Third-quarter plays help Muskingum Valley threepeat vs. Licking stars
NEW LEXINGTON ― Riley Woodie was sometimes the forgotten man in Coshocton's three-pronged rushing attack.
But unlikely heroes often emerge in the Muskingum Valley-Licking County All-Star Game, and Friday night at New Lexington's Jim Rockwell Stadium, it was the fullback's turn to take center stage.
His 65-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half sent the MVL on its way to a 40-26 win, its third straight victory. The MVL now holds a 23-19 series lead.
"That play and the long touchdown that we had called back (late in the third quarter) took the wind out of our sails a little bit," Licking County coach Tim Ward said. "It feels like we left a lot of points out there."
Ward coaches at Heath during the high school regular season.
Licking County had seemingly grabbed the momentum when Heath's Brayden Bayles drove them 74 yards in 10 plays to score at the end of the first half. Bayles scrambled to avoid a sack on 4th-and-6 and hit Utica's Gavin Chinn for 15 yards, then found Chinn for 23, setting up a 7-yard TD pass to Licking Valley's Jacob Wheeler with just nine seconds left. Granville's Noah Musick booted the PAT and Licking County narrowed its deficit to 19-14 at the break.
But Woodie's score on a quick hitter allowed Muskingum Valley to extend the margin to 26-14, with Coshocton's Antwone Johns adding the PAT. Then, a crucial roughing the passer penalty kept the MVL's next drive alive, and Morgan's Logan Niceswanger connected with Raider teammate Kole Searl on a 25-yard scoring toss, making it 32-14.
The visitors seemed to quickly respond when Michael Landry of Licking Heights hooked up with Chinn on an apparent 63-yard TD bomb. But it was called back for an illegal man downfield.
Heath's Daylen McIntyre, named Licking County MVP for his defensive play, broke off a 25-yard reverse and Utica's Justin Giffin scored on an 8-yard run with 10:02 left, slicing it to 32-20. But Niceswanger's third touchdown pass, a 24-yarder to Sheridan's Bryson Ruff at 3:06, capped a 10-play, 97-yard drive after Bayles had boomed a 66-yard punt.
Bayles threw on the run again, this time for a 14-yard score to Wheeler who got both feet down in the back of the end zone. But it was too little, too late.
"It wasn't the outcome we wanted, but overall, I had a blast, and I still consider it a win, because of the friendships made and the relationships I now have," said Wheeler, who caught six passes for 56 yards and two scores. "It was a forever win because now I'm going to keep catching up with these guys and see what they're doing later."
Utica's Tyler Collura, who played a stellar game at linebacker, had similar sentiments. He and Chinn will room together and continue their careers in the fall at Ohio Northern, after helping Utica to its best season in 24 years.
"I feel like all the work we put in really showed, during the season and in tonight's game," Collura said. "It showed our dedication and the love for football. And it was great to play with all of these guys for the past two weeks, after playing against them all of these years. We became friends and we became a team."
Muskingum Valley, led by MVP Woodie's 128 yards on 13 carries and three touchdowns, and Niceswanger's six-of-nine passing for 119 yards and three more scores, outgained Licking 409-246. They twice snuffed out Licking fake punts and partially blocked a third in the first half.
Woodie's 4-yard TD run less than four minutes into the game came after stopping Licking County at its 29. But Muskingum Valley then snapped the ball over the punter's head and Licking County took its only lead, on a 5-yard Bayles keeper and Musick's kick at 5:20 of the first.
D'Angelo Goodrich of Licking Heights thwarted a Muskingum Valley drive with a second-quarter interception as the 7-6 lead held. That was until Licking County's pass off another fake punt fell incomplete, and a personal foul helped set up Woodie's 2-yard TD run. Tri-Valley's Drake Durst then deflected another punt out of bounds at the Licking 30, and Niceswanger lobbed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Tri-Valley's Ashton Sensibaugh.
Muskingum Valley rushed for 223 yards while holding Licking County to a net 60, and threw for 186 more. Bayles completed 15 of 26 passes for 180 yards, with Chinn catching six for 84 yards and Licking Valley's Alex Phelps four for 50 yards.
McIntyre was in the middle of everything, coming up with two sacks and other big defensive plays while also turning in a couple of strong kickoff returns.
"He was everywhere," Collura said. "He definitely deserved (to win MVP)."
"I played like it was my last game, which it probably was, although I may have a gap year and decide to come back," McIntyre said. "I love the trash-talking and the aggression of the game, and it was good to get back into it. It was not the outcome we wanted, but I still played as hard as I could."
Ward said McIntyre's versatility made him a unique talent.
"He put an exclamation point on his last game and played lights out," the coach said. "Playing the defensive line, wide receiver, returning kicks and punts, he made plays everywhere. Daylen is a special guy, and that's the way he played his entire career for us."
With the 2024 season just a couple of months away, Ward admitted the game helped get him and his staff into the right mindset.
"We lose four offensive linemen and a four-year starting quarterback," he said. "So we focused on starting to install an offense for all the new guys we'll have in there. And we were able to do it with all-stars."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Third-quarter plays help Muskingum Valley threepeat vs. Licking stars
