SHADYSIDE - No, Christmas is the time for giving. Not the playoffs.

Shadyside returned a fumble and an interception for touchdowns en route to a 38-0 win by the Tigers over the Symmes Valley Vikings Saturday in the Division VI Region 23 quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

The Vikings were guilty of five turnovers for the game.

&#8220We've been doing a good job cutting down on the turnovers, but they hurt us tonight. We chose the wrong time to start that again,” Vikings coach Rusty Webb said.

Shadyside (9-2) scored twice in the first quarter on long third-and-goal plays.

The first was s 30-yard pass from Billy Merryman to Matt Garrett. The second was a 14-yard touchdown run by Dustin Sadlowski.

&#8220They hit big plays on us whenever they needed to. One time we had good coverage and the kid went up and made an athletic play,” Webb said.

The Vikings were driving on their next possession when they fumbled and Garrett returned the ball 65 yards for a touchdown and an 18-0 lead.

Another fumble gave the ball back to Shadyside and they promptly used a 56-yard scoring pass from Merryman to Evan Cline to go up 25-0.

Symmes Valley fumbled early in the second half and set up a 13-yard scoring run by Lyle Burkhart that pushed the lead to 32-0.

After the ensuing kickoff, Garrett intercepted a pass and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown.

&#8220We were throwing the ball to try and get back in the game. That's what happens when you fall behind,” Webb said.

&#8220But we had two goal line stands in the third quarter. It would have been real easy to fold our tents, but we played hard and we played with pride.”

Shadyside outgained the Vikings 334 to 183 but just 144 to 135 on the ground. Merryman was 9 of 17 passing for 190 yards.

Derek Carpenter ran 13 times for 69 yards to lead the Vikings who finished 7-4.

&#8220We came into the season with a young team. We kept getting better and got in the playoffs,” Webb said.

Webb said the fan support for a four-hour trip was appreciated by the team.

&#8220I'd like to thank our fans who made the drive up. We had wonderful fan support. That's a long drive,” Webb said.

The game was the final for the Viking seniors and Webb said the group will be missed.

&#8220It was a great class. They are the only class to make the playoffs four straight years. They have the best record of any class. They'll definitely be missed,” Webb said.

Symmes Valley0000=0

Shadyside1213130=38

First Quarter

Sh – Matt Garrett 30 pass from Billy Merryman (kick fail) 7:23

Sh – Dustin Sadlowski 14 run (pass failed) 2:36

Second Quarter

Sh – Matt Garrett 65 fumble recovery (kick fail) 7:28

Sh – Evan Cline 56 pass from Billy Merryman (Mike Meintel kick) 4:42

Third Quarter

Sh – Lyle Burkhart 13 run (Mike Meintel kick) 10:41

Sh – Matt Garrett 35 interception return (pass failed) 10:21

-----

SVShd

First downs1012

Rushes-yards37-13532-144

Passing yards48190

Total yards183334

Cmp-Att-Int7-13-29-17-0

Fumbles-lost3-32-1

Punts-average5-27.42-35.0

Penalties-yards3-195-54

-----

Individual Leaders

RUSHING – Symmes Valley: Derek Carpenter 13-69, Matt Owens 7-32, Seth Saunders 6-10, Chris Capper 6-minus 10, Robby Miller 2-4, Brandon Freeman 2-2, Jesse Graybill 1-8; Shadyside: Lyle Burkhart 16-128, Dustin Sadlowski 5-24, Shawn Maynard 2-minus 3, Billy Merryman 3-minus 10.

PASSING – Symmes Valley: Chris Capper 7-13-2 48; Shadyside: Billy Merryman 9-17-0 190.

RECEIVING – Symmes Valley: Kyle Meadows 1-12, Derek Carpenter 1-4, Kirt Shipley 2-26, Matt Owens 3-6; Shadyside: Evan Cline 1-56, Shawn Maynard 3-72, Matt Garrett 1-30, Mike Meintel 1-15, Dustin Sadlowski 2-17.