By John Howley / SportingPumpkin.com
ASHVILLE — If the Coronavirus wasn’t giving teams enough to deal with, Teays Valley had about 24 hours to change its plans from taking on a local rival to battling one of the top teams in its region.
On short notice, Kings came up to Ashville and left with a 41-10 win.
The change came as Circleville had to opt out of Friday’s matchup because of a possible virus exposure from an earlier game and the Vikings (2-3) filled the gap with the Knights (4-0), who are one of the top-rated teams in the region using the traditional rating method.
While the result wasn’t what he wanted, TV coach Mark Weber liked the way his team handled the last-minute change.
“They responded and actually played fairly well,” Weber said of his team. “(Kings) is a really good team.”
Kings quarterback Will Kocher complemented the Knights’ running game early on as he scored the first touchdown of the game on a five-yard run and then added a 25-yard scoring pass to Gabe Hunt for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
Kocher hit Andy Bauman on a 23-yard score in the second quarter and Jay Holubetz had a three-yard rushing score to give the Knights a 28-0 halftime lead.
Kocher had 125 of his 182 passing yards in the first half.
Kings’ Ty Stylski seemed to be on his way to a big night with 81 yards on eight carries in the first quarter before an injury forced him out.
“We hit that tailback a few times and he had to leave the game — that tailback is phenomenal,” Weber said. “There were some times where we didn’t tackle well and it was a big play, and there were some times where we did tackle well and we executed well.
“Teams are getting us in the passing game still. We’ll keep figuring it out and we’ve got to keep fighting.”
TV got on the board in the third quarter when Cale Clifton connected on a 30-yard field goal.
Kings added scores on a 23-yard run from Kocher and a 75-yard punt return from Jake Cameron in the fourth quarter.
TV ended the night’s scoring with a 26-yard scoring pass from Tyler Love to Cooper Booth.
Along with giving up the late punt return, the Vikings lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions.
With one week left in the shortened regular season, Weber is hopeful coaches in the Vikings’ region will recognize the caliber of opponents they have taken on.
“The seeding does matter but I would hope teams would give us a little respect. I would hope they would give us the respect factor of these guys are actually playing some people,” Weber said. “If not, that’s fine too. We’ll get our seed and we’ll play. I think these battle tests over time will pay off.”
The Vikings were limited to 98 yards rushing Friday led by Camden McDanel with 53 yards on 16 carries.
Love threw for 119 yards with Booth catching two for 62 yards.
Stylski’s 81 yards led the Knights’ running game that picked up 206 yards.
Up Next
The Vikings are slated to travel to Amanda-Clearcreek next Friday. The Aces (3-1) had to cancel their contest at Hamilton Township this week.
Kings (4-0) is scheduled to host Loveland.
Kings 41, Teays Valley 10
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Kings 14 14 0 13
Teays Valley 0 0 3 7 10
First Quarter
K — Will Kocher 5 run (Ryan Stylski kick), 7:34.
K — Gabe Hunt 25 pass from Will Kocher (Ryan Stylski kick).
Second Quarter
K — And Baumann 23 pass from Will Kocher (Ryan Stylski kick), 5:50.
K — Jay Holubetz 3 run (Ryan Stylski kick), 0:28.
Third Quarter
TV — Cale Clifton 30 field goal, 1:10.
Fourth Quarter
K — Will Kocher 23 run (Alex Deutsch kick), 11:52.
K — Jake Cameron 75 punt return (kick failed), 9:07.
TV — Cooper Booth 26 pass from Tyler Love (Cale Clifton kick), 0:17.
TEAM STATISTICS
K TV
First downs 24 9
Rushing yards 37-206 33-98
Passing yards 182 119
Comp.-Att.-Int 10-15-0 6-14-2
Total yards 388 217
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-2
Penalties-Yards 5-45 8-54
Punts-Ave. 1-35 3-32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Kings — Will Kocher 7-72, Ty Stylski 8-81, Andy Bauman 1-9, Max Sanella 6-(-3), Jay Holubetz 14-46, Michael Sarchet 1-14. Teays Valley — Camden McDanel 16-53, Tyler Love 3-8, Hunter Young 8-25, Peyton Weiler 2-9, Cooper Booth 1-2, Eli Burgett 1-1.
PASSING – Kings — Will Kocher 10-15-0-192. Teay Valley — Tyler Love 6-13-1-119, Peyton Weiler 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING – Kings — Ty Stylski 1-18, Andy Bauman 2-35, Max Sanella 1-20, Jay Holubetz 3-45, Michael Sarchet 1-27, Dawson McCulley 2-37. Teays Valley — Camden McDanel 2-36, Peyton Weiler 1-13, Cooper Booth 2-62, Sam Speakman 1-8.