Beaver Local - September 23, 2016
When a team rushes for only 54 yards and is socked with 175 yards in penalties, one would expect a negative result. However, in the words of British author, Robert Charles Lee, “There is more than one way to skin a cat.” And in this case, it was not a cat, rather a group of Beavers, fighting Beavers to be exact, who gave the East Liverpool Potters all they could handle until the fourth quarter when an unheralded senior, David Locke, made his presence felt with a dramatic interception off the arm of Logan Bouscher, and the cat was out of the bag.
The turning point came on the 98th play of the game with the Beavers leading 13-7, chugging on all cylinders to the EL 30 when, with a little over nine minutes on the clock, Locke stepped in front of the ball and rambled to the 17-yard line. At this juncture, an eight-yard gain by QB Austin Mayfield set up the big senior quarterback’s scoring strike to Zach Gill, his second TD of the night. Dylan Kidder’s conversion kick then put the Blue and White up 14-13 with 8:29 remaining to play.
Coach Jeremy McElroy and his crew didn’t exactly roll-over-and-play-dead, however, as the Red and White commenced a nine-play drive that took them just across the 50 where they were held by the Potters on a fourth-and-nine situation.
For a moment it looked as if the visitors had made the correct decision not to punt, as they sacked Mayfield on first down, but on the next play the senior quarterback fired a 53-yard scoring bomb to Gill to make it 21-13, following Kidder’s conversion.
The Beavers could do little with the ensuing kickoff, once again turning the ball over to Coach Josh Ludwig and his crew with 2:59 left to play – enough time for Mayfield to take it to the house from the 39 with 1:45 on the clock as Kidder’s kick made it 28-13, which would be the final score.
There was never a dull moment in the game, as the two teams racked up 630 yards of total offense between them with the Beavers rushing for 240 yards while Mayfield passed for 285 stripes in 16 attempts. His first TD came on his team’s initial possession 9:30 into the game when he found Gill from the seven.
Beaver Local then tied the game on a Michael Clendenning three-yard plunge with 36 seconds left to play before the intermission. Drew Theiss converted.
Torey Calio scored for the visitors on a 74-yard drive with the 4:09 left to play in the third quarter, but when the conversion kick hit the right upright, the Potter lead, which they would not relinquish, held up by one point, 14-13.
COACH’S COMMENTS:
“It really feels good for these kids to finally win,” East Liverpool coach, Josh Ludwig said. “We always believed in them and tonight they believed in themselves. That’s how we won."
“Austin was huge in the second half,” the happy Potter coach said while standing among a crowd of fans along with the marching band in the center of Patterson Field. “I know the confidence is there now. If we can just eliminate some mistakes going forward, I think we can put some wins up,” said the third-year mentor."
DIGGER’S DUGOUT:
Zach Gill became the first receiver in Potter history to catch three touchdown passes in a game and Mayfield became the ninth quarterback to throw three. The others were: 1922, Chuck McConville vs. Lisbon; 1960, Kenny Cunningham vs. Struthers; 1967, Mike McVay vs. Cleveland St. Joe; 1968, Dan Cunningham (on three occasions: Cleveland West, Boardman and Alliance); 1986, Pat Burson vs. Salem; 1989, Kevin Smith vs. Niles; 1996, Anthony Coles vs. Southern Maryland; 2000, Sean Yanni.vs. Buckeye Local.
