Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

ZANESVILLE — Did you ever have one of those days?

Symmes Valley was able to move the football, but inopportune penalties and mental mistakes proved too much to overcome as the Rosecrans Bishops pulled away in the second half and beat the Vikings 26-3 on Friday in the Division VI Region 23 quarterfinals.

The self-inflicted mistakes left head coach Rusty Webb frustrated.

“We moved the ball and we had chances to score, we just kept making mental mistakes, especially in the red zone,” said Webb.

“But give them credit. They made more plays than we did. Their quarterback is a good athlete. We had trouble getting pressure on him. They had a good offensive line and (Cronin) was able to shake free.”

With the Bishops missing leading rusher Luke Lloyd due to a broken foot, sophomore quarterback Adrick Cronin stepped up on the offensive end as he completed 16 of 20 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns — all in the second half. He also ran 16 times for 35 net yards.

Jess Moore carried seven times for 47 yards and Ben Baldwin caught seven passes for 82 yards. Thomas Thacker had four receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

The Vikings (8-3) offense generated 279 total yards compared to 288 for the Bishops.

D.J. Miller ran 15 times for 171 yards and the Vikings racked up 257 yards on the ground. However, they were just 1-of-6 passing for 22 yards and an interception.

Symmes Valley took a 3-0 lead on a 25-yard field goal by Tyler Ferguson with one minutes to play in the first quarter.

Rosecrans went ahead when a bad play turned good. Baldwin scooped up a fumble on a bad snap 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and ran 2 yards for the touchdown with 2:55 left in the half.

Cronin took over in the second half as he hit Jared Cox with an 8-yard scoring strike with 8:50 left in the third quarter and it was 13-3.

The Vikings answered with a drive to the Bishops’ 8-yard line, but found themselves facing a fourth-and-goal at the 34 due to a pair of costly penalties.

Rosecrans took advantage by taking the ball the other way and scoring on a 14-yard pass from Cronin to Thomas Thacker and it was 20-3 with 10:34 to go.

Symmes Valley was unable to get past the Bishops’ 39 the rest of the game and Rosecrans punched in an insurance score with 3:46 left on an 11-yard pass from Cronin to Thacker.

Webb praised his team’s effort including seniors Austin Owens, Austin Baldwin, Jacob Graybeal, Caleb Holderby, Kyle Wells, Alec Herrell and Matt Floyd.

“Our kids have nothing to be ashamed of. They worked hard all year and always played hard. They never quit,” said Webb. “Our seniors provided great leadership and showed our young kids what kind of work ethic it takes to be successful.”

Symmes Valley 3 0 0 0 = 3

Rosecrans 0 6 7 13 = 26

First Quarter

SV — Tyler Ferguson 25 field goal 1:00

Second Quarter

BR — Ben Baldwin 2 run (kick failed) 2:55

Third Quarter

BR — Jared Cox 8 pass from Adrick Cronin (Johnny MacLean kick) 8:50

Fourth Quarter

BR — Thomas Thacker 14 pass from Adrick Cronin (Johnny MacLean kick) 10:34

BR — Thomas Thacker 11 pass from Adrick Cronin (kick failed) 3:46

Team Statistics

SV BR

First downs 11 18

Rushes-yards 34-257 32-120

Passing yards 22 168

Total yards 279 288

Cmp-Att-Int 1-6-1 16-20-0

Fumbles-lost 0- 3-1

Penalties-yards 6-45 3-28

Punts-average 4-29.8 1-41.0

Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Symmes Valley: D.J. Miller 15-171, Tyler Rowe 9-38, Alec Herrell 6-30, Austin Baldwin 2-12, Tanner Mays 2-6; Rosecrans: Jess Moore 7-47, Adrick Cronin 16-35, Ben Baldwin 5-30, Thomas Thacker 2-7, Chase Lanning 2-1.

PASSING—Symmes Valley: Tyler Rowe 1-5-0 22, D.J. Miller 0-1-1; Rosecrans: Adrick Cronin 16-20-0 168 3-TD.

RECEIVING—Symmes Valley: D.J. Miller 1-22; Rosecrans: Ben Baldwin 7-82, Thomas Thacker 4-48 2-TD, Jared Cox 3-15 TD, Cameron Roberts 2-23.