“(West Jefferson) is a good football team,” said Shawnee coach Rick Meeks. “They just put it to us. We got beat everywhere it seemed like. They outplayed us, outcoached us, out-whatevered us.They were clearly better than us.”
Shawnee senior quarterback Robie Glass rushed for 192 yards and four touchdowns for the Braves, which finished the season 9-3.
Roughriders quarterback Tyler Buescher threw for 326 yards and five TDs and running back Gabe Jones rushed for 121 yards and two TDs as West Jefferson advanced to the regional finals for the second time in three seasons.
The Roughriders wracked up 549 yards of total offense, including 467 yards in the first half.
On its first possession, Shawnee drove the ball to the Roughriders 11-yard line, but a 28-yard field goal attempt by Andi Meeks fell short of the goal posts.
Two plays later, Jones scored on a 77-yard shovel pass to make it 7-0. After a three-and-out by Shawnee, Buescher hit Kyle Scott on a 44-yard TD pass to make it 14-0.
An interception by West Jefferson’s Blade Wolf led to a 49-yard TD pass from Buescher to Tyler Oberle to give WJ a 21-0 lead.
After another interception, Jones scored on a 1-yard run to make it 28-0 after the first quarter.
“We had to load the box up to try to stop the run and they beat us deep,” Meeks said. “That’s the danger in doing what we were doing, but we just couldn’t stop them. We couldn’t stop them when we had extra guys in the box. They were just a better team.”
Trailing 49-0 in the second quarter, Glass scored on a 5-yard run to make it 49-7. The Roughriders scored on a 60-yard pass from Buescher to Oberle two plays later to take a 56-7 lead into the locker room.
Glass scored on runs of 1, 44 and 65 yards as the clock ran continuously in the second half.
The Braves advanced to the playoffs for the second straight season and won a playoff game for the first time since 2013.
“It was very pleasing,” Meeks said. “Obviously, we wanted more, but I don’t think there’s any doubt (they were better). We could’ve played a little better, but there’s no shame in losing to a team that’s better than us.”
The Braves will graduate a senior class that won 26 games in four years and never had a losing record.
“It was a great couple of years,” Meeks said. “They bought in, worked hard in the offseason. The line got a lot stronger in the offseason, which helped us. Tonight was probably the first time we couldn’t dominate at the line of scrimmage the way we have throughout much of the season. We’re pleased. We love the kids. They had a great year.”
West Jefferson (11-1) advanced to play Ohio Heritage Conference North Division rival West Liberty-Salem (11-1) in the Region 20 final at 7 p.m. Nov. 23 at site to be determined. The Tigers held on to beat Cincinnati Taft 14-13 at Miamisburg’s Holland Field.
West Liberty-Salem handed West Jefferson its lone loss of the season 42-39 in Week 8.
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