Chillicothe Gazette from Chillicothe, Ohio • 6

0 Snorts Michael S. Johnson, Sports Editor, 772-9361 or gazsportsnncogannettcom Cavs announce presence Win shootout in first-ever SEOAL game Saturday, September 16, 2006 Chillicothe Gazette 6A Saturday, September 16, 2006 Chillicothe Gazette 6A 1 'r 4 4 4 i AA I r''P' 1 1 'k A I 1''': 1 '''''t 1 At 1 .1 4 '''kl. 1 -A if 1 i i 1 e'rg'" I TIP I .0, Al'''''''''. It i I k- 'P tii, 1 1 re J''''' With the Blue Devils sitting at the Chillicothe 10 with a fresh set of downs, the CHS defense stepped up and held Gallia on downs. Then came more fireworks.

Knights, on the second play of the drive and the Cavs perched at their own 9, lofted a beautiful spiral to a streaking Givens down the right sideline. Givens raced behind the Blue Devils' defensive secondary and raced down the sideline for a 91-yard score to give the Cavs a 14-0 lead with 3:45 left in the opening quarter. Gallia Academy answered with a score of its own 32 second later. on 22-of-30 passes for 358 yards. He also ran for 89 yards on five carries and a touchdown.

"I don't liznow rm at a loss for words," Davidson said. "You go through a game like that it's an emotional roller coaster. You're up, you're down, you're up, you're down. The only thing I could think of to say to the kids after the game was, 'This is how high school football games should be I'm glad we won, but boy, what a game!" Chillicothe wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. On the Cavs' first offensive series, Knights directed a 12- play, 43-yard drive that cuhninated with Cluis Givens rac By MICHAEL S.

JOHNSON Gazette Sports Editor If you ventured to Hermstein Field Friday for Chillicothe's first official Southeastem Ohio Athletic League opener expecting fireworks, that's exactly what you got. The Cavaliers and Gallia Academy combined for 997 yards of offense, but it was Chris Givens' interception with 2.1 seconds left that sealed the deal and gave Chillicothe a 38-33 victory "First thought: Thank God," CHS coach Bill Davidson said. "Second thought: Thank Caleb." Davidson was talking about his sophomore quarterback, Caleb Knights, who connected fig seven yards around left end a 737 to give Chillicothe a quick 7-0 lead. Chillicothe's drive wouldn't have happened if it weren't for consecutive 23-yard passes from Knights to Steven Mallow, which came after penalties drove the Cavs back to their own 45. The first 23-yarder set up a fourth and 6, and Knights came right back at Mallow, who grabbed the second 23- yard pass at the Blue Devils' 9.

Gallia Academy answered with a stunning drive that was highlighted by a 50-yard tipped pass from quarterback Jeff Golden to Cole Jones, who happened to be in the right place at the right time. Bob DeifyFor the Gazette See CAVS, Next Page Chillicothe's Steven Mallow, left, snares a catch Friday at Herrnstein Field. Westfall wins big over SE Pioneers back to winning ways In SVC PFour plays later, ZT quarter eters earns back Beau Dailey' rolled righ and cruised into the end zont fi rst win as with a twoyard touchdown rtu not only giving the Pioneen head coach Four plays later, ZT quarterback Beau Dailey rolled right and cruised into the end zone with a two-yard touchdown run not only giving the Pioneers a 7-6 lead, but giving them their first lead of the season. i s. lt, 'kr 1 i 1 2 1 Is ii4svi 151, 1,, 1 1 4', Nt, At? 10Ierlti II 1 A 7 I 11'1 f.

1 i 't 1. i 11, 1 1 1 1 I 1 4 I I i 1 '1111, 't, i 'I. 1 i .11. i At 4 4 1, I i i i 4 4 The Gazette Staff Southeastem's offense gained 123 yards on its first two drives of the game but failed to get the ball in the end zone because of two Bryant Gibson interceptions one at the 3 and the other in the end zone. If it started bad for the Panthers, it only got worse in a 53-7 win for the Mustangs.

"They're pretty good. They do a lot of good things," Panthers coach Cory Black said of Westfall "You make one little mistake and Football Kevin RiddellGazette Chillicothe's Paul Rutgers, left, and other members of the team watch as Evansville scores three runs in the top of the 10th inning Friday at VA Memorial Stadium. I all 0 it tter Kicker Cody Williams added a 25-yard field goal before the half to build a 10-6 lead. From there on out, it was vintage Zane 'Thace. "That's what we've been working on these last three weeks is to get ready to defend this championship," first-year head coach Gary Peters said.

"We wanted to try to get ourselves better each week. So far we've been able to do that" In the build-up to the conference opener, Peters brought in a familiar face to speak to the Pioneers. "We had Dwane talk to them last night," Peters said, referring to former ZT coach Dwane Hall. "We wanted a senior and a coach. Brian Crabtree spoke and Dwane spoke.

