West Muskingum's 'Pancake Platoon' got plenty to eat in a playoff win against Union Local.

FALLS TOWNSHIP — West Muskingum football's grit down the stretch proved too much for visiting Belmont Union Local on Friday night.

The Division V, Region 19 bout between the fifth-seeded Tornadoes and 12th-seeded Jet featured two teams locking heads in a spirited battle into the fourth quarter.

Rashid Sesay’s monster game on the ground sealed the program's second playoff win, a 42-26 conquest before a rambunctious crowd at Whirlwind Stadium.

West M ran 50 times for 396 yards, was 7 of 8 on third-down conversions and held a seven-minute edge in time of possession. It attempted only eight passes.

In other words, the Tornadoes stuck to a familiar script.

"We talk about how playoff football is won by the tougher team," West M coach Nathan Brownrigg said. "I think we were that tonight."

Led by the “Pancake Platoon,” the 200-pound Sesay’s 237 yards rushing and four touchdowns sealed another matchup with Harvest Prep (9-2) next week in Canal Winchester. Carter Winland added 127 tallies on 17 totes.

The Warriors routed New Lexington, 55-8, in their first-round matchup.

“It sets us up for another challenge,” Brownrigg said. “I’m certainly excited for the opportunity, but bigger than that I’m excited for our guys to play another week.”

It didn’t come too easy right away for the Tornadoes. UL got its defense going quickly, forcing a Tornadoes three-and-out, and went right to work. UL could only reach the Tornadoes' 43-yard line after turning the ball over on downs.

Defensive linemen Cord McKenzie and Colin Thornton shined, especially when the team needed a quick jolt, finishing with a combined 13 tackles.

That boost gave the ball back to West M, which took advantage. Sesay's first score of the night, from the UL 2-yard line, made it 7-0 at 4:36 in the first after a Silas Kuhn’s point after.

UL evened the score at the 10:16 mark of the second quarter when Colby Carpenter hit Dre Saunders from 20 yards out. Sesay and the West M offense broke the tie on the ensuing drive, as Sesay found the outside for a 24-yard score with just more than six minutes left before halftime.

It was often a battle of field position, and just not the one battle that comes to mind. Both teams kept the ball low or squibbed kicked it nearly all night.

Kuhn’s paid off on the next kickoff when Ashton Ansel recovered at the Jets' 30. Four plays later, running back Winland found the end zone from nine yards out to extend the lead, 21-7, at 4:43 in the second.

The Jets didn't go down quietly.

Carpenter hit Saunders again, this time from 36 yards, on a crossing route to net a TD with 1:42 left until half. When Jake Anton was intercepted on the ensuing possession, it gave the Jets another chance to tie the game.

But McKenzie’s sack on Carpenter ended the threat. It was 21-14 Tornadoes at the break.

It was an example of how West M's linemen have been reliable in clutch situations — as has been the case throughout the season.

This time it was McKenzie's turn.

“Those guys really established themselves tonight,” Brownrigg said. “They had a hard time running against us tonight, and they made some plays through the air that hurt us, picking up third and longs and extending drives, but I’m proud of our guys' effort.”

It was an effort that continued immediately after halftime.

The Jets' Sean Alkire took the opening kickoff of the second half 89 yards to the West M 5, but West forced a goal-line stand to turn away a scoring chance.

It was that kind of night for the Jets, who then saw the Tornadoes drive 99 yards in six plays, capped by Winland's 13-yard scoring run to give his team some breathing room at 28-14.

The Jets duo of Carpenter and Saunders again cut into the lead, this time with Carpenter boxing out and leaping over two Tornado defenders for a 10-yard score in the end zone. The extra point attempt hit the left upright, and it was 28-20 West with 2:24 left in the third.

Winland hit the end zone again on the Tornadoes ensuing drive, this time from a yard out, but the Jets came back with another drive to keep it within reach. A pass breakup by Conner Hill on the two-point conversion kept it a two-possession differential at 35-26 in the fourth.

It started getting ugly and desperate in the last few minutes of the game.

The UL defense was called for two late hits on Sesay, and Sesay expressed his anger on the sidelines about getting hit for the fifth time under his belt line by UL players.

His fourth touchdown heated up the buses for Jets, putting the game out of reach — and, thankfully, without serious injury.

Sesay made sure to inform the officials of what he considered an intent to injure.

“It’s sad that you have to go out that way,” Sesay said. “They didn’t like what they were getting from us at the end of the game. Every time I got the ball, they were trying to grab me and twist me in the pile. Normally I’m cool and collected, but I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Carpenter was 17-for-29 passing for 241 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions, with Saunders totaling five catches for 94 yards. Six Jets caught passes.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: West M football dominates trenches vs. Union Local, eyes Harvest Prep