WHS wins third straight Region 16 title

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ADAMS TOWNSHIP — Wyoming, ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press Division IV Ohio high school football poll, upset top-ranked Clinton-Massie 28-9 Saturday at Frank Irelan Field to win its third-straight Region 16 championship.

Rare is the occasion Massie loses a home playoff game. This is just the fourth time (2004, 2008, 2019 and 2020). And it’s even rarer the Falcons end a game without reaching the end zone. The last time that happened was the last time Massie was shutout, a 28-0 Region 16 final loss to Kettering Archbishop Alter in 2016.

“They were well-coached. We were banged up. It was hard. Shows you how difficult it is to win a regional championship. It is really difficult,” CM head coach Dan McSurley said. “All the credit goes to Wyoming. They had a great game plan.”

The game turned on a fateful sequence in the third quarter.

Trailing 14-6 at the half, Massie came out and smash-mouthed its way to a 17-play, 52-yard drive that chewed the first 8:08 of the second half off the clock. It ended on Trevor McGuinness’ third field goal of the evening and Wyoming up 14-9.

The Cowboys coughed up the ensuing kickoff and Massie recovered at the Wyoming 29. Two plays later, Massie fumbled and Wyoming scooped it and took it to the Falcon 1. One play later, Wyoming’s only play of the third quarter, it was Wyoming 21, Massie 9.

“We went in at halftime. Nobody was panicked. We felt like we could win the game. We knew we had the ball (to start the second half). We felt we needed to put together a drive, move the chains, stay consistent and put a score on the board, and we did. I felt good. If you get the field goal, you’re one score away,” McSurley said. “The turnover and the return was a momentum killer.”

Massie (9-1) had a couple drives after Wyoming went up 21-9 that ended with turnovers on downs.

Wyoming (9-0) then went on a 10-play, 80-yard drive that burnt six minutes of precious fourth-quarter clock to go up 28-9 and seal the victory.

The Falcons forced a Wyoming three-and-out to start the game and then went on a 15-play, 63-yard march that spanned 7:23 and ended with the first of two McGuinness 31-yard field goals to get on the board first.

“We have a really good kicker. These regional championship games, you have to play them almost mistake free. Any time we had the opportunity to score, we were going to take the opportunity. Trevor really stepped up,” McSurley said. “There was never a doubt of kicking those three field goals when you have a kicker like Trevor.”

Wyoming answered with two touchdowns after that, a C.J. Hester 85-yard run and an 87-yard pass from Brennan Pagan to Nathan Glisson.

“Those two big plays in the first half were well executed. I think we missed some tackles,” McSurley said. “They were fast. The quarterback was fast. Glisson, they had three or four kids who can take it to the house. Hester, only a 10th grader, was surprisingly fast.”

McGuiness knocked through his second 31-yarder seconds before the end of the first half.

Wyoming advances to a Division IV state semifinal where it will play Van Wert, which entered the playoffs unranked and seeded fifth in Region 14. In the other Division IV semifinal, Mentor Lake Catholic, the 12th seed in Region 14, will play sixth-ranked Bloom-Carroll, which blanked second-ranked St. Clairsville 40-0 in the Region 15 final.

SUMMARY

Nov 7, 2020

@Frank Irelan Field

Wyoming 28, Clinton-Massie 9

W^7^7^7^7^^28

CM^3^3^3^0^^9

First Quarter

CM – McGuiness 31 FG, 2:00

W – Hester 85 run (Gonzalez kick), :36.8

Second Quarter

W – Glisson 86 pass from Pagan (Gonzalez kick), 8:00.

CM – McGuinness 31 FG, :05.

Third Quarter

CM – McGuinness 27 FG, 3:45.

W – Hester 1 run (Gonzalez kick), 2:43.

Fourth Quarter

W – Hester 6 pass from Pagan (Gonzalez kick), 3:56.

TEAM STATISTICS

Total offense: Wyoming 26-292, Clinton-Massie 67-216. Passing Wyoming 3-4 97, Clinton-Massie 5-10 15. Rushing Wyoming 22-195, Clinton-Massie 57-201. Time of possession: Wyoming 15:15, Clinton-Massie 32:45. First downs: Wyoming 10, Clinton-Massie 14. Third-down conversions: Wyoming 2/5, Clinton-Massie 5/15. Fourth-down conversions: Wyoming 0/0, Clinton-Massie 5/7.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Wyoming Hester 16-175, Pagan 6-20. Clinton-Massie VanHoose 22-70, Zantene 9-52, Clutter 12-49, Trampler 13-33, McDowell 1-(-3).

PASSING – Wyoming Pagan 3-4 97, Clinton-Massie Zantene 5-10 15.

RECEIVING – Glisson 1-86, Hester 1-6, Mitchell 1-5. Clinton-Massie Conley 2-15, VanHoose 2-2, Brewer 1-(-2).

Photo by Elizabeth Clark
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/11/web1_FB11_CaydenClutter_1107ec-1.jpgPhoto by Elizabeth Clark

Photo by Elizabeth Clark
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/11/web1_FB11_CHale_1107ec-1.jpgPhoto by Elizabeth Clark

Photo by Elizabeth Clark
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/11/web1_FB11_CMTackle_1107ec-1.jpgPhoto by Elizabeth Clark

Photo by Elizabeth Clark
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/11/web1_FB11_Trampler_1107ec-1.jpgPhoto by Elizabeth Clark

Photo by Elizabeth Clark
https://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2020/11/web1_FB11_Zantene_1107ec-1.jpgPhoto by Elizabeth Clark

By Shawn Robinson

WNJ Sports Writer

Shawn Robinson covers high school sports for the News Journal. Follow him on Twitter @twinzdad01.

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