Lady Cavs win at Ironton in three games
Photo Credit: Jim Day

Chillicothe's Volleyball team plays Zanesville Saturday. North Division teams are hosts for the Day of Champions matches.

Chillicothe sewed up a spot in the SEOAL DOC championship early last week, and prepared for their title match by sweeping Ironton 25-21/25-15/25-22.

Zanesville went the distance to beat Warren 25-20/19-25/24-26/26-24/15-8 to win the  SEOAL North Division.

 
Photo Credit: Michael Brace gahssports.com

Overcoming challenges.
That's been a theme in recent years for the Gallia Academy Blue Devils.
Last season, All SEOAL quarterback Jeff Golden went down with a season-ending knee injury in a pre-season scrimmage.
This year, starting qb Kruize Wandling and backup Ethan Moore were both knocked out of the Ironton game in week three due to injury. Wandling is recovering from a lacerated kidney and may be returning before the season ends. Moore has returned to become the number 1 qb.
Despite the adversity of injury, the Blue Devils are 4-and-2 entering Friday's showdown with Chillicothe.
Gallia outlasted Athens (31-22) and Point Pleasant, West Virginia (28-21) to start the season. The Devils were forced to face Ironton with their third string quarterback in a 42- 6 loss and then fell at Logan 40-7.
The last two weeks have been productive. Coach Matt Bokovitz praised his team's efforts against rival Jackson, handing the Ironmen their only loss 36-28, but said the Devils survived an ugly game (citing poor play) at home with Portsmouth 7-0 last Friday.
In this week's computer rankings, Gallia is ranked fourth in Region 15 of Division 4. Chillicothe is 7th in Region 12 of Division 3. So, the Blue Devils have much to gain against the Cavs, and vice-versa.
This is Homecoming Week for Chillicothe, always a concern for every coach. It's an extra task in the game plan, keep the kids focused.
Game time is 7:30pm with coverage beginning at 7:05pm on 1490 WBEX.
NOTES: The Touchdown Club will have a bon fire for the team in Yoctangee Park Thursday night at 6:30pm. It's open to the public ...  A reminder for former football players: you're invited to participate in the pregame activities with a reception and to be a part of the tunnel running from the Cavs Victory Rock to the sideline ... The Chillicothe-Gallia series began in 1932 and stands tied at 3-and-3. Gallia won the first two meetings, 14-2 in '32 and 8-7 in 1976. The sereis resumed in 2004 when the teams exchanged 17-0 results winning on their respective home turf in a home-and-away contract in '04 and '05. The Cavs have won the last two meetings in SEOAL play, a 38-33 shootout at Herrnstein Field in '06 and last season at Gallipolis, 17-14.

The Chillicothe Boys Soccer team earned a 3-3 tie in a come from behind effort to tie Logan 3-3 to win the SEOAL West Division. The tie puts the Cavs in the Day of Champions championship game Saturday at McVicker's Field behind Mt. Logan Elemtary. First kick is 12:45pm.

Chillicothe was down 0-3 at the half before getting goals from Luke Wagner, Greg Vanvolkenberg, and Ben Buchanan with assists by Drew Basil on the first two and Tony Skowronek on the tying goal.

Ironically, Chillicothe's boys will play in the DOC title game while the Girls team is playing Marietta's in Marietta Saturday. WBEX will be at the Girls match to provide updates for those who cannot make the trip to Marietta.

Video provided by Brad Purdum.

