Sheridan, Tri-Valley fighting for MVL bragging rights

THORNVILLE - Sheridan took down one Muskingum Valley League contender last week in Philo.

The Generals' trek to a league title faces another road bump when Tri-Valley visits Paul Culver Jr. Stadium.

The teams split the MVL crown a year ago, and both shared the league title with Philo in 2016. Currently, Sheridan leads the league at 4-0 and is 5-1 overall, while Tri-Valley is tied with John Glenn at 3-1, and sits 4-2 overall.

John Glenn (4-2, 3-1) aims to keep pace by welcoming Morgan (0-6, 0-5), while New Lex (4-2, 2-2) heads to Crooksville (2-4, 1-3) and West Muskingum (1-5, 1-4) travels to Maysville (3-3, 3-2) in other MVL action.

Zanesville (5-1) visits Logan (2-4), Rosecrans (2-2) entertains Ashtabula St. John and Philo (3-3) plays at Coshocton (1-5) to round out the area slate.

Five area teams are also ranked in the top 12 of computer points. Zanesville is fourth and Sheridan sixth in Division III, Region 11, and John Glenn sits sixth, Philo 10th and Maysville 12th in Division IV, Region 15.

Tri-Valley-Sheridan

Last year, the Generals were on the path to an outright league title, but the Scotties prevented it with a 20-19 overtime victory, which also allowed Tri-Valley to keep their streak of eight straight league crowns alive.

Sheridan relied on a quick start at Philo, racing out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter en route to a 21-19 victory. Jason Munyan shined in the backfield, running for more than 140 yards on 23 carries and Nate Johnson was steady, completing 8 of 13 passes for 181 yards.

It was the defensive stand late that made the difference. The Generals stopped Hunter Adolph short of the goal line on his potential game-tying, two-point conversion.

Sheridan coach Paul Culver III was pleased to see his team deliver in a big spot, but knows his Generals face another tough test in the Scotties.

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

Conversely, last week was about the offense for the Scotties. Blake Sands set a school record with seven touchdowns in the 73-24 rout of New Lex. He accumulated 261 yards and six TDs on the ground to go with 98 yards receiving and a score.

Tri-Valley coach Kevin Fell was pleased with how his team responded against the Panthers and is confident his team can build on that performance.

"Last week was tougher than the score appeared. We made some changes, and I felt that was one of the better games we've played," Fell said. "We haven't been the most consistent, but we've made progress the last few weeks. Our guys know what we're up against, and they're ready to meet that challenge."

The Scotties, who have beaten Sheridan seven of the past nine meetings, are battling through injuries. Depth will be crucial in keeping their league title streak alive.

Fell noted the team's leadership, especially of the seniors, has shined through the adversity.

His team also understands the stakes since the Scotties have no margin for error in the league and postseason races.

"Our seniors have done well. They've helped our team overcome a lot of things like how to handling our losses," Fell said. "We're going into the meat of our schedule. We can't afford to lose any more, but we're still right where we wanted to be entering the final half of our season. I expect us to go out and play our best on Friday night."

bhannahs@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

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