That's one thing he said, 'The road to a championship comes through here." In the second half against Huntington, the Pioneers looked like a team hungry for a conference title Haynes broke loose for a 29- yard run on the first drive of the third quarter to land ZT at the Huntsmen 6. Senior tailback Cory Scott pounded his way into the end zone on the next play, and the Pioneers then converted a two-point conversion when backup quarterback Corey Ray connected with senior Chris George to go up 18-6. The Huntsmen answered right back as Kellough found the end zone for the second time on a 35-yard scramble oes I i( 4 1 1 i 4 II By LANCE CRANMER Gazette Sports Writer KINNIKINNICK It's a simple fact Zane 'Thace wins Scioto Valley Conference football games. The Pioneers won all seven they played in 2004, repeated the feat in 2005 and got 2006 off to a good start Friday night with a 25-12 victory over Huntington. "This is the biggest game of the year," ZT senior lineman Brian Crabtree said.

"We came in 0-3 and we're the defending SVC champs. We knew what we had to do to defend our title. We came out and got it done." The Pioneers did not start well, falling behind 6-0 in the first quarter as the Huntsmen put together a 78-yard drive that culminated in a 26-yard Josh Kellough rushing touchdown. The Pioneers then turned the ball over on downs on the first drive and punted on their second drive before finally catching a break and using it to the their advantage. Punting from the Zane Trace 47, the Pioneers managed to pin Huntington back to its own 6 with a kick that bounced and rolled to a stop in the wet grass.

After two short gains, a penalty and a sack, the Huntsmen were forced to punt the ball back from near the goal line. Zane Trace's Ben Haynes the kick at the Huntington 29 and returned it to the 19. Special brand of baseball sends Evansville home with FL trophy By PHIL GRAY Gazette Sports Writer they make Roundup you pay for it" The Mustangs scored on their first two possessions a 39-yard run by QB Kevin Smith and a six-yard run by Nick Clark but Southeastern simply could not answer back. "We took the ball and went the length of the field," Black said. "We were doing a lot of nice things, but we go right down and we couldn't punch it Westfall scored 39 first half points and that was pretty much the story Clark led the way with 116 yards on the ground and Smith passed for 102 and ran for 76 more.

Tim Petit was Southeastern's only bright spot, leading the team with 42 yards on the ground. "Tim played bard. I wish we'd all played like him," Black said. "He's playing all-out great football right now." Westfall hosts Zane 'Mace Friday while Southeastern looks for its first win against Huntington. 'We're going to come back Monday and it's hard to tell," Black said.

"I'm going to find the 11 most competitive players I have and go with Adena 23, Paint Valley 14 Paint Valley coach Pete HolIon pointed to one play that made the difference. "Our DB reads the play well, it's fourth-and-3. Adena mils a play action. Our player and the referee both bit on it, but our player backs up and runs into the ref," Ho lion said. "It wasn't intentional, but that left (Michael) Hitchens all by himself." Hitchens hauled in a 23-yard scoring pass from Levi Merritt on the play, and the Warriors went on to the win.

"Adena won the game up front," Ho lion said. "They were much better on both sides of the ball. We played hard, but we don't have any size. They knocked us around up front with their big, strong, physical linemen. Their two See ROUNDUP, Next Page inning when Garcia belted a two-run shot over the wall in left and a fielder's choice grounder by Eddie Gonzalez pushed in the third run of the inning.

But then things went quiet for the Paints. In the meantime, the Otters set about playing their own special brand of baseball Evansville's second run came in the fifth, when Ibm Pennino a 190 hitter during the regular season who hit 320 in the playoffs singled to left and went to second on a sacrifice by Kyle Smith After another bunt sent him to third, Mueller lined the first pitch he saw off starter Kurt Hartfelder to center to score the run. The sixth was more of the same. A slow roller down the third-base line earned Galloway an infield single. Rembert followed that with a bunt right back at Hartfelder, but the throw to second skipped off Garcia's glove, putting runners at first and third with nobody out One out later, Petutino made it a tie game with a sacrifice fly to right "We kept our heads about us, but we had that quiet fidence," Goldbach said.

"closing the season out, guys started doing their job and we started getting the job done as a team. "When stuff like that happens and you do the things you're supposed to do, good things haPPerL" Like championships. Thanks to Otterball. (Gray can be reached at 772-9302 or via e-mail at pgraynncogannett.corn) runners at first and second with nobody out. After the Paints relieved Eric Ran with Bryan Johnson, the lefty walked Adam Heffmn to load the bases.

After another pitching change, an RBI fielder's choice to short scored Mueller the eventual winning run But in Otterball, when things start rolling, they go like that for a while. Grant Rembert ripped an RBI single to center, making it a 5-3 game. That was followed by an ermr by 'Mavis Garcia, allowing the final run of the season to cross the plate for Evansville. The Paints didn't go out without a fight. Chillicothe had runners at first and second in the bottom of the 10th with Garcia at the plate, but a shoestring catch by Mike Galloway in right and the subsequent doubling-up of Ramistella at second ended the threat, the game and the season.

