McDERMOTT - It was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Wheelersburg coach Tony Lewis could sense it was one of those games that a big break would determine the outcome.

It did.

"Turnovers are key in any big game like this. We had three turnovers and they didn't have any and that killed us. We gave them good field position. They just outplayed us and that's the bottom line. They deserved to win."

Minford used two of its three forced turnovers to snap the scoreless tie and give the Falcons a pivotal 10-0 win over the Wheelersburg Pirates Friday in each team's first Southern Ohio Conference game.

Dwight Luman intercepted a pass inside the Minford 5-yard line to stop a Wheelersburg scoring attempt. Minford then drove the length of the field and took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Ryan McGraw's 1-yard touchdown run.

Following a fumble recovery, McGraw hit Matt Lloyd with a 35-yard pass that set up a 35-yard field goal by Luke Slone with 3:09 left to give the Falcons a 10-0 lead.

Wheelersburg's final possession moved inside the 20, but it ended when Luman came up with his second interception.

"They made all the big plays and we didn't," Lewis said.

McGraw finished the game 13 of 24 for 160 yards and no interceptions. Running back Hayden Zeis ran 11 times for a career-high 62 yards and Luman ran for 50 yards on 14 attempts.

Pirates quarterback Tom Kaskey was 6 of 23 for 107 yards but was picked twice. Wheelersburg had just 89 yards on the ground compared to Minford's 120.

"We just couldn't move the ball or get pressure on their quarterback," said Lewis. "We played pretty good on defense, but we couldn't get any offense going."

Minford is now 5-0 for the first time since 1985. The Pirates fall to 3-2.

Wheelersburg travels to Portsmouth next Friday.

"We have to bounce back and see what we're made of. Portsmouth is going to be a tough game," said Lewis.

Wheelersburg0000-0

Minford00010-10

Fourth Quarter

Mi - Ryan McGraw 1 run (Luke Slone kick) 9:10

Min - Luke Slone 35 FG

3:09

First downs:Wh 11,Min16

Rushes-yards:Wh25-89,Min37-120

Passing yards:Wh107,Min160

Total yards:Wh196,Min280

Cmp-Att-Int:Wh6-23-2,Min13-24-0

Fumbles-lost:Wh1-1,Min0-0

Penalties-yards:v4-35,Min9-60

Individual Leaders

RUSHING - Wheelersburg: Matt Ruggles 4-34, Tom Kaskey 11-216, Brandon Jackson 4-23, Brian Stephenson 5-13, Nathan Timberlake 2-4. Minford: Hayden Zeis 11-62, Dwight Luman 14-50, Taylor Culbertson 6-17, Ryan McGraw 6-minus 3.

PASSING - Wheelersburg: Tom Kaskey 6-23-2

113. Minford: Ryan McGraw 13-24-0

160.

RECEIVING - Wheelersburg: Brian Stephenson 2-58, Brandon Jackson 2-31, Cory Chamberlin 2-18. Minford: Luke Slone 4-57, Dwight Luman 3-36, Matt Lloyd 2-42.