Photo by Lauren Florence St. Clairsville’s Brady Schafer (2) drops back to pass while runningback Dino Burk (44) looks to pick up a block last Friday in the Red Devils’ regional semifinal game against Bishop Ready. St. Clairsville will face West Holmes in the regional final.

NEW PHILADELPHIA — For the first time in three years, St. Clairsville has advanced to the Ohio Division IV Region 15 semifinals. The Red Devils reached the regional finals in 2021 and appeared in the state championship game nine years earlier.

Top-seeded St. Clairsville (12-0) will meet No. 13 West Holmes (7-5) in the regional semifinals on the artificial surface at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium in New Philadelphia. The winner moves on to play the winner of the No. 2 Indian Valley (12-0) and No. 3 New Lexington (11-1) on Friday, Nov. 22 at an undisclosed site, with a trip to the state semifinals at stake.

Kickoff from Tuscarawas County Friday night is set for 7.

“It was exciting to get that win last week and continue to move on in the playoffs,” veteran St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said of the gut-check 29-22 win over Columbus Bishop Ready. “The playoffs can get addicting with the excitement they generate. The enthusiasm in the school and the town with the team. You wish it was that way every single week of the season.

“You have to earn the opportunity to be in positions like that. Our kids have done that and my coaching staff has done a great job,” McLean continued. “However, we’re not just satisfied by any means to just be in week 13. It’s the team’s goal for us to continue moving forward.”

The Knights have defeated Unioto (28-21) and East Liverpool (24-13) in the playoffs. St. Clairsville owns a 35-14 nod over the Potters in week 5.

“They give you a lot of different looks on offense,” McLean said of the Knights. “They line up in a lot of different sets that give them a lot of scenarios. They play good defense and tackle well.”

The key to St. Clairsville’s success has been the play of its two lines, especially on the offensive side.

“The unsung heroes are the guys up front in the trenches on both sides of the football,” McLean stressed. “They’ve done an outstanding job and don’t get near enough credit for it. (Assistant) Coaches (Kevin) Sacco, (Vern) Ridgway and (Chris) Fogle have prepared these kids very well. Basically, we graduated four offensive linemen — three that are playing collegiate sports right now — from last year. We relied on that group heavily last year and there were a lot of question marks to start the season as to who was going to replace those guys.

“The truth is, there’s some seniors that were very patient to get their opportunity. They had to compete and work very hard to get there, that’s what has really made us who we are,” he added. “Kids and families that are willing to stick it out and stay loyal to the program benefits you in the long run.

“Guys Ryan Ivey, Kambal Sall and Wyatt Toothman, specifically, have pushed themselves,” McLean added. “Most of those guys started on the JV team last season. That can be really easy to get frustrated, but they understood the process and were able to plug right in. They’ve done great things so far this season.”

The other two linemen are Alex Renner and sophomore Mason Wilt.

The Red Devils have run for 2,700 yards and passed for 1,787. They average nearly 37 points a contest and have twice scored 55 this season.

Senior quarterback Brady Schafer’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he doesn’t do things to lose games. He has completed 65 percent of his passes (104-159) for 1,526 yards and 15 touchdowns. He does have, however, nine interceptions.

“He’s a coach’s kid. A smart, heady player,” McLean said of Schafer. “He manages the game for us. He does everything we ask him to do and probably shoulders more than your average high school quarterback in running our offense.”

Seniors Dino Burk and Gavin Schoolcraft have been workhorses in the backfield. Burk, who has missed several games with injuries, leads the team with 1,024 yards and 13 touchdowns. He averages 7.8 yards per carry. Schoolcraft has collected 843 yards and reached the end zone 12 times. He averages 7.6 yards a tote.

“Those two, along with Ollie Muhly, give us some weapons back there,” McLean assessed. “The competition at each position lets us build some depth and that’s what we’ve been able to do. Dino and Gavin are the same age. They are quite the tandem. They’ve been in our program since the 7th grade. It’s nice to see all the hard work they’ve put in is coming to fruition.

“They both have different philosophies and running styles, but they both know how to find the end one.”

Muhly has 329 yards and four touchdowns rushing. He averages more than nine yards per carry. As a receiver, Muhly, a junior, has caught 11 passes for 278 yards — an average of 25-plus — and three TDs.

He is fifth in receptions on the team, behind seniors Tyson Pastor (25-344-2tds), Gage Wolfe (20-184-2), Mikey Balgo (13-208-2) and Brody Saunders (12-194-2).

“Those guys are statistically ahead of others, but we’ve got 8-9 guys with multiple catches on the season. We’re not a one-trick pony at wide receiver. We spread the ball around to guys and see what they can do with it.”

Defensively, the Red Devils are giving up a little more than 11. They have pitched two shutouts and held four other opponents to single digits.

“Coach (Tim) Frey has done a tremendous job with our defense,” McLean praised. “We got outstanding play from all four phases of our defense. Coming into the season we were a little short across the front, but we’ve moved some guys around and they’ve played well. Last week our secondary had to step up with the game on the line and they responded against a pair of outstanding 6-4 and 6-5 receivers they (Ready) were throwing to.

“Kudos to our linebackers. They’ve been really good all year. There are a couple of three-year starters there that the expectations were pretty high for them, but they’ve carried themselves well.”

Those linebackers are seniors Max Fogle, Balgo, Schoolcraft and Kyle Rankin. Balgo has recorded 105 tackles and forced three fumbles. Fogle has made 88 tackles and hurried opposing quarterbacks four times. Schoolcraft has 10 tackles for losses, seven hurries and a team-best five interceptions, taking one back 97 yards for a score. Rankin has 63 tackles and six QB hurries.

Saunders, the Eastern District Defensive Player of the Year, and junior Colten Florence have sparked the defense from their end spots.

“They compliment each other very well,” McLean said of his two havoc-causing defensive ends. “One guy does his job on one side and the other does his on the other. They work well together.”

Saunders has 27 tackles, five for lost yards, and five quarterback sacks. He also has 11 quarterback hurries. Florence has charted 38 tackles, 12 quarterback sacks and hurried the opposing quarterbacks 12 times.

Wolfe has three picks, with one going 101 yards for six. He also has eight passes broken up.

“We’re blessed to continue to have kids that want to come out and learn how to kick a football,” McLean pointed out. “Coach (John) Kutcher took over our special teams after having Coach Chops (Mike Jacob) for 20-some years. He’s done a super job.”

St. Clairsville lost placekicker Parker Galloway before the season even started when he suffered a severe ankle injury during the first soccer match. However, junior Tyler Harris has stepped in admirably.

“Tyler has had a fantastic year for us.,” McLean said. He has booted 44 PATs.

“We’re still learning some things about them,” McLean said of West Holmes. “We scrimmaged them about 20 years ago, so I could’ve told you a lot more back then. A lot of things have changed since then, though.”

The Knights are members of the Ohio Cardinal Conference

“They are usually a Division III school, but they have dropped down to D-IV,” McLean explained.

“They have gone deep into the playoffs the last couple of years.”

The two programs have met twice before with West Holmes prevailing both times, 28-7 in 1991 and 28-22 a year later.