"These boys busted their butts," Wilson said. "I mean, it's simple. I couldn't figure out a way to score runs in Evansville. And when Evansville (came back) and clinched (the divisional series), I couldn't counter it The whole series falls on me. I did not get the job done." For the second game in a row, the Paints got off to a good start.

Evansville got a run in the top of the second, but Chillicothe came back with three in the bottom of the we lmew the ball was rolkng in our favor" Otterball It left die Paints empty-handed, and manager Glenn Wilson particularly frustrated At himself. "the blast team won," Wilson said. "These guys (meaning the Paints) didn't go out quiet But let's face it, when you have to play the first two games on the road, it's tough. Especially if it's in a ballpark that you don't score runs in and you haven't had success in for two years. "So I've got to take most of the blame for most of this series because I haven't gotten the job done in Evansville two years in a mw.

"It falls on my shoulders." On the field for the Paints, the pmblem Friday was the same one the team had in the first two games of the series in Evansville a lack of timely hitting. With the game tied at 3, Chillicothe stranded runners in scoring position in the sixth (two on, one out), seventh (two on, one out; then bases loaded, two outs) and eighth (two on, one out). Then everything came apart in the 10th. It started with one out for the Otters, when Dale Mueller pulled off an infield single with one out. Goldbach followed with one of those full-cut bunts, this one barely into the green area of the turf in front of home plate.

But Goldbach beat the throw, putting Otterball Ought to be added to the dictionary. It's the ultimate baseball example of baseto-base little ball the idea of get them over, get them in, summed up by a group of guys wearing gray and maroon. But it's more than that, too. It's full-cut infield singles that don't go 10 feet It's bunting for a hit, reading the defense and laying it down, even when the percentages tell you it won't work It's pecking away, then brealcing through. Is Otterball.

And it won Evansville a championship Friday. For the sixth time in as many tries, the Chillicothe Paints came away on the short end in the Frontier League finals as Otterball bounced the wrong way. A three-run 10th inning pushed Evansville to the three-game sweep of the Paints, earning the Otters their first championship in franchise history "It's a huge sense of accomplishment," said Evansville first baseman Jeff Goldbach, who was named the series MVP. "We were down to our last strike in Rockford in Game 5 (in the divisional series), down 3-2. And we wiggled our way around and got a run and it just gave us so much confidence.

"Then getting that first win from Chillicothe in Evansville, See PIONEERS, Next Page A 1Zane Trace's Cory Scott, right, picks up additional yards before I 1 being brought down by a Huntington defender Friday. 1 i 11 Nick Means For the Gazette i ,,,,,4,, 4., if ti f': 4. I tm, IIKii. Buckeyes not downplaying upsetminded Cincinnati "What does it mean? Not much other than we beat another team. We didn't get a ring or win a national championship.

There's no reason to be thinking about that game now, as big as it was." OSII wide receiver Anthony Gonza onship in 2002 and finished No. 4 in 2003. But Gottfried sees a brighter future. He even thought about pursuing a comeback at Cincinnati after Rick Minter got ousted in 2003. "Joining the Big East was the best thing that could have ever happened," Gottfried said.

"Now they have a chance at a BCS bowl bid, which should elevate recruiting and increase interest. "Ohio State can't take 'em all. If they can recruit, they've got a chance." "There wasn't a lot of room for error back then. It was really difficult because we were independent and nobody wanted to play us and we had a murderous schedule." On the surface, things don't look much peachier now. The Bearcats were 4-7 last season as a first-year member of the Big East.

Including their 33-15 loss at home last week to Pittsburgh, they've given up an average of 40 points in their last eight defeats. It obviously hasn't been easy on head coach Mark Dantonio, defensive wizard of the Buckeyes when they won the national champi through four more coaches, endured a stretch of 10 straight losing seasons and won as many as eight games only twice. That track record paints a grim picture for Cincinnati entering today's game against No. 1 Ohio State in the Horseshoe. UC has been cast as a 30-point underdog even though Jim Tressel has won only six games by that margin in his five-plus years as head coach of the Buckeyes.

"It shouldn't be tough to win (at Cincinnati) now," said Gottfried, who is in Iowa City today to call the game between Iowa and Iowa By JON SPENCER Gannett News Service COLUMBUS Mike Gottfried was the last football coach to leave the University of Cincinnati with a winning record. That was a quarter century ago. A lot has happened since then. After going 12-10 at UC in 1981-82, Got- tfried turned around programs at Kansas and Pittsburgh and became a household voice as an ESPN analyst. Meanwhile, the Bearcats have gone Howard Schnellenberger took the Hurricanes to the national championship and had them beat at the end of the game until our quarterback took it upon himself to run a sneak from the half-yard line and didn't make it.

State for ESPN. "When I took the job, we played Penn State, Alabama, Florida State, Pittsburgh with Dan Marino, and South Carolina with (lleisman Trophy winner) George Rogers all on the road. We went to Miami the year before See OSU, Page 9A I.