Gill ended with eight catches for 168 yards, also a record. Pass reception leaders for a single game are as follows:
(3) 1992 Nate Boyd vs. Nordonia 6 for 150 yards
(4) 1996 Jeff Wright vs. Southern Md. 6 for 148 yards
(6) 2001 Brett Green vs. Buckeye Local 5 for 136 yards
(2) 2001 Brett Green vs. Beaver Local 4 for 160 yards
(5) 2010 Andrew English vs. Youngstown East 5 for 143 yards
(1) 2016 Zach Gill vs. Beaver Local 8 for 168 yards
In addition, Gill is now among elite company with those who have had the most catches in a single game:
-(2) 1982 Jim "Boddie" White vs. Salem 8 for 100 yards
(2) 1984 Mike Rickerd vs. Wintersville 8 for 62 yards
(2) 1987 Rick Jennings vs. Beaver Local 8 for 72 yards
(1) 1989 Shawn Long vs. Canton Central 9 for 89 yards
1989 Shawn Long vs. Oak Glen 5 for 105 yards
1989 Shawn Long vs. Niles 6 for 67 yards
1990 Jerry Barnes vs. Buckeye South 5 for 42 yards
1991 Tim McGeehan vs. Salem 5 for 66 yards
1991 Tim McGeehan vs. Weirton 6 for 37 yards
(2) 1992 Nate Boyd vs. Weirton 8 for 129 yards
1992 Nate Boyd vs. Nordonia 6 for 150 yards
1996 Jeff Wright vs. Southern Maryland 6 for 148 yards
1997 Jeff Wright vs. Buckeye Local 5 for 115 yards
2001 Brett Green vs. Buckeye Local 5 for 136 yards
2001 Brett Green vs. Beaver Local 4 for 160 yards
(1) 2006 Tony Metsch vs. Niles 9 for 43 yards
(3) 2006 Tony Metsch vs. Weirton 7 for 95 yards
2010 Andrew English vs. Youngstown East 5 for 143 yards
(2) 2016 Zach Gill vs. .Beaver Local 8 for 168 yards
The game also saw the Potters compile the second most team yardage by pass in a single game. (285 by Mayfield, seven by Peyton Adkins for 292):
1952 268 yards vs. Martins Ferry
1955 228 yards vs. New Philly
1959 266 yards vs. Toronto
1959 223 yards vs. Bellaire St. John
1967 264 yards vs. Dayton Dunbar
(3) 1968 289 yards vs. Cleveland West
1989 246 yards vs. Canton Central Catholic
(4) 1992 266 yards vs. Nordonia
1992 233 yards vs. Buckeye Local
1994 244 yards vs. Beaver Local
(1) 1996 304 yards vs. Southern Maryland
(2) 2016 292 yards vs. Beaver Local
Mayfield became the fifth leading total offense individual single game leader with 323 yards (285 passing and 38 yards rushing:
(2)1996 Anthony Coles vs. S Maryland 376 yards
(6)1996 Anthony Coles vs. Salem 321 yards
(3)1998 Maurice Brown vs. Steub Big Red 364 yards
(1)1998 Robert Jackson vs. St. Clairsville 477 yards
(4)2008 Willie Leavell vs. Salem 332 yards
(5)2016 Austin Mayfield vs. Beaver Local 323 yards
Mayfield also moved into the third spot for the most yards passing in a single game
1924 Chuck McConville 14 for 25 vs. Salem unrecorded yds
(4) 1952 Clair Williams 10 for 19 vs. Mart'n Ferry 268 yds
1955 Jim Potts 8 for 12 vs. New Philly 228 yds
1960 Kenny Cunningham 14 for 19 vs. Ygstn Rayen 206 yds
1967 Earl Diddle 11 for 19 vs. Dayton Dunbr 264 yds
(2) 1968 Dan Cunningham 10 for 17 vs. Clevd West 289 yds
1984 Paul Ice 17 for 28 vs. Wintersville 191 yds
1989 Kevin Smith 13 for 20 vs. Oak Glen 215 yds
1989 Kevin Smith 21 for 30 vs. Canton Cent 246 yds
1989 Kevin Smith 13 for 22 vs. Niles 186 yds
1989 Kevin Smith 12 for 27 vs. Wheeling Pk 197 yds
1990 Drew Cooper 13 for 21 vs. Weirton 197 yds
1992 Tim McGeehan 13 for 25 vs. Buckeye Lc 233 yds
(5) 1992 Tim McGeehan 15 for 29 vs. Nordonia 266 yds
1994 Chad Smith 16 for 38 vs. Beaver Lcal 244 yds
1996 Anthony Coles 13 for 15 vs. Southern,Md 304 yds
1997 Maurice Brown 6 for 15 vs. Salem 207 yds
2010 Marky Thompkins 11 for 18 vs. Martins Fry 172 yds
(3) 2016 Austin Mayfield 16 for 25 vs. Beaver Local 285 yds
The ELHS victory put the series at 20-18 in favor of the Beavers, dating back to the initial contest in 1962.
Both marching aggregations put on great shows with the drum corps from each band dueling on the practice field behind the press box during the third quarter.
The Beavers’ student body resembled a Barry Manilow concert with a bevy of flashlights.
The Potters followed the lead of teams from the southern portion of the country as they warmed up without pads because of the intense heat