ZANESVILLE — One of the more successful seasons in Teays Valley football history came to an end Friday night as defending Division II state champion Massillon Washington topped the Vikings 48-14.
The Tigers’ special teams set the tone for Friday’s Region 7 semifinal and an efficient offense helped build a big lead.
The No. 7 seed Vikings were held without a first down on the game’s first possession and forced to punt. Massillon’s Tyler Hackenbracht fielded the punt at midfield and raced 50 yards for a touchdown.
TV punted on its next possession as well. This time Hackenbracht got the ball at his team’s 20-yard line but still managed to elude the coverage and took it 80 yards.
The Tigers were up 14-0 and their offense hadn’t seen the field.
TV managed a first down on the next possession, but a couple of penalties led to another punt situation. After a problem handling the snap, punter Maxwell Spencer was tackled for a 13-yard loss which gave the Tigers the ball at the TV 7.
Mylen Lenix got the handoff on the first play and went the seven yards for a 21-0 Washington lead.
On Washington’s next possession, the Tigers followed an eight-yard pass from Jalen Slaughter to Brayln Toles with another play between the two – this one covering 73 yards for a 28-0 lead with a minute left in the first quarter.
The Vikings followed with a sustained drive that used 12 plays to cover 73 yards with the eight-minute effort culminating on a play-action pass where Brady Farmer hit Luke Burgett for a six-yard touchdown.
Hackenbracht quickly quieted the Vikings fans, though. The senior jumped up in the air to grab the ensuing kickoff before it crossed the goal line and then ran it back 100 yards for a touchdown.
Washington added a 52-yard scoring run from Ja’Meir Gamble to lead 42-7 at halftime.
The Tigers’ offense took only four snaps in the first half with three of the plays resulting in touchdowns.
The Vikings had a big second half defensive highlight when defensive end Tyler Tietz ripped the ball away from Massillon running back Peytton Mitchell and ran it back 43 yards for a touchdown five plays into the third quarter.
Mitchell later scored on a three-yard run, but the PAT kick failed when TV senior Gideon Dixon broke through the line and blocked the kick.
Peter Graham was Teays Valley’s top rusher with 40 yards on 12 carries as the Vikings netted only seven yards on the ground.
Farmer threw for 108 with Burgett catching four balls for 31 yards.
This was the first appearance in a regional semifinal game for the Vikings since their very first playoff appearance in 1998 (a 3-0 loss to Trenton Edgewood). At that time, only four teams in a region made the playoffs.
TV ends the 2024 campaign with an 8-5 record, tied for third in the OCC Buckeye and will graduate 22 seniors.
No. 3 seed Washington (11-2) advances to next Friday’s regional championship against top-seeded Big Walnut (12-1), which was a 28-10 winner over No. 4 Ashland.
Massillon Washington 48, Teays Valley 14
By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Teays Valley 0 7 7 0 14
Washington 28 14 6 0 48
First Quarter
MW — Tyler Hackenbracht 50 punt return (Mateo Herrara kick), 9:33.
MW — Tyler Hackenbracht 80 punt return (Mateo Herrara kick), 7:07.
MW — Mylen Lenix 7 run (Mateo Herrara kick), 4:21.
MW — Brayln Toles 77 pass from Jalen Slaughter (Mate Herrara kick), 0:57.
Second Quarter
TV — Luke Burgett 6 pass from Brady Farmer (Maxwell Spencer kick), 4:48.
MW — Tyler Hackenbracht 100 kickoff return (Mateo Herrara kick), 4:33.
MW — Ja’Meir Gamble 52 run (Mateo Herrara kick), 3:05.
Third Quarter
TV — Tyler Tietz 43 fumble return (Maxwell Spencer kick), 7:38.
MW — Peytton Mitchell 3 run (kick blocked), 2:48.
TEAM STATISTICS
TV MW
First downs 12 5
Rushing yards 30-7 17-119
Passing yards 108 105
Comp.-Att.-Int 13-22-0 4-6-0
Total yards 115 224
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 2-9 12-81
Punts-Ave 4-33 1-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING –Teays Valley — Carson Payne 12-19, Brady Farmer 5-(-39), Peter Graham 12-40, Maxwell Spencer 1-(-13). Washington — Peytton Mitchell 12-60, Savior Owens 3-0, Mylen Lenix 1-5, Ja’Meir Gamble 1-52.
PASSING – Teays Valley — Brady Farmer 13-22-0-108. Washington — Jalen Slaughter 4-6-0-105.
RECEIVING – Teays Valley — Carson Payne 2-25, Peter Graham 1-6, Luke Burgett 4-31, Peyton Mcelfresh 1-14, Brandon Travis 2-8, Weston Gray 2-15, Markus Mealy 1-9. Washington — Peytton Mitchell 1-7, Jacques Carter 1-13, Brayln Toles 2-85.