John Bruce, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
CHILLICOTHE — After dropping its first SVC game in over four calendar years in Week 7, Unioto entered Friday’s matchup with some questions marks.
Two plays into a Week 8 showdown with Huntington, senior quarterback Isaac Coy and his Shermans started to answer every single one of them.
It was the starter to an engine that powered a 42-14 win over the Huntsmen, creating a three-way atop the SVC standings.
Coy rolled to his right on an option run and, instead of making the pitch, cut back towards the middle of the field and sprinted 69 yards untouched for an opening score.
“It felt great,” Coy said of his opening jaunt. “This year, I think, I’ve really tried to use my legs more and I’m doing a better job of it. I think we just capitalized off of that.”
Showing the resiliency it has shown all season long, Huntington started fast as well.
On the opening play of their opening drive, senior quarterback Frankie Hirsch found LJ Cooper 30 yards downfield for a spectacular diving catch to put the Huntsmen in business.
But the drive stalled, thanks to the Shermans’ defense.
First, it was outstanding coverage downfield as Levi Beam, Blake Braden and Brayden Harsha all knocked down deep passes. By not allowing separation downfield, the Shermans (6-2, 4-1 SVC) were also able to force Hirsch out of the pocket repeatedly.
The first sack of the night came when Beam, Ryker Larson and Blake Nguyen converged to put the Huntsmen (5-3, 4-1 SVC) behind the sticks.
The next sack came two plays later and was a bit of foreshadowing for the remainder of the night. Larson came off the edge to force the ball loose before Nick Gibson-Mallory scooped up a fumble to secure the first turnover of six caused by the Shermans’ stingy defense.
“The thing about him is [Larson] is so coachable. You tell him one time and he does it,” Unioto coach Matt Hoops said of his freshman linebacker. “I think our staff did a good job of putting him into position to make those types of plays and obviously, he stepped up, rose to the occasion and made those plays.”
Huntington answered the challenge, forcing a three-and-out from Unioto’s offense, now allowing the momentum to carry forward. The Shermans’ defense then got a stop itself as Braden knocked away a third-down pass. On the ensuing possession, the Huntsmen swarmed defensively, blowing up a Unioto screen pass, which finished with Jackson McNeal making a diving interception at the Shermans’ 34-yard line.
The Tanks’ defense answered the bell again, though, defending the short field.
Harsha started the possession by breaking up a pass in the end zone and Beam collected a tackle for loss on a reverse attempt. On third down, the freshman Larson came through once again with another sack. Larson, lining up on the outside hip of Jonah Renner, used his speed around the end to bring down Hirsch.
After a punt, Harsha and the Shermans hit another big play.
Harsha took a handoff from Coy, went off tackle, got a pair of downfield blocks from Beam and Carter Elliott , and did the rest, going 72 yards for the score to make it 14-0.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“I saw a hole open up and they always tell me, ‘You’re fast, you see a hole, just go,’” Harsha said of his touchdown run. “Once I hit the hole, it was just me and Levi’s block. He made a perfect block and I went off it.”
While Unioto’s defense continued to step up, the offense couldn’t build off the stops, losing a pair of fumbles following the Harsha score. The second fumble gave the Huntsmen the ball at Unioto’s 38-yard line with 2:14 remaining in the half. Huntington added a first down, but after a drop in the end zone, it could not capitalize on the field possession, eventually turning the ball over on downs to virtually end the half.
The Huntsmen finally came up with points halfway through the third quarter.
Facing a 3rd and 14, Hirsch connected with Junior McDonald after a double move got the speedy junior open. McDonald made the catch around midfield before coasting into the end zone for a huge 81-yard touchdown to cut Unioto’s lead to 14-7 with 6:16 remaining.
That would be the last threat from the Huntsmen as the Tanks put the game away over the next 3:04 of game clock.
Following an onside kick that the Shermans recovered, Coy rolled to his right and found Beam, who made a bevy of Huntsmen miss before scooting in for a 49-yard touchdown. Three plays later, sophomore safety Laykin Langolf jumped a hitch and took the interception 22 yards for a touchdown with 3:12 to play in the third.
All of the sudden, Unioto had a 28-7 lead.
Huntington was able to strike again when Hirsch hit McDonald for a 23-yard touchdown with 8:34 to play. But Unioto scored on their next play from scrimmage with Coy hitting Braden for a 57-yard score, taking all of the air from the Huntsmen’ sails.
Following another turnover, Unioto added its final score of the night when Coy connected with Harsha from 12 yards out at the 4:24 in the fourth, putting the finishing touches on a 42-14 win.
Fittingly, for Unioto, its defense made one final play to allow them to celebrate their senior class.
Renner caught a ball carrier from behind, ripping the ball free which was recovered by Nguyen for the sixth — and final — turnover of the game. Unioto put its 11 seniors on the field for one more play and removed them all at once to close out Senior Night with a big SVC win.
“It is ironic that we have 11,” Hoops said of his seniors last play. “So we were able to do that, which I think is special. Those kids being able to come off of the field, on Senior Night, is hopefully something they’ll remember. Those guys have put a lot of time into the program and had a lot of success over the last four years. Hopefully, we can end this season strong and continue on with that success.”
Coy finished 11-for-18 passing for 190 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding the rushing score on the ground. Harsha scored twice, rushed for 105 yards on only eight carries, and also pulled down a pair of interceptions. Langolf matched Harsha with two interceptions, while Larson collected 2 1/2 sacks defensively.
Both Huntington and Unioto now sit at 4-1 in SVC play with two games remaining. Unioto still has to travel to Zane Trace in Week 10 to face the Pioneers, who are also 4-1 in league play.
While the Shermans forced six turnovers in the game, Hoops made a point to talk about how much focus had to go into slowing down Huntington’s Frankie Hirsch.
“That kid is a handful and I told him after the game that we were never able to relax until he was off of the field” he said. “Any time he is out there, they have a chance.”
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