by JOHN HOWLEY / sportingpumpkin.com
ASHVILLE — Teays Valley locked itself into one of the top spots in its region while Logan Elm finished its season battling to the end as the Vikings picked up a 34-21 win Friday night.
With the win, the Vikings finish the regular season as the No. 4 seed in Division II’s Region 8, according to joeeitel.com.
“We’re facing adversity at weird times of every game and nine times it’s come out good for us. I think that adversity is going to help us in the playoffs,” TV coach Mark Weber said. “We’re definitely going to see a high-caliber team. There are no bad teams in the region, especially in the top 16. It’s going to be a really good matchup.”
The regular season finalé saw the Vikings (9-1, 6-1) take a 27-0 lead in at halftime as Camden McDanel scored on runs of 18 and two yards and Peyton Weiler scored on runs of nine and two yards.
While the Vikings piled up 319 yards of offense in the first half, the Braves were limited to just 30.
Logan Elm (3-7, 1-6) got its offense moving in the second half.
The Braves had the opening possession and used a short field to find the end zone. LE covered 44 yards in 11 plays with Garret Summers scoring from four yards out.
TV answered with a six-play, 80-yard drive. Camden McDanel carried the ball on the last four plays for 71 yards and his third score of the night.
The teams traded punts before LE put together another scoring drive. This time the Braves covered 70 yards in seven plays keyed by passes of 14 and 48 yards from Summers to Jude Braun. Summers connected with his brother, Carson, for a 12-yard score to end the drive.
An onside kick was recovered by LE’s RJ Weber and the Braves wasted no time taking advantage of it. On the first play of the new drive, Summers connected with Braun for a 50-yard touchdown to make the score 34-21.
Another attempt at an onside kick didn’t work in LE’s favor and TV drove down into field goal range with a chance to make it a three score game with two minutes remaining. The kick went wide, leaving a glimmer of light for LE.
A long run by Garret Summers and a 41-yard pass play from Garret to Carson Summers had LE at the TV 18.
But Weiler came up big for the Vikings as he intercepted a Summers pass at the five-yard line to seal the win for TV.
That was the third interception of the season for Weiler, a senior.
Despite the Braves making a bit of a comeback in the second half, Weber said the team didn’t let it get to them.
“That was honestly the key that the seniors never lost composure, the coaches never lost composure,” he said.
“I’m truly proud of the fight in our kids. Being down 27-nothing at halftime and we’re a play away from trying to recover an onside kick and try to win the game there at the very end,” LE coach Terry Holbert said. “That shows the heart and effort of our kids. I’m just truly proud of how hard they played.
“They’ve faced of adversity and they haven’t flinched — they’ve continued to press forward. I really think the finish of his game epitomizes that and the character of our team.”
TV ended the night with 474 yards of offense led by McDanel’s 162 yards on the ground, which took him to 1,011 for the season to go with 17 rushing touchdowns.
Tyler Love threw for 113 yards.
Elijah Gordon was the leading receiver on a play that wasn’t even intended for him. The pass was intended for Harrison Payne but was knocked away by an LE defender. Gordon was able to react in time to grab the ball and pick up 47 yards on the play.
Braun had 112 yards on three receptions to lead the Braves as Garret Summers threw for 180 yards and was the team’s leading rusher with 63 yards.
Braun and Summers are two of a half dozen seniors the Braves will graduate from this year’s team.
“The seniors have steadied the ship. They’ve been great leaders and they’re men of high character. They’re great citizens on and off the field,” Holbert said. “But I just challenged our guys there in our last huddle that it’s now time for our juniors and our sophomores to take those reins. And I have a lot of confidence in that group that’s stepping in to lead our team.”
Up next
If joeeitel.com‘s numbers hold up, the Vikings will host Stebbins High School, from the Dayton area, next Friday. The Indians have a 5-4 record and fell 49-6 to unbeaten Piqua, the No. 1 seed in the region, Friday night.
“We’re 9-1 and we’ve found ways to win,” Weber said. “We have a really good team and we have some really good parts. I don’t even think we have all those parts figured out yet in Week 10, so we get Week 11 to make sure they’re all put together.”
Click here to see Joe Eitel’s predictions for Teays Valley’s region.
Teays Valley 34, Logan Elm 21
By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 0 0 7 14 21
Teays Valley 13 14 7 0 34
First Quarter
TV — Camden McDanel 18 run (Cale Clifton kick), 7:51.
TV — Peyton Weiler 9 run (Cale Clifton kick), 2:37.
Second Quarter
TV — Peyton Weiler 2 run (Cale Cliton kick), 9:41.
TV — Camden McDanel 2 run (Cale Clifton kick), 2:10.
Third Quarter
LE — Garrett Summers 4 run (Jude Braun kick), 7:03.
TV — Camden McDanel 26 run (Cale Clifton kick), 4:20.
Fourth Quarter
LE — Carson Summers 12 pass from Garret Summers (Jude Braun kick), 7:59.
LE — Jude Braun 50 pass from Garret Summers (Jude Braun kick), 7:46.
TEAM STATISTICS
LE TV
First downs 14 22
Rushing yards 32-84 50-361
Passing yards 180 113
Comp.-Att.-Int 9-21-1 5-7-0
Total yards 264 474
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-70 12-130
Punts-Ave. 5-31 1-19
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Logan Elm — Blayton Reid 13-13, Garret Summers 15-63, Michael Bock 1-0, 35 1-3, 25 2-5. Teays Valley — Landon Thompson 9-49, Camden McDanel 17-162, Tyler love 11-39, Peyton Weiler 9-85, Gavin Karshner 3-23, Brodi Boardman 1-3.
PASSING – Logan Elm — Garret Summers 9-20-1-185, Carson Summers 0-1-0-0. Teays Valley — Tyler Love 5-5-0-113, Peyton Weiler 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING – Logan Elm — Blayton Reid 3-2, Carson Summers 3-66, Jude Braun 3-112. Teays Valley — Gavin Karshner 1-14, Elijah Gordon 1-47, Harrison Payne 2-18, Luke Bullock 1-34.
