NEW LEXINGTON – Lane Ratliff and a tenacious defense were enough for New Lexington on Friday night.
Ratliff threw the game-winning touchdown and the defense made enough stands to send the second-seeded Panthers past third seed West Holmes 36-30 in the Division IV, Region 15 semifinal at Jim Rockwell Stadium.
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New Lexington (11-1) gets another rematch with top seed Indian Valley in the regional final next week. The Braves have won the last two meetings in the regional final, as the site for that will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 15.
“Resiliency and perseverance. This group has been in this game for three straight years and knew what to expect,” New Lex coach Kevin Board said. “Our defense stood tall at the right times. Tanner Toth set the table for that side of the ball, but we had a lot of guys make plays.”
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As for the Knights, missed opportunities were their undoing. West Holmes had four drives end on turnover on downs in New Lex territory, including the final one that saw West Holmes drop a wide-open pass inside the New Lex 20.
“We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities,” West Holmes coach Keaton Leppla said. “We’ve been aggressive all season, but we didn’t come up with plays when we had chances to make them. That proved to be the difference.”
The game was tied at 14 at the half, and the Knights took a 27-22 lead entering the fourth after a 19-yard scoring run by Christopher Williams with 2:33 left in the third.
The Panthers grabbed the lead about 90 seconds into the fourth when Ratliff scored from 2 yards out. The two-point run failed, but New Lex led 28-27, as a facemask penalty on West Holmes’ aided that drive.
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The New Lex defense then made a timely stand. West Holmes had first-and-goal from the New Lex 9, but the Knights settled for a 23-yard field goal by Garrett Obrst for a 30-28 lead with 6:47 remaining in the game.
Ratliff and New Lex needed little time to answer. A short kickoff aided the drive, which saw Ratliff find Tyson Spicer down the middle of the field for the go-ahead 41-yard touchdown. The two-point pass made it 36-30.
West Holmes crossed into New Lex territory, but the defense made the stop. Ratliff and the offense then ran out the clock.
“We faced a lot of adversity, and their offense was in good field position all game. We allowed them to have some long possessions, but we kept them out of the end zone just enough,” New Lex’s Eli Stephens said. “Our offense leaned on our line late in the game. Lane made some plays with his arm and his legs. It’s what he does for us.”
Board applauded the offensive line, anchored by Stephens, and fellow seniors, Alberto Boggess and Bodie Decore. Hayden Finley and Carter Danison also held up on the right side, as New Lex willed its way to victory.
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“Our offensive line played great, especially in the second half,” Board said. “They set the table that allowed us to run the ball effectively. It opened up enough of the play action pass to let us hit a few shots down the field.”
Brayden Parsons connected with Reid Hoxworth for a 67-yard touchdown to open the scoring for the Knights, but New Lex answered as Ratliff found Spicer for a 16-yard TD then raced 75 yards to the end zone to put the Panthers up 14-7.
New Lex had a chance to add points, but a fumble late in the second quarter assisted the Knights. Parsons converted it into points, finding Malachi Craft for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 late in the second quarter.
Ratliff connected with Tanner Toth for a 15-yard touchdown early in third, but Parsons hit Coi Beachy on a 48-yard TD on the ensuing possession to bring the Knights within 22-20.
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Leppla was disappointed with the result, but knows the seniors reestablished the program.
“This senior class built this program back up, and now we have to sustain it,” he said. ‘It’s hard to replace 17 seniors and the leadership they brought. We will still bring a lot of talent back and have talent coming up through. Our younger guys need to embrace the challenge and continue to build our team culture.”
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Ratliff, tenacious ‘D’ send New Lexington into regional final
