Paint Valley bows out of regional playoffs
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
ZANESVILLE — The 2014 season for the Paint Valley Bearcats came to a somber ending on Saturday night in the Division VII Region 25 Regional semifinals, falling to the Shadyside Tigers, 41-15 at Maysville High School.
For the Bearcats, who were the No. 4 seed, everything finally boiled over for them, including injuries and facing a team that was very strong, especially up front, allowing the No. 1 seeded and undefeated Tigers to run their way to the playoff victory.
The loss leaves PV 1-1 in the playoffs this season, ending their successful season at 8-4 overall.
For 19-year head coach Pete Hollon, though the loss was a tough one, he was still proud of the way his team played in a season that saw them win a share of the Scioto Valley Conference for the second consecutive year.
Earlier in the week, Hollon said to win his team would have to control the line of scrimmage. The Bearcats were unable to do so and trailed 14-0 with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.
By the end of the first quarter, PV trailed 21-7.
In that first quarter, the scoring began quickly for the home team Tigers with the No. 1 seed going 66 yards in six plays, scoring on a 36-yard run by senior Eric Howell, who reached the end zone untouched for six points. The PAT from Billy Johnson put PV behind 7-0 with 9:00 left in the first quarter.
After PV went three-and-out, the Tigers put together a six-play drive, this time for a total of 46 yards, ending with QB (and Indiana University recruit) Austin Dorris racing 14 yards to the left side of the end zone for the touchdown. The PAT from Johnson put the Tigers ahead, 14-0 with 4:57 left in the first.
Following a second three-and-out the Tigers made the Bearcats pay for the short time on the field by putting the Bearcats behind 21-0 with a 40-yard drive on four plays, ending with Howell scoring his second TD, this one for 13 yards untouched to the left side of the end zone.
Following the PAT from Johnson, Shadyside led 21-0 with 2:48 left on the clock.
"When we saw the film, we didn't know if we could control the line of scrimmage," Hollon said. "We told the kids we had two goals … to survive the first quarter and to stop the run, and we just weren't able to do either one of those.
"That is a very, very good football team (Shadyside). They have nice players. Of course Dorris is good, but the kid that gets overlooked is Howell, and we thought that on film as well. Tonight, the better team won."
PV finally answered with a touchdown of their own as Tony Hatfield used his great speed to make a catch and then break away for a 65-yard score on a second-and-10 play from their own 35-yard line. The TD by Hatfield and PAT by Jacob Ott brought PV within 14 points of the Tigers with 2:00 left in the first quarter.
Making no excuses for his team, Hollon finally spoke about all the injuries his team had been playing with for the past few weeks. In this game, the Bearcats suffered at least three injuries that made a big difference in their play.
[[In-content Ad]]"For the past four or five weeks, we have been really banged up. We've done a good job of keeping it inside the program, but we had two or three guys who we knew were really struggling," Hollon said. "When Anthony twisted his ankle early on, that added another injury.
"Credit our guys, they fought, and even though they gave up a lot of athleticism at times (Saturday), I felt our skill kids matched up well. Up front, we are just not there yet."
By the time there was 9:55 left in the second quarter, the Bearcats trailed by a 28-7 score following a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard run by Dorris for an eventual 21-point advantage following the PAT.
The score then went to 34-7 with 3:03 left in the second with Dorris going two yards for the TD. PV blocked the PAT.
Also in the game, PV saw their All-District QB Anthony McFadden injure his ankle. Hollon spoke about the moment when Anthony McFadden was injured and the difference it made.
"He's one of the best QBs in Southern Ohio, and when you have a situation like that, it does make a difference," Hollon said. "We knew we were going to have to throw the football to win the game, and we really needed to avoid getting down 14-0.
"Then the next thing you know it is 21, and whenever you lose the heart and soul of your offense, it hurts. I'm not dogging my own kids up front, but we knew we were going to give up size, but they (Shadyside) were just more physical."
The start of the second half wasn't a good omen for the Bearcats, as they fumbled the kickoff, which eventually led to a Tiger touchdown three plays later.
With Shadyside gaining possession of the ball on the PV 36-yard line, they eventually scored on a first-and-10 play from the 15-yard line with Dorris passing to Stevie Doughty for six points and the TD with 10:32 left in the third.
With PV trailing 41-7 by the conclusion of the third quarter, the final score of the game came from the Bearcats with Caleb Johnson rushing seven yards for the touchdown with 40.6 left in the game. The 2-point conversion from a pass by Skyler Knisley to Mason McCloy gave the Bearcats their total of 15 points.
In that final drive by PV, it included 10 runs from Teagan McFadden they amounted to 47 yards. The drive went a total of 90 yards, with the TD coming with 40.6 left in the game.
Following the game, Hollon said he told his team the loss was a "life lesson."
"I told them in the locker room they can use this as a life lesson, and I'm proud of the season we had," he said. "The season was fantastic, and I'm just extremely proud to be the head coach of this program.
"Nineteen years has been a long time, and we'll see what the future holds going forward. Hopefully the kids are going to buy into the weight room a little bit better, and I still hate to see the senior class go. They've been a part of two league championships and two playoff runs. It is always tough to lose that last one, but like I told the kids, tomorrow the sun is going to come up."
