Sheridan survives Philo rally to stay unbeaten in MVL

DUNCAN FALLS – After a slow start to the season, Sheridan quarterback Nathan Johnson relied on his teammates to get him through it.

“The guys were just telling me to stay calm and do what I do best.”

That advice helped the junior Friday night as he went 8-for-13 for 181 yards with a touchdown as the Generals jumped out to an early lead and hung on for a 21-19 victory at Sam Hatfield Stadium against host Philo.

Sophomore running back Jason Munyan added 23 carries for 144 yards and a touchdown for Sheridan (5-1, 4-0 MVL).

Quarterback Hunter Adolph was 12-for-20 for 121 yards and added 24 carries for 77 yards with two touchdowns for Philo (3-3, 3-2 MVL) in the losing effort.

The Generals scored on their first two possessions of the game, getting a short touchdown run from Will Hamilton and a Johnson pass to Alec Ogle from seven yards to jump out to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage.

The Electrics answered early in the second stanza on an Adolph 2-yard scamper to cut it to 14-7, but Munyan’s run from a yard out near the midway point of the quarter made it 21-7, which wound up being the halftime score.

The third quarter was all Philo, getting two field goals from Colton Stotts from 38 and 24 yards, respectively, to make it a one-score game at 21-13.

The Electrics chewed up almost seven minutes of clock in the fourth quarter to get another short touchdown run from Adolph to make it 21-19. However, Adolph’s run to the right pylon on the 2-point play to tie the game was unsuccessful.

Philo never got the ball back as Munyan helped seal the deal with a big run on second down with just over two minutes to go.

“I knew I had to hold the ball tight because they were going after it all game,” Munyan said. “Our offensive line was awesome tonight.”

Sheridan head coach Paul Culver III echoed Munyan.

“I’m just so proud of our team and especially our offensive line,” he said. “They opened up holes and guys ran hard through them.”

Philo head coach Dirk Lincicome was proud of his kids for battling back and having a chance to tie the game, but knows they’ve got to get better if they want to finish the season strong.

“I know that these kids can play four quarters, but we are not doing it consistently right now,” he said. “We just need to press pause, learn and be ready to bounce back because we still have a lot to play for this season.”

Culver III knows the remainder of the season could be like this for his young Generals.

“I told the kids we are staring down the barrel of a lot of tight games like this from here on out,” he said. “We are going to have to be ready to do this all over again next week.”

In week seven, Sheridan hosts Tri-Valley while Philo travels to Coshocton.