Avonworth's rushing attack wears down Central Valley's defense in Warriors loss

OHIO TWP. — After opening up conference play with two straight victories, Central Valley suffered its first blemish on its Western Hills record falling to Avonworth 21-14 Friday night at Lenzner Field.

“They [Avonworth] physically handed it to us tonight,” Central Valley head coach Mark Lyons said following the game. “It was a little disheartening there, but we have to wash this one off and come back and get ready to play another football game next week.”

Avonworth (4-2, 2-0 Western Hills) used a physical Wildcat rushing attack to wear down the Warriors' defensive line Friday night and took control of the contest in the second half.

Antelope senior running back Nico Neal was dominant in the run game for Avonworth Friday night as he rushed 12 times for 150 yards making him a tough runner to bring down as he bounced off defenders.

Neal helped set up both of the Antelope's offensive scores. Late in the second quarter, Neal rushed the ball down to the Central Valley (2-4, 2-1) goal line before junior quarterback Carson Bellinger went 3 yards untouched to knot the game at 14 apiece heading into the half.

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Then in the third quarter, Neal got in on the scoring action, rushing 11 yards for the score.

“They [Avonworth] got off the ball well tonight and got downhill,” Lyons said. “We threw everything at them defensively, but that wasn’t enough.”

Last season, turnovers plagued the Warriors in their last meeting against the Antelopes. In this year's matchup, miscues were also a factor as Central Valley turned the ball over twice.

In the first quarter on Central Valley’s opening drive, the Warriors fumbled the ball deep in their own territory which was then scooped up by junior defensive back Cooper Scharding for the touchdown.

Then in the third quarter with Central Valley driving, quarterback Steven Rutherford mishandled a snap and Avonworth recovered the loose ball in Warriors territory with 90 seconds to play in the quarter.

“Turnovers played a part in this game but they just got after us,” Lyons said. “They physically beat us. We can say that turnovers were the issue but they beat us down offensively.”

Along with the turnovers, the Central Valley offense struggled to get anything going on the offensive side of the ball in the second half as the Avonworth defense pitched a shutout in the final 24 minutes of the game.

Central Valley’s rushing attack was the team’s best asset heading into the game but was shut down by the Antelopes as the team combined for 95 yards on the ground.

The team’s top rushers Jance Henry and Mason Dixon were held in check as Henry rushed just six times for 9 yards while Dixon rushed four times for 35 yards with 28 of those yards coming from a touchdown run in the first quarter.

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The Warriors passing game was also neutralized as Rutherford completed six passes for 101 yards and one touchdown as he connected with BJ Nastick for a 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

“They re-established the offensive and defensive line tonight when they needed to. We couldn’t get that back, and we could not sustain anything offensively,” Lyons said.

Central Valley will have to reset quickly as it returns home next week to face North Catholic at Sarge Alberts Stadium at 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Avonworth's rushing attack wears down Central Valley's defense in Warriors loss