Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
COLUMBUS — Look out Final 4, the Wheelersburg Pirates are back.
After multiple years of sniffing a state semifinal berth, the Pirates (13-0) weren’t going to squander their chance on Friday to punch their ticket, playing their most physical game to date and bringing home a regional crown.
Behind a strong ground game, highlighted by Elijah Brown, and a hard-hitting defense, Burg punched its trip to a state semifinal with a resounding 41-0 shutout of Nelsonville-York (12-1).
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“The maturity of our seniors is what really showed tonight. Those guys who were thrown into the fire as sophomores have worked so hard since then to make this happen,” Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward said. “They’ve done such a great job of developing our younger guys and showing them what it means to play Wheelersburg football and how to conduct yourself off the field. I couldn’t be more proud of this group of young men.”
Ground game strong
All season, Wheelersburg hasn’t had to change its philosophy or identity when it comes to winning. It starts with a physical offensive line, followed by a bruising running back.
Brown has been the catalyst of the attack, and he was up to his usual tricks on Friday. After he ripped off a 43-yard run on the team’s opening drive, Braylon Rucker tallied a one-yard touchdown plunge to put the Pirates ahead 7-0 early.
It was all Brown from that point on.
After the Pirates forced a turnovers on downs, Brown later scored on a two-yard run. He then came up with an interception on NY’s first play of its next drive before cashing in on another two-yard touchdown, making it 21-0.
“Our short-term memory is unbelievable. Big plays happen, and our guys wipe the slate clean and move onto the next play,” Woodward said. “We gave up a long pass play on the first drive, but didn’t hang our heads and got a fourth down stop. That’s senior leadership at its finest, the ability to quickly regroup and lead.”
PHOTOS: Images from Wheelersburg’s regional final win over Nelsonville-York
After Cooper Heimbach easily cleared a 50-yard field goal for a 24-0 count, Brown and company went back to work in the third.
He took a handoff, bounced left and turned on the burners for his third score of the night on a 37-yard run, putting the game out of reach for good.
“My guys created a great hole on the left side and the guys did a great job blocking down the field,” Brown said. “Those guys on the outside have been blocking great all season, and I think that’s the biggest difference about this team. The selflessness is unreal throughout the team and I couldn’t be more proud of my guys.”
Lockdown
Anyone can game plan to stop an offense, but executing that plan is what separates Wheelersburg from the rest of the pack.
The Pirates’ level of discipline is unmatched.
They don’t make many mistakes, fill the gaps, don’t get penalized, get off the ball quickly and rush to the football with ruthless aggression.
“The last two games, I thought we started a little slow to be honest. But we came out tonight and absolutely executed across the board,” Wheelersburg’s Ison Emnett said. “Everybody was running to the ball and getting hats to the football. The secondary was trusting up front, the defensive line was getting into the backfield, linebackers were filling the gaps, and it was incredible.”
All of those little tangible details make it easy to understand why the Pirates have allowed just 7.1 points per game.
“This team has been together since kindergarten, and played football all together up to this point,” Emnett said. “We haven’t been as successful as we’ve wanted to be for the past three years, but we knew that we weren’t going out empty-handed in our senior year.”
Stat book
Brown ran for over 150 yards and scored three times alongside an interception on the defensive end. Meanwhile, Rucker and Brady Music each posted a rushing touchdown.
Heimbach, meanwhile, connected on field goals of 50 and 41 yards.
Up next
Wheelersburg advances to a Division V state semifinal at 7 p.m. on Friday against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, who defeated Girard to move on.
The game’s location will be announced later this weekend.
“It’s been a dream of mine to practice on Thanksgiving and enjoy some turkey afterwards,” Brown said. “Our preparation all week was excellent and bringing back a regional title feels great. But more importantly than anything, I’m just looking forward to having another week of practice and playing again next Friday.”
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