Muskingum feels right at home in White Field

NEWARK - The weather pushed back the start, but it only delayed the inevitable: Muskingum Valley usually plays well at White Field in its annual all-star clash with Licking County.

For the fifth time in six years, the visitors got the better of the host team Friday night. This time around, Muskingum had plenty of dash, but ultimately, it was the smash they parlayed into a 28-13 win and a 20-17 series lead.

A 51-yard, 11-play drive with all but one play on the ground, followed by a hard hit and fumble on the ensuing kickoff, helped trigger the winners to a 21-point first quarter lead. And their stout defense took over from there.

"We wanted the ball first to set the tone," said Sheridan's Jarrett Munyan, named Muskingum MVP after rushing for 90 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. "It wouldn't have been possible without the guys up front, and I really liked that dude who was back there with me (Zanesville's Caine Martin). We were kind of a 1-2 punch."

Munyan had a 15-yard run and Sheridan teammate Ethan Tabor sped for 18 yards on a jet sweep. But it was Martin who bulled his way into the end zone, on fourth-and-1 from the 4, with 5:25 left in the first quarter. Crooksville's Chip Russell added the first of his four PAT kicks and Muskingum was in business 7-0.

On the kickoff, Philo's Nick Hoffer jarred the ball loose and Zanesville's Jzamari Mathews recovered at the Licking 17. Just a minute later, Muskingum had a 14-0 lead when John Glenn's Justin Heacock zipped a 19-yard scoring strike to Sheridan's Grey Bennett.

"You always want to set the tempo in the first quarter, and we had good things go our way," said Muskingum head coach Matt Edwards from John Glenn. "It was guys making plays."

"It kind of felt like we had control the whole game," said Hoffer, who also stood out at his linebacker slot. "They got some momentum there in the third quarter, but then we shut them down."

Muskingum held Licking again, and Maysville's Connor Sidwell then tossed a 33-yard TD pass to John Glenn's Casey Smith, who out-leaped a defender for the ball, and a commanding 21-0 lead with 2:47 still left on the first-quarter clock.

It turned out to be more than enough, although it could have been more at halftime. Russell missed a 33-yard field goal and Licking MVP Simon Romine later came up with his second interception of the half at the goal-line.

Muskingum's offense bogged down in the third quarter, but the defense continued to make it tough on the home club. Licking had first-and-goal at the 6, but Mathews shot through to drop Licking Valley's Jake Lewis for a 10-yard loss. Hoffer then had a 3-yard sack and Licking came away empty.

"Hoffer and Mathews were probably our defensive MVPs," Edwards said. "But they were able to make those plays because of our defensive line occupying blockers. We took three to six of the best from the MVL and we were able to get after them a little bit."

"You have Lane (Deal), Seth (Russell) and Blake (Wilfong) up there, and they're the 'Big 3,'" Hoffer said. "Then you have Isaac (Gill) and good defensive backs behind us. It was great to play with all of these guys." Gill, Hoffer's Philo teammate, had a 25-yard interception return in the first half.

Romine heaved a 39-yard wide receiver pass to Licking Valley's Ethan Brechbill, setting up a 16-yard TD strike from Lewis to Brechbill as Licking pulled within 21-7 late in the third. But Muskingum turned to its ground game again in the fourth on a clinching 80-yard drive, capped by Munyan's 2-yard run with 4:15 to play. Heacock scrambled for 27 yards and Munyan had runs of 15 and 13 yards.

Brechbill, who caught eight passes for 130 yards, hauled in a 6-yard score from Newark Catholic's Hunter Chapman with 1:09 left.

Martin added 64 yards on 12 carries for Muskingum, while Smith caught seven passes for 79 yards and Bennett three for 32 yards. Russell had a 61-yard punt and averaged 50 yards on his two kicks. The defense tackled the slippery Lewis five times for 20 yards in losses and held Licking to a net 93 yards rushing.

dweidig@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @noz75