Zanesville Secures Key Conference Victory With Win Over Licking Valley
By: Cade Williamson, Hailey Hollinger
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NEWARK, Ohio (WOUB) — Zanesville was on the road to challenge their first conference opponent of the season: the Licking Valley Panthers.
Early on, the two teams played a game of hot potato, and it took Zanesville five and a half minutes to gain some momentum. It all started when Blue Devils quarterback Isaac Mayle found tight end Kanye Evans 20 yards away. Just over a minute later, Evans successfully rushes into the red zone, scoring the first touchdown of the game. With 4:06 left in the first quarter, Zanesville was up six nothing.
When the second quarter began, Licking Valley got their first taste of hope. The Panthers get their first first down, out of only two for the entire game, with a12-yard pass. This morphs into a 3rd &1 that takes Licking Valley to the end zone. The score is 7-6, in favor of the Panthers with 8:11 left on the clock.
There was a tremendous effort from both sides, and in the middle of the 2nd,it felt like anyone’s game. The Zanesville Blue Devils sought to change that with a32-yard rush by running back Jordan Martin. The Panthers challenge these progressions with great defense, but despite that, Zanesville emerges with another touchdown, scored by Martin. The score was 7-13 Blue Devils, with 3:15 left on the clock.
It seemed like the end of the half, but Licking Valley forced a turnover at the line of scrimmage and regained one more possession. With 25 seconds left, they were able to snag a field goal, putting the score to 10-13 at halftime.
The second half began with less energy from both sides. The first and only touchdown of the second half was a four yard rush by Zanesville’s Jordan Martin. Putting the score to 10-20, the scoreboard would remain the same the rest of the night.
Late in the fourth, we see the struggles of the Panthers offense when they were forced to punt their own five yard line. The Licking Valley Panthers only had 53 yards of total offense the whole night, while Zanesville’s running back Jordan Martin had 135 rush yards on his own.
The Blue Devils’ victory puts their record at 3-2, and gives them an early lead in the Licking County League. Next week, Zanesville plays Licking Heights at home, and Licking Valley plays Watkins Memorial on the road.