Warren's 3 touchdowns, Pirates defense shuts down Shamrocks

OBETZ — Creed Warren scored three touchdowns and the Wheelersburg defense suffocated the Barnesville offense in the second half, as the Pirates won 26-13 on Friday night in the Division 5 regional semifinals.

The Pirates will now face the Harvest Prep Warriors next Friday, Nov. 17. The Warriors defeated Ironton 20-14 in the other regional semifinal game. The location of the game will be announced on Sunday.

Warren was the workhorse for the Pirates all night, carrying the ball 20 times for 237 yards as the Pirates rushing attack carved up the Shamrocks all evening for 346 yards on the ground.

On defense, Wheelersburg was just as effective — especially in the second half — as they held Barnesville to minus two yards and just one first down.

The Shamrocks (12-1) took the opening kickoff and got on the board first with a 13-play drive that covered 70 yards. During the drive, Barnesville successfully converted a key fourth-and-six, as quarterback Casey Carpenter hit Luke Delting on a nine-yard comeback route to move the ball to the Pirate 6 and keep the drive alive.

On the next play, running back Taison Starr bounced outside and won a footrace to the corner of the end zone for a three-yard score. Evan Lough added the extra point, and Barnesville led 7-0 with 5:40 remaining in the opening quarter.

Wheelersburg (9-3) would get a key defensive stop to begin the second quarter. Barnesville would drive to the Pirate 20 and face a fourth-and-one. The Shamrocks would hand the ball off to Starr, but the interior of the Pirate defensive line stuffed the running back shy of the first down and give Wheelersburg the ball back with 9:59.

On the Pirates ensuing drive, they would run 11 plays — with Warren carrying the ball eight times on the drive. His final run, would be straight down the middle of the field for a 15-yard score. Cooper Heimbach would add the point after to tie the game up with 4:53 before halftime.

Wheelersburg and Barnesville would both trade punts on their opening possessions to begin the second half. But the Pirates would break the game wide open on their second series.

Backed up on their own 17 and facing a third-and-four, Warren would take a handoff straight through the middle of the Shamrock defense and win an 83-yard foot race for his second score of the night.

Wheelersburg would extend their lead to begin the final frame, as quarterback Braylon Rucker would roll out to his right and find Kolton Salyers for a four-yard touchdown toss to give the Pirates a 20-7 lead.

Rucker went 8 of 10 for 76 yards through the air and ran three times for 21 yards. Devon Lattimore led all Wheelersburg receivers with five catches for a game-high 68 yards.

With their offense struggling, the Shamrocks found a big play via their defense. On third-and-12 from the Barnesville 46, Luke Delting stepped in front of a pass and raced 71 yards the other way to cut the deficit to 20-13 with 6:06 remaining.

But the Pirates would shake off the miscue and need just three plays to find the end zone again, as Warren scored his third touchdown run of the night. This time on a 37-yard dash to give the Pirates a 26-13 advantage and salt away the win.

Barnesville's ground attack was led by Starr with 20 carries for 70 yards. Through the air, Carpenter completed 12 of 23 passes for 108 yards and Delting was the recipient of six passes for 66 yards.

Wheelersburg 0 7 7 12 = 26 Barnesville 7 0 0 6 = 13 First Quarter Ba — Taison Starr 3 run (Evan Lough kick), 5:40. Second Quarter Wh — Creed Warren 15 run (Cooper Heimbach kick), 4:53. Third Quarter Wh — Creed Warren 83 run (Cooper Heimbach kick), 6:26. Fourth Quarter Wh — Kolton Salyers 4 pass from Braylon Rucker (kick failed), 10:18.

Ba — Luke Detling 71 interception return (kick blocked), 6:06.

Wh — Creed Warren 37 run (kick failed), 4:18. ——— Wh Ba First downs 15 12 Rushes-yards 36-346 26-64 Passing yards 76 109 Total yards 422 173 Cmp-Att-Int 8-10-2 12-23-1 Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-1 Penalties-yards 12-69 6-50 Punts-average 2-32.0 3-31.67 ——— Individual Leaders RUSHING–Wheelersburg: Creed Warren 20-237 3TD, Riley Cunningham 4-32, Jake Darling 6-30, Kenyon Evans 2-25, Braylon Rucker 3-21, Landon Hutchison 1-1; Barnesville: Taison Starr 20-70 TD, Trey Toliver 3-9, Casey Carpenter 2-3, Team 1-minus 18. PASSING–Wheelersburg: Braylon Rucker 8-10-2-76 TD; Barnesville: Casey Carpenter 12-23-1-108. RECEIVING–Wheelersburg: Devon Lattimore 5-68, Kenyon Evans 2-4, Kolton Salyers 1-4 TD; Barnesville: Luke Delting 6-66, Jason Castello 5-40, Camden Carpenter 1-3. MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.