For the Bearcats, who were the No. 4 seed, everything finally boiled over for them, including injuries and facing a team that was very strong, especially up front, allowing the No. 1 seeded and undefeated Tigers to run their way to the playoff victory.
The loss leaves PV 1-1 in the playoffs this season, ending their successful season at 8-4 overall.
For 19-year head coach Pete Hollon, though the loss was a tough one, he was still proud of the way his team played in a season that saw them win a share of the Scioto Valley Conference for the second consecutive year.
Earlier in the week, Hollon said to win his team would have to control the line of scrimmage. The Bearcats were unable to do so and trailed 14-0 with just under five minutes left in the first quarter.
By the end of the first quarter, PV trailed 21-7.
In that first quarter, the scoring began quickly for the home team Tigers with the No. 1 seed going 66 yards in six plays, scoring on a 36-yard run by senior Eric Howell, who reached the end zone untouched for six points. The PAT from Billy Johnson put PV behind 7-0 with 9:00 left in the first quarter.
After PV went three-and-out, the Tigers put together a six-play drive, this time for a total of 46 yards, ending with QB (and Indiana University recruit) Austin Dorris racing 14 yards to the left side of the end zone for the touchdown. The PAT from Johnson put the Tigers ahead, 14-0 with 4:57 left in the first.
Following a second three-and-out the Tigers made the Bearcats pay for the short time on the field by putting the Bearcats behind 21-0 with a 40-yard drive on four plays, ending with Howell scoring his second TD, this one for 13 yards untouched to the left side of the end zone.
Following the PAT from Johnson, Shadyside led 21-0 with 2:48 left on the clock.
"When we saw the film, we didn't know if we could control the line of scrimmage," Hollon said. "We told the kids we had two goals … to survive the first quarter and to stop the run, and we just weren't able to do either one of those.
"That is a very, very good football team (Shadyside). They have nice players. Of course Dorris is good, but the kid that gets overlooked is Howell, and we thought that on film as well. Tonight, the better team won."
PV finally answered with a touchdown of their own as Tony Hatfield used his great speed to make a catch and then break away for a 65-yard score on a second-and-10 play from their own 35-yard line. The TD by Hatfield and PAT by Jacob Ott brought PV within 14 points of the Tigers with 2:00 left in the first quarter.
Making no excuses for his team, Hollon finally spoke about all the injuries his team had been playing with for the past few weeks. In this game, the Bearcats suffered at least three injuries that made a big difference in their play.
[[In-content Ad]]"For the past four or five weeks, we have been really banged up. We've done a good job of keeping it inside the program, but we had two or three guys who we knew were really struggling," Hollon said. "When Anthony twisted his ankle early on, that added another injury.
"Credit our guys, they fought, and even though they gave up a lot of athleticism at times (Saturday), I felt our skill kids matched up well. Up front, we are just not there yet."
By the time there was 9:55 left in the second quarter, the Bearcats trailed by a 28-7 score following a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard run by Dorris for an eventual 21-point advantage following the PAT.
The score then went to 34-7 with 3:03 left in the second with Dorris going two yards for the TD. PV blocked the PAT.
Also in the game, PV saw their All-District QB Anthony McFadden injure his ankle. Hollon spoke about the moment when Anthony McFadden was injured and the difference it made.
"He's one of the best QBs in Southern Ohio, and when you have a situation like that, it does make a difference," Hollon said. "We knew we were going to have to throw the football to win the game, and we really needed to avoid getting down 14-0.
"Then the next thing you know it is 21, and whenever you lose the heart and soul of your offense, it hurts. I'm not dogging my own kids up front, but we knew we were going to give up size, but they (Shadyside) were just more physical."
The start of the second half wasn't a good omen for the Bearcats, as they fumbled the kickoff, which eventually led to a Tiger touchdown three plays later.
With Shadyside gaining possession of the ball on the PV 36-yard line, they eventually scored on a first-and-10 play from the 15-yard line with Dorris passing to Stevie Doughty for six points and the TD with 10:32 left in the third.
With PV trailing 41-7 by the conclusion of the third quarter, the final score of the game came from the Bearcats with Caleb Johnson rushing seven yards for the touchdown with 40.6 left in the game. The 2-point conversion from a pass by Skyler Knisley to Mason McCloy gave the Bearcats their total of 15 points.
In that final drive by PV, it included 10 runs from Teagan McFadden they amounted to 47 yards. The drive went a total of 90 yards, with the TD coming with 40.6 left in the game.
Following the game, Hollon said he told his team the loss was a "life lesson."
"I told them in the locker room they can use this as a life lesson, and I'm proud of the season we had," he said. "The season was fantastic, and I'm just extremely proud to be the head coach of this program.
"Nineteen years has been a long time, and we'll see what the future holds going forward. Hopefully the kids are going to buy into the weight room a little bit better, and I still hate to see the senior class go. They've been a part of two league championships and two playoff runs. It is always tough to lose that last one, but like I told the kids, tomorrow the sun is going to come up."