Beavers advance to state tournament

ZANESVILLE — Beaver Local’s dance with destiny has led it to the pinnacle of the sport in the Buckeye State — the state tournament.

The Beaver Local girls’ soccer team is state bound after capturing a Div. IV regional crown with a 1-0 triumph over Albany Alexander played before a large crowd at the sun-drenched West Muskingum Sports Complex Saturday afternoon.

“At the beginning of the season Peyton (Dunn) and I had a conversation at Dunkin’ Donuts and she said, coach, this is our year,” reflected Beaver Local head coach Liz Connor. “We’ve worked all season long (for this state tournament berth).”

“It feels really good (going to state),” said Dunn, who rifled in what turned out to be the winning goal in the second half. “I just stayed relaxed and tucked it away. I’ve (set the goal of reaching state) since last season when we ended it. I wanted it more than anything because I knew what kind of team we would have this year.”

The Beavers (19-2), whose longest prior tournament run in the sport was a regional runner-up finish in the 2016 campaign, will be making their first trip to the state tournament. Beaver Local will meet Columbus Academy in the state semifinal at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Coschocton’s Stewart Field.

And was the celebration on after they secured their state berth played before a large contingent of Beaver Local fans who made the 1 hour and 45 minute trip to Zanesville to see it.

“Oh, my goodness, this is just amazing,” said Beaver Local senior captain Lainie Bock. “Being a senior, this is something I’ve wanted since my freshman year and to do it with this team and these girls is amazing. We’re all so close and such best friends. I wouldn’t want to do this with anybody else.”

Albany Alexander, which also enjoyed a great season, bowed out with a 16-4-1 record.

“We just couldn’t get the opportunities to fall for us,” said Alexander head coach Todd Norris. “We were doing the work defensively, we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

The match pitted two of the top defensive teams in Division IV girls’ soccer. Beaver Local entered the match having surrendered just 20 goals all season (an average of just one goal per game) and had shut out 13 opponents. Meanwhile, Albany Alexander had shut out 14 of its previous foes.

Needless to say, scoring was at a premium as the two teams battled for that one defensive crack in their opponent’s defense that would make the difference.

That occurred with 35:58 showing on the second-half clock when Dunn took a pass from Jansen Ours, skillfully maneuvered around a Spartan defender in a one-on-one matchup and sent a goal into the back left of the net.

Southington will play in the 8-man title game

SOUTHINGTON — The 8-man championship football game is set for Leetonia this weekend.

Southington (9-1) will meet defending state-runner up Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic (10-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Leetonia High School.

Southington advanced with a 52-8 win over Danbury on Saturday as Wildcats quarterback Tanner Kelson an for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Ethan Bosch, Colt Levensky and Vince Delvecchio added rushing touchdowns.

The Wildcats’ only loss was to St. Mary Central Catholic, 28-24, on Oct. 4.

The game is sponsored by the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association.

Leetonia will receive $1,000 from the field rental and will not have to supply any workers. The Leetonia Band Booster will work the concessions and will benefit from those sales.

Mount defeats Capital

ALLIANCE — The second-ranked Mount Union football team outscored Capital, 38-0, in the second half for a 65-17 win at Kehres Stadium on Saturday.

The Purple Raiders are 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Safety Jerry Cooper Jr. started the scoring with a pick-six on the second play of the game, returning his first career interception 27 yards for a touchdown. Cooper had three career touchdowns as a receiver before moving to safety this season.

Darnell Williams ran for a career 176 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown run, on 13 carries.

Freshman quarterback Mikey Maloney was 14-of-18 passing for 194 yards and three touchdowns. He also had two touchdown rushing on runs of 16 and 57 yards.

Junior quarterback Chase Copper went 5-for-6 passing for 94 yards and two touchdowns, all career highs.

Mount Union will play at Marietta at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.