Barnesville ousts Martins Ferry to set up Division V regional clash with Girard
· Yahoo Sports
BARNESVILLE −Barnesville senior Trey Toliver spent the regular season rewriting the Shamrock record books. On Friday, Nov. 6, he added another historic chapter – and gave Martins Ferry a full-strength reminder of why he's one of the state's premier running backs.
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Entering the OHSAA Division V, Region 17 postseason as Barnesville's all-time leading rusher with 5,458 yards and 95 career touchdowns, Toliver put on a clinic, racking up 276 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries to lead the second-seeded Shamrocks to a 35-18 victory over Purple Riders at Shamrock Stadium. The victory kept Barnesville's perfect season intact at 11-0 and punched their ticket into the regional semifinals.
More than an impressive opening act in the OHSSA football postseason, Friday's performance from the dynamic Toliver served as a stark redo. Back on Oct. 10 at Martins Ferry, the Purple Riders gave Barnesville all they could handle in a tight 25-21 decision, holding Toliver to a rare off night of 160 yards on 26 carries.
Round 2 between the Buckeye 8 Conference foes was a completely different story. Martins Ferry had contained Toliver once, but in the high-stakes atmosphere of the OHSAA postseason, the Purple Riders got the full, unrelenting dose of the senior's dynamic abilities on the gridiron.
Barnesville head coach Blake Allen praised his squad's complete game effort up front and the dominant ground attack that took over in the second half.
"Offensively our line played outstanding and really controlled the line of scrimmage," Allen said. "And Trey had another unbelievable performance. He was running hard, and taking advantage of the work our O-line was getting done. Just an all-around great effort on both sides of the ball tonight."
"We worked on cleaning up some of our mistakes on defense over the bye week," Allen added. "And for the most part, we held a very explosive team in check tonight. So really proud of the way our kids performed tonight."
Carpenter sets the early tone
Martins Ferry struck first with Walkquem Cox scoring on a short 1-yard plunge for a 6-0 Purple Riders lead with just 40.8 seconds left in the first quarter. Barnesville senior QB Colt Carpenter provided the answer to open the Shamrocks scoring, capping a second quarter scoring drive with a 1-yard dive into the end zone, giving Barnesville a 7-6 lead with 5:33 remaining in the frame.
Carpenter also connected on his lone pass attempt of the night, hitting sophomore Knoxx Mankin with a 7-yard completion, and finished with 21 yards rushing on six attempts with his touchdown.
Toliver takes over
Once Carpenter put the Shamrocks on top, Toliver took over the heavy lifting. The senior standout answered a second quarter Martins Ferry score with a 21-yard touchdown run to give Barnesville a 14-12 edge heading into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, Toliver blew the game wide open with touchdown runs of 60, 20 and 27 yards. The 276 yard eruption pushed his season totals to 2,378 rushing yards and 43 touchdowns, expanding his school career records to 5,734 yards and 99 scores.
With Martins Ferry lingering within striking distance, Toliver broke off his 60-yard sprint down the sideline to paydirt on Barnesville's opening drive of the third quarter. The explosive scoring play swing the momentum squarely to the Shamrocks sideline.
Up next: Regional semifinal action at Shamrock Stadium
With the victory, the second seeded Barnesville (11-0) stay right at home at Shamrock Stadium for a heavyweight Division V, Region 17 semifinal showdown. The Shamrocks advance to host third-seeded Girard on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m.
Girard earned their spot to the regional matchup by eliminating sixth-seeded Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, 35-22 in their Friday night matchup.
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This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Barnesville ousts Martins Ferry to set up Division V regional clash with Girard