Goal 1 Click Here
Goal 2 Click Here
Goal 3 Click Here

Two field goals.
Not unusual in a Chillicothe game with a valuable kicker like Drew Basil.
But would you honestly expect through 24 minutes with the Ironton Fighting Tigers the score would be deadlocked at 3-3?
Following a first half struggle, the Cavs' Casey Oates opened the third quarter with a 72 yard kickoff return to the Ironton 14. A couple of plays later, quarterback Caleb Knights hit Ron Smith on a fade to the far corner of the south end zone at Herrnstein and Chillicothe broke the ice.
The Cavs had won the coin toss, deferring to the second half. A decision knowing, if it were close in the first half, they could open it up in the second.
Ironton took that opening drive 10 plays down the field, but failed to punch in on a 3rd and goal from inside the Chillicothe five yard line. The end result, Jon Schweikart hit a 20-yard field goal for the game's first score.
While the Cavs hurry up offense managed to move the ball, the scoring needed priming.
The Cavs forced a Tigers turnover and managed a 29 yard field goal by Basil in the second quarter.
Then, the third quarter. Oates, who broke for an 88 yard td return against Portsmouth at Spartan Stadium last week, and nearly had another, found some fuel in his tank of excitement for the Tigers.
It helped set the tone for the second half.
Like the previous two games (at Zanesville and Portsmouth) the defense and special teams set up the offense.
Eric Young intercepted a Schweikart pass in the fourth quarter and then capped the drive with a 13 yard run to close out 17 unanswered points by the Cavs.
Young and Knights combined for 270 of the Cavs 300 yards rushing.
Trailing 17-3, Ironton managed a late td. The PAT was blocked by a charging Danny Russell to keep the game at an eight point margin, 17-9.
The Cavs ran out the clock to earn their third straight victory, improving their season record to 4-2 and 3-0 in the SEOAL. Ironton  is 3-3 and 0-2 in the league.
Other league results... next week's opponent, Gallia Academy (4-2/2-1) held on for a 7-0 win over Portsmouth (1-5/0-3)... Logan (6-0/3-0) held on for a 16-14 win over Zanesville (1-5/1-2)... Jackson (5-1/2-1) beat to Marietta (2-4/1-1) 35-28... Warren (2-3/0-2) hosts Meigs Saturday outside the league.

The Chillicothe Cavaliers (3-2/2-0) will go for a third straight win Friday night when they host the Ironton Fighting Tigers (3-2/1-1).

After five weeks of play, the Cavs are making just their second appearance at Herrnstein Field this season. The last time Chillicothe played at home was week three with Sheridan.

The winner of this matchup will take the lead in the series that dates back to 1920. Both schools are 15-15-4. The two met on regular basis until 1967, but as with many of the SEOAL teams, didn't face each other until the 1990s or until the new look 2006 formation. Chillicothe and Ironton met for a home-and-away in 1995 and 1996. The Cavs dropped a 12-7 decision under first year coach Bill Dennis, then scored an 18-14 victory at Tank Stadium the next year.

The most recent games have weighed heavily with the home team. In 2006, in a freakish first quarter, the Cavs capitalized on Ironton miscues and jumped out to a 28-0 lead. Chillicothe scored on the game's first possession, then scored off of back-to-back fumbled kick off returns, then tacked on another score. The end result a 47-14 Cavs win. Last year, Chillicothe's respect for Ironton's hard nosed running game behind 275 pound full back Tony Murphy, allowed a play-action pass play for a td by a speedy Marc Carter. Who followed up with a punt return for another. Ironton wins it, 34-9.

Ironton's coached by hall of famer Bob Lutz, who has missed just one season (2006) of coaching the Fighting Tigers since 1972. With a win Friday night, the River City Legend will reach 350 career wins. He's done it the simple way, as described by Cavs coach Bill Davidson who says long timers will remember Ohio State's Woody Hayes running of the "Robust-T". That's two tight ends, a full back, half back with the quarterback under center running a dive, pitch and sweep to stampede over their opponent.

Ironton makes opponents load the box defensively to cover their running game, and it worked against Chillicothe last year, setting up long pass plays. Davidson says discipline for the defensive backs to stay at home to watch the pass first, then come up and help the run will be key defensively.

Chillicothe's offense favors an up tempo game, which has worked successfully with Zanesville and Portsmouth the past two weekends. Logan's spread offense racked up over 300 yards passing in a 35-10 win over Ironton last Friday. The Cavs hope to have the same success.

Game coverage from Herrnstein Field begins at 7:05 on WBEX.

NOTES: Chillicothe will honor 1935 graduate Robert Strausbaugh tonight. Strausbaugh played for the Chillicothe Vikings in the 1930s in the same backfield with his brother Jim who went on to star at Ohio State and play for the Chicago Cardinals. Watch for the 92 year-old Strausbaugh to score a ceremonial touchdown during pregame festivities. He'll also address the team prior to the game.... Strausbaugh was a four year old when the Chillicothe-Ironton series started... Before the game, the Spirit Club will host a Texas Tenderloin Dinner from 4-7 at Herrnstein Field. Cost for a sandwich, chips and drink will be $5.00... bring your laptop, Palm, PDA, Blackberry or iPhone to the game. Horizon Internet subscribers will now have internet access with a Horizon Hot Spot in the Herrnstein Field grand stand area.