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DANVILLE – The Toronto football team could afford to give up the big play against Danville. Unfortunately for the Red Knights, the Blue Devils delivered big plays in all three phases of the game.
Danville tallied two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters as the second-seeded Blue Devils defeated the third-seeded Red Knights, 46-0, in an Ohio Division VII, Region 27 Quarterfinal Friday night at Tough Street Stadium.
With the loss, Toronto ends the season with a record of 10-2.
With the win, Danville (12-0) will play No. 1 seed Symmes Valley in the regional final at 7 p.m. Friday at a site to be announced. Symmes Valley advanced by defeating No. 5 Shadyside, 56-22, in the other semifinal Friday night at home.
The boys from Jefferson County received the opening kickoff, and they drove from their 20 out to the Blue Devils’ 45, however, a fumble on first down gave the ball to Danville as Cyren Wallace recovered the loose, and the Blue Devils were off and running.
The hosts took over at their own 43, and they promptly drove 57 yards for the points of the night.
A completion from quarterback Parker Proper to Byrce Burke moved the ball down to the Toronto 41, and a 13-yard by Wallace gave the Blue Devils a first down at the 28. Later, Aidan Mickley ran for