Sports
Philo and Tri-Valley Battle for the MVL Title in Regular Season Finale
By: Nick Ursini
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It all comes down to this, the final game of the regular season and a chance to crown a champion or champions of the Muskingum Valley League.
On Friday night, The Philo Electrics and Tri-Valley Scotties lay it all on the line.
What’s a Stake/Scenarios:
If Philo wins, it wins the MVL Title outright for the first time since 1995. Not only will a Philo win clinch the title, but also will punch their ticket to the Division IV, Region 15 Playoffs.
If Tri-Valley wins, it clinches a share of a MVL Title. But, the Scotties are sitting at the number 12 spot in the Division II, Region Seven playoff race. Tri-Valley needs a lot of help if it is going to get into the playoffs.
Five spots remain in the Division II, Region Seven playoff hunt. The rankings from number four to number 11 is as follows: #4 Franklin Heights (8-1), #5 Dublin Scioto (7-2), #6 Licking Heights (6-3) #7 West (5-4), #8 Lake (5-4), #9 Wooster (6-3), #10 Worthington Kilbourne (5-4), #11 Groveport-Madison (6-3).
Franklin Heights and Dublin Scioto play Division 1 teams. Licking Heights, West, Lake and Wooster all play teams that have a record below .500. Worthington Kilbourne plays Dublin Jerome, a tough Division 1 team with an 8-1 record. Groveport- Madison plays the number 3 team in the division, New Albany.
And don’t forget about the Sheridan Generals. The Generals stunned the Scotties on October 14th, ending their conference winning streak at 47. Sheridan hosts New Lexington on Friday, a win and a Philo loss and the MVL Title will split amongst Philo, Tri-Valley and Sheridan.
Sheridan is currently sitting at the number eight spot in the Division III, Region 11 playoff picture. A win and a loss by either #6 Beechcroft, #7 Chillicothe or #9 Athens and the Generals secure a playoff berth. Beechcroft faces the Northland Vikings (6-3), Chillicothe plays the Wilmington Hurricanes (7-2) and Athens (7-2) clashes with Nelsonville-York (7-2) for first place in the TVC-Ohio.
Key Players:
Offense vs. Offense.
Stars will be on the field the whole 48 minutes.
Tri-Valley is averaging 37.5 ppg while Philo is averaging 35.2 this year. Both teams are led by two of the best quarterbacks in the MVL.
Nate Baker leads the Electric offense while Andrew Newsom is under center for the Scotties.
Both teams have powerful, physical running backs. Cody Collins and Caleb Craig lead the attack for Tri-Valley, while Dakota Perry and Dylan Tweedy continue to find the end zone and open the passing game for Baker.
Electrics coach Dirk Lincicome knows what’s at stake for his players and knows what is running through their minds. Lincicome was a linebacker on that 1995 team that last won an MVL Title for Philo.
“It becomes the biggest game of the year,” Lincicome said. “They have a lot to play for and we have a lot to play for. You’re going to see two good teams going at it in Duncan Falls this Friday.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Sam Hatfield Stadium.