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COLUMBUS — Wheelersburg didn’t run its fourth offensive play until Friday’s second quarter.
But it didn’t matter because the Pirates have Creed Warren and Barnesville didn’t.
The junior back couldn’t have picked a better time to have a career night and the Shamrocks had no answer for him.
Warren toted the rock 23 times for a career-high 291 yards, finding the end zone on three different occasions and leading the Pirates to a 26-13 victory over the Shamrocks in a Division V, Region 19 semifinal.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
“Creed Warren, what a football player. He kept his legs churning all night and fought for yards after contact,” Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward said. “Our offensive line was dominant up front and created some openings, and when Creed hits that opening, he has the speed to really break away and get down the field. What a huge night for him and all of our guys. I couldn’t be anymore proud of them.”
It marked the first loss of the season for Barnesville (12-1) and sends the Pirates to their third regional final in the last seven years.
The Pirates (9-3) did it behind dominant line play, especially on the defensive side. Wheelersburg routinely dropped eight in coverage throughout the second half and let Cody Risner, Brandon Maxie and Luke Willis go to work up front.
Time and time again, that trio busted through Barnesville’s offensive trenches and forced quarterback Casey Carpenter out of the pocket and into rushed or forced throws, preventing the team’s offense from extending drives.
“I’ll be honest, we started the game really soft. We weren’t firing off the ball the way we should have,” Risner said. “Everything started to click in the second quarter and we were starting to drive them back. We didn’t care where the ball was going. We made it our mission to keep our heads down and control the line of scrimmage.”
Early on, Barnesville wasn’t going to push the pace.
It took its time on its opening drive, chewing up over six minutes of clock while converting key third and fourth down plays along the way. The Shamrocks ultimately capped the drive with a three-yard run from Tason Starr for a 7-0 lead.
Wheelersburg only ran three plays in the first quarter, but managed to get a huge fourth down stop to open the second.
“That was the moment things started to turn around. It was a chess match and we were adjusting to what they were doing early on,” Woodward said. “Barnesville is a really well-coached football team and they were moving some pieces extremely well. But getting that stop was huge and our coaching staff really started tightening up some things from that moment on.”
The Pirates took advantage of the turnover on downs, and picked up a third down conversion of their own when Braylon Rucker completed a 28-yard pass to Devon Lattimore. On the next play, Warren went 15 yards untouched for a score, tying the game at 7-7.
Later in the half, the Pirates had another chance to score and take the lead. But a pass was intercepted in the end zone by Barnesville’s Duker Castillo to keep the game tied at the break.
Both teams traded empty possessions to open the third quarter, and that’s when Warren really started to take off. On the second play of the Pirates’ second possession, he found a gap and busted through it, sprinting 83 yards for the touchdown and putting Wheelersburg ahead 14-7.
“Right when I heard the play, I was thinking I have to find a hole and hit it hard. The big guys up front and receivers did a great job blocking,” Warren said. “I saw an opening and Kenyon Evans threw a great block on the backside, so that’s where I went and just kept running.”
On the team’s next drive, Wheelersburg moved the chains on a huge 4th and 11 play call when Rucker found Lattimore again to extend the drive. Plays later, Rucker rolled out and connected with Kolton Salyers for a four-yard touchdown to push the lead to 20-7.
After forcing and recovering a fumble, the Pirates went for the death knell. But their pass was intercepted by Barnesville’s Luke Detling and returned it 68 yards for the touchdown, bringing the deficit to within 20-13.
However, instead of allowing momentum to switch sidelines, Wheelersburg just went back to its bread and butter. Warren ended his career night with a 37-yard rushing touchdown to punch his team’s regional final ticket.
“Our kids work extremely hard to stay well-conditioned. But the most important trait they have is being coachable and they showed a ton of maturity tonight,” Woodward said. “They listened to the coaches, adjusted very well to the adjustments and applied them on the field. As a coach, you want to be proud of how well they do in the weight room, but them being coachable is what I was more proud of tonight.”
Wheelersburg advances to a Division V, Region 19 final, where it’ll get a rematch with Canal Winchester Harvest Prep.
There’s no shortage of recent history between the two powerhouses. They’ve met three times in the last three years, including a battle in a 2021 regional final.
Harvest Prep is 3-0 during that stretch, including a 32-16 victory this season on Sept. 22.
But according to Woodward, that game is when everything began to click for his team. Since, the Pirates haven’t lost and have only surrendered 27 points.
“The second half of that game is when this team began to see how good they can really be,” Woodward said. “Unfortunately that night, the game didn’t work out in our favor. But we’re playing great football and that same team they saw in the second half of Week 6 is the same team Harvest Prep will see for a whole game. We’re excited for another crack at them.”
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