Tri-Valley Scotties (13-1) completed a comeback against St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish (10-4) Friday night in the State Semifinals rematch from earlier in the season. In week one of the regular season, the Fighting Irish defeated the Scotties 21-13 at Tri-Valley High School. The loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary was the only blemish on the Scotties' record.
At the onset of the game, the Scotties' were out for revenge. With a crowd of over 2,000 in attendance, the semifinals matchup between these two great teams was a highly anticipated one. The Scotties returned the opening kickoff to the 45 yards, which set the tone for the entire game. Cleveland Browns High School Game of the Week MVP #10 Dual-threat QB Andrew Newsom, Tri-Valley Scotties, led the charge. He would finish the game with 101 yards through the air, with 2 TDs and 100 yards on the ground. On the first possession of the game, Newsom would lead the Scotties down the field and would settle for a field goal by #5 Chase Dinan.
The Scotties defense would not let this game get away from them as the first matchup did; the defense held St. Vincent-St. Mary to zero points in the first half. After a few punt exchanges between the evenly matched teams, Tri-Valley would score a touchdown on a 23-yard pass from Newsom to WR #9 Spencer Littick. At the half, the score was Tri-Valley Scotties 10, St. Vincent-St. Mary 0.
The Fighting Irish were set to receive the second half kick when the unthinkable happen; Tri-Valley kicked a pooch kick and recovered it at their own 45-yard line. Tri-Valley took advantage of the opportunity and scored a few plays later — #8 RB Caleb Craig would scamper in from the 16-yard line to put the Scotties up 17-0 with 9:63 left in the 3rd quarter. After Tri-Valley scored to bring the lead to 17-0, they attempted another pooch kick and it was just as successful as the first attempt. First down Scotties! The Scotties would control the ball on a 10-play drive, and eventually #5 Chase Dinan would reach the end zone for a score.
As their mascot would suggest, St. Vincent-St. Mary would not go down without a fight. They would connect for a TD on a deep post route to #17 Zachary Olson, who finished the game with four receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown. The Fighting Irish would miss the two-point conversion, bringing the score to Tri-Valley 24, St. Vincent-St. Mary 6. The Scotties would go on to win the game and reach the State Finals by the same score, 24-6.
No game is complete without reliable volunteers. Mr. Morrison, volunteer chain gang member of Perry High School, has been a faithful member of the chain crew for 10 years. Mr. Morrison began working the chains when his sons' played youth football. He continues to volunteer on the chain gang every Friday night, even though his sons' no longer attend Perry High School. Mr. Morrison is committed to serving Perry High School in this capacity. A big thank you to our First & 10 Volunteer of the Game.
Tri-Valley Scotties, led by Cleveland Browns High School Coach of the Week Justin Buttermore, will play Trotwood-Madison next week for the Division III State Championship at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
