Ground game helps Panthers beat Raiders

BY BRANDON HANNAHS
Staff Writer

NEWTON TOWNSHIP -- A steady offense can be as good as a flashy one.

Maysville had 220 rushing yards in its single wing offense and held off Morgan's fourth-quarter rally Friday in a 14-7 Muskingum Valley League victory at the Maysville Athletic C omplex.

Cory Wilson had 133 yards on 32 carries with a touchdown, and he threw for another one in the win. Jeremy Willison added 70 yards on 13 carries and caught the touchdown for the Panthers (2-1, 1-1 MVL), who had the ball for 25:20.

The Maysville defense contributed three turnovers including two interceptions off Ted Vynalek. The Raiders quarterback finished 21-of-30 for 179 yards with a score and ran for 82 yards on eight carries.

Joel Fox was his main threat, catching six passes for 82 yards for Morgan (0-3, 0-1). Blake Schultz added six receptions and 48 yards and Cameron Westfall five catches and 40 yards.

The Panthers wasted little time getting on the board in the first quarter. After forcing a three-and-out, Maysville covered 79 yards on 12 plays. Willison broke a 14-yard run on third-and-11 and a 23-yard burst on second-and-long to keep the drive alive.

Later in the drive, Wilson connected with Chase Fisher for 37 yards to the Raiders 14-yard line. The Panthers needed three more plays to find pay dirt when Wilson rumbled in from 3 yards out. Kody Fulkerson's kick made it 7-0 at the 4:57 mark of the first quarter.

The defense setup the next Panthers' touchdown. Dillon Winland intercepted Vynalek on a deflection at the Panthers 40, and Maysville covered 53 yards on eight plays. Wilson got the ball moving with gains of 21 and 14 yards and found Willison for a 9-yard score. Another Fulkerson kick pushed the lead to 14-0 with 1:17 left in the first half.

Morgan tried to get on the board before the intermission. Vynalek marched the Raiders down the field on a 22-yard run and a 42-yard pass to Fox. However, Seth Brown picked him off in the end zone to end the threat.

The Panthers tried to put the game out of reach to open the second half, but Cody Fluhart intercepted Wilson's pass to the end zone to stop on the first drive of the second half.

The teams then played field position until Morgan scored with about two minutes left in the game. Vynalek found Levi Boyd for an 8-yard scoring strike, and Caleb McGrath's kick made it 14-7.

Maysville sealed the game by recovering the onside kick.

Winland added 17 yards on the ground in the win.

Boyd ran for 58 yards on 14 carries and caught a pair of passes for eight yards in the losing effort.

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