Bearcats secure share of SVC title in regular-season finale
The Paint Valley Bearcats are co-champions of the Scioto Valley Conference for the second consecutive season, and finishing with an overall record of seven wins and three losses, they've also earned a spot in the playoffs.
PV earned a share of the SVC championship by defeating the Huntington Huntsmen by a 28-0 score, with all 28 points coming in the first two quarters on Friday night at HHS.
Huntington ends the season at 3-7 overall.
"It was good to get back on the winning side again," PV head coach Pete Hollon told The Highland County Press. "We held them to one first down in the first half, and it was a great night for our defense.
"We are happy to be conference champions back-to-back years and to have a senior class to say they've been able to be a part of two conference championships is truly gratifying as a head coach."
For PV, who ends the season with a 6-1 mark in the SVC (sharing the SVC title with Zane Trace), they dominated their season finale, starting in the first quarter when they scored 16 points, followed by a 12-point second quarter to set the tone for the matchup against their Ross County rival.
In the first quarter, it was Tony Hatfield going 85 yards for a touchdown off a pass from Bearcat QB Anthony McFadden. Teagan McFadden followed with a two-point conversion run for an 8-0 advantage.
From there, Anthony McFadden raced seven yards for another Bearcat score. He then ran for the 2-point conversion run for a 16-0 lead.
McFadden finished 6-of-9 for 239 yards and two touchdown passes on a rainy and muddy Friday night.
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"The throw for over 200 yards with the weather we had was very good to see," Hollon said. "We had no turnovers as well, and it was just a good night of football for us."
In the second quarter, Mason McCloy had an 80-yard completion for a touchdown off a pass by Anthony McFadden. The final touchdown of the PV regular season came with Caleb Johnson running two yards to the end zone.
Both two-point conversion attempts failed in the second quarter.
The Bearcats had four runners rush for at least 50 yards each.
On the defensive side of the ball, not only did PV pitch a shutout, their third of the season, but they held the host Huntsmen to under 100 yards of total offense.
The defense was led by Corey Freeman with a team-high 14 tackles, followed by Teagan McFadden with 13 tackles. Johnson had 12 tackles and one fumble recovery, while DeShawn Davis collected 11 tackles.
The Bearcats now will play in Week 11, as they are a No. 4 seed in the Division VII, Region 25 OHSAA Playoffs. PV will now face No. 5 seed New Philadelphia Tuscarawas Central Catholic, who will enter the game at 8-2 overall.
The game will kickoff on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Paint Valley High School.