ASHVILLE — Teays Valley had a strong start but couldn’t get enough stops as visiting Newark was able to leave town with a 31-28 win.
The Vikings started the game with a 12-play drive that ate up the first six minutes of the game and wrapped up with a three-yard touchdown pass from Brady Farmer to Peter Graham.
Newark went three-and-out and TV followed with a nine-play drive that ended with Farmer connecting with Cavin McDowell for a one-yard score with 32 seconds left in the first.
Alex Irvin had a 45-yard kickoff return to give Newark favorable field position. A two-yard run on first down brought the first quarter to a close and the Wildcats opened the second with Bodie Smith and Kolton Peterson connecting on a 33-yard touchdown.
The Vikings put a 10-play possession together but turned the ball over on downs at the Newark 35.
Stopped for no gain on first down, Alex Irvin followed with a 56-yard run to the TV 9. Two plays later, Smith hit Peterson again for a five-yard touchdown. The PAT kick tied the score at 14-14 and it stayed there until halftime.
Newark began the second half with the ball and repeated TV’s start.
A 10-play drive ended with Alex Irvin scoring from a yard out.
TV picked up a first down on its first play of the half but was forced to punt a few plays later.
Newark responded with another 10-play drive. The last play of the drive was the first play of the fourth quarter which was another Irvin one-yard run and Newark was up 28-14.
The Vikings responded with a quick drive that covered 80 yards – the last two plays were a 22-yard run by Tommy Kozlowski followed by a 43-yard touchdown run by Carson Payne.
Newark recovered an onside kick attempt at midfield and moved as close as the TV 14 before Sean Brechbill kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it a 10-point game with 4:48 left on the clock.
TV wasn’t done and covered 80 yards in nine plays, using less than three minutes, and Farmer found McDowell for an eight-yard touchdown with 1:55 showing.
Newark again recovered an onside kick attempt and was able to pick up a first down to allow the Wildcats to run out the clock.
After running only 12 plays for 108 yards in the first half, Newark ran 33 for 206 yards in the second.
TV had 37 plays for 217 yards in the first half and 17 plays for 194 yards in the second half.
Spike Woods led TV with 90 yards rushing on 20 carries and Payne had 65 yards on five carries.
Farmer was 17-21 passing for 216 yards with McDowell catching eight passes for 84.
Teays Valley (4-4, 2-3) will look to end a three-game losing skid next week at Pickerington Central (7-1, 4-0). The Vikings are sitting at 11th in their region with the top 12 making the playoffs.
Newark (4-4, 2-3) hosts Reynoldsburg (1-7, 1-4) next week.