7 in the first quarter.
On the opening drive of the game, the Potters went 80 yards in five plays, with quarterback Gavin Wright scoring on a 39-yard air pass along the right sideline to receiver Quintin Conrad to score. Kamdyn Miller also kicked the PAT, and the Potters quickly took a 7-0 lead at the 10:19 mark of the first period.
But the Red Devils responded with their first possession, covering 64 yards and scoring on a 52-yard run by Muhly up the middle. Kicker Tyler Harris cracked the goalpost with the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 10 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game.
The score stayed that way until the final four minutes of the second quarter, when the Red Devils scored two straight points. The first of the six came on a 29-yard throwback pass from Schaefer to tight end Mickey Vargo. Harris added the PAT and St. Clairsville took its first lead of the night, 14-7.
After shutting down East Liverpool’s offense, St. Clairsville took control with under a minute left in the half when Schoolcraft, who rushed for 112 yards in the first half, raced 59 yards to the end zone with 38.5 seconds left in the half to take a 21-7 lead. Harris made three consecutive PAT kicks and the Red Devils went into the locker room with momentum on their side, leading 21-7.
“We knew we were going to have the possession in the second half and it was a big goal just before halftime,” McLean said.
St. Clairsville led in total offense, 223-141, by halftime, and East Liverpool running back Jaymin Haney ran for 85 yards before halftime.
“We’re growing as a team,” Cusick said. “It’s hard to see, but you watch the film and you can see the guys struggling. We’re starting to do some really good things and I’m really looking forward to the second half of the season. We’re going to stay positive and continue to coach the guys. We’re going to continue to get better. The guys have to keep believing. I know it’s tough for the guys right now, but as a coach I have confidence they’ll pull through.”
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Kasich and we’ve played some pretty tense football games against him when he was at Crestview,” McLean said. “We’ve played them at home and home and we’ve battled them a few times. It’s like a chess match. Playing against him helps you grow as a coach because you know he has a plan and you have to adapt to it.”
The Potters cut the lead to 21-14 early in the second half when Wright threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver Blake Adkins at 6:14 of the third period. Kamdyn Miller added another point on the PAT kick. The score came on a 25-yard interception return by Potters defender Michael Harty.
But the Red Devils responded with another 64-yard drive, capped off by Schoolcraft’s 1-yard scoring shot over the left guard. Harris converted the PAT kick and St. Clairsville was back within 14 points at 28-14 with 2:27 to play in the third quarter.
“They came out with a big interception and put some pressure on us to fight back, but our guys answered and brought the score back to 28-14,” McLean said.
The Red Devils went on to win by 21 points when Schoolcraft scored on a 16-yard dash with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter. Harris converted the PAT kick to seal the win, 35-14.
“We’re feeling pretty good. We’re 5-0 right now, but we’re taking it one win at a time and trying to get to 6-0,” Schoolcraft said.
“I’m really proud of my team,” McLean said. “It’s been five weeks and I told the guys it’s amazing how quickly football season goes by. We need to take a breather and rest. I know that makes the seniors dream a little bit, but it’s the reality. Time flies and sometimes you forget to enjoy what you’re doing during that time.”
Game Notes
• St. Clairsville, ranked second in D4 Region 15, has recorded running-clock wins in three of its five games this season. This will be the first time the Red Devils and Potters meet since the 2020 season.
• East Liverpool will travel to Cambridge (0-5) next Friday night to take on the Bobcats at 7 p.m.
•¯ St. Clairsville will travel to Cadiz for the second straight week next Friday to take on the Harrison Central Huskies (1-4) at 7 p.m.
STC: 7-14-7-0 –35
EL: 7- 0-7-0 –14
Scoring
EL – Quintin Conrad, pass from Gavin Wright 39, 10:19 1st (Kamdyn Miller kick).
SC – Ollie Muhly, 52 run, 8:18 1st (Tyler Harris kick)
SC – Mickey Vargo, 29 pass from Brady Shafer, 3:55 2nd (Tyler Harris kick)
SC – Gavin Schoolcraft, 59 runs, 38.5 2nd (Tyler Harris kick)
EL – Blake Adkins, 25 pass from Gavin Wright, 6:14 3rd (Kamdyn Miller kick)
SC – Gavin Schoolcraft, 1 run, 2:27 1st (Tyler Harris kick)
SC – Gavin Schoolcraft, 16 runs, 7:09 in the 4th (Tyler Harris kick).
SCEL
First Down 23 14
Total yards 409 246
Rush yards 42-314 24-115
Pass 95 131
Comp-Attack-Intelligence 7-10-1 8-18-1
Punt 3-39 5-40
Penalty Yards 4-35 4-20
——
Individual Leaders
Rush — St. Clairsville, Gavin Schoolcraft, 22-180, Ollie Muley, 12-120, Brady Shafer 3-6; East Liverpool, Gavin Wright, 8-20, Jaymin Haney, 14-85, Amir Baker.
Passes — St. Clairsville, Brady Shafer, 7-10-90-1-1, East Liverpool, Gavin Wright, 8-17-125-2-1, Ben Myers, 2-3-3.
RECEIVING — St. Clairsville, Ollie Muley, 2-13, Brody Sanders, 1-10, Mickey Vargo, 1-29, Gage Wolf, 1-10, Tyson Pastor, 2-28; East Liverpool, Quintin Conrad, 3-56, Blake Adkins, 4-68, Julius Jones, 3-7.
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