Josh Morrison

josh.morrison@irontontribune.com

 

WILLOW WOOD — In a battle of two teams who both entered the game 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the South Ohio Conference Division I, the Oak Hill Oaks rushed for 237 yards and outdueled the Symmes Valley Vikings who could not overcome six turnovers, 28-14.

“We were able to move the ball, but (Oak Hill) was able to make more plays than we did,” Symmes Valley coach Rusty Webb said. “We had five turnovers, two touchdowns called back on penalties, and a punt blocked in a 28-14 game.

“But our guys did a good job of blocking out the turnovers and penalties and continuing to battle and playing hard. But you have to give Oak Hill credit because they made the plays when they were there to be made.”

Oak Hill (7-1, 3-0) got the scoring started quickly on the opening possession marching 75 yards in nine plays and was capped by a Devon Davis’ 2-yard run. Clayton Christensen added the extra point to give the Oaks a 7-0 with 7:56 to go in the first.

After two Oak Hill punts and a Symmes Valley interception, the Vikings faced a fourth down when Davis blocked the punt and it was downed at the Vikings’ 1-yard line.

On the next play, quarterback Drew Haislop scored and Christensen added the extra point to give Oak Hill a 14-0 lead with 11:34 to go in the first half.

Symmes Valley (6-2, 2-1) would answer the Oaks’ touchdown when Tyler Rowe capped a 6-play, 67-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Tyler Ferguson added the extra point to make the score 14-7 with 8:43 to go in the second quarter.

After forcing an Oak Hill punt, the Vikings tied the game when Rowe capped a 7-play, 51-yard drive with a 7-yard run. Ferguson added the extra point to knot the score at 14-14 to go in the half.

The big play in the drive was when running back D.J. Miller took a toss and threw a halfback pass to Jonathon Kouns for a gain of 36 yards.

After forcing the Oaks to a turnover on downs, the Vikings got the ball at their own 18-yard line. On the first play, Rowe was stripped and Oak Hill took over at the Vikiongs’ 21-yard line.

On the first play of the series, Haislop found Luke Hammond for a touchdown pass from 21 yards out. Christensen added the extra point to make the score 21-14 in favor of the Oaks at halftime.

On the ensuing kickoff, Alec Herrell weaved through the kickoff coverage for a 70-yard touchdown. However, a block in the back penalty negated the score.

After a Symmes Valley fumble on the second play of the third quarter, Oak Hill extended the lead and set the final score at 28-14 when Wes Harden capped an 8-play, 62-yard drive with a 6-yard run with Christensen adding the extra point.

Harden finished the game with 57 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns.

Both teams would get inside their opponents’ 10-yard line in the fourth quarter only to come away empty. Oak Hill turned the ball over on downs and Symmes Valley suffered an interception in the end zone.

Davis led the Oaks with 174 yards on 17 carries and a score, and Haislop added 88 yards on 6 of 13 passing with a touchdown.

Rowe led the Vikings with 106 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns, and was 2 of 6 passing for 48 yards. Miller added 45 yards on nine carries.

Oak Hill steps out of conference and hosts Ironton next week.

Symmes Valley travels to Portsmouth to take on Notre Dame in a SOC I game which could also have Division VI, Region 23 playoff implications for both teams.

Oak Hill 7 14 7 0 = 28

Symmes Valley 0 14 0 0 = 14

First Quarter

OH- Devon Davis 2 run (Christensen kick) 7:56

Second Quarter

OH – Drew Haislop 1 run (Christensen kick) 11:34

SV – Tyler Rowe 4 run (Ferguson kick) 8:43

SV – Tyler Rowe 7 run (Ferguson kick) 3:10

OH – Luke Hammond 21 pass from Haislop (Christensen kick) 0:53

Third Quarter

OH – Wes Harden 6 run (Christensen kick) 8:10

Team Statistics

OH SV

First downs 12 14

Rushes-yards 41-237 47-189

Passing yards 88 84

Total yards 325 273

Cmp-Att-Int 3-8-2 6-13-0

Penalties-yards 6-48 4-35

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-3

Punts-average 4-36.3 1-30.0

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING – Oak Hill: Devon Davis 17-174 TD, Wes Harden 20-57 2-TD, Drew Haislop 3-4 TD, Garrin Stiltner 1-2; Symmes Valley: Tyler Rowe 15-106 2-TD, D.J. Miller 9-45, Tanner Mays 2-14, Austin Owens 3-10, Alec Herrell 15-7, Tyler Rowe 3-7.

PASSING – Oak Hill: Drew Haislop 6-13-0 88; Symmes Valley: Tyler Rowe 2-6-2 48, D.J. Miller 1-2-0 36.

RECEIVING – Oak Hill: Luke Hammond 4-72, Ryan Gaines 1-8, Colton Cox 1-8; Symmes Valley: Jonathon Kouns 1-36, D.J. Miller 1-35, Michael Cremeans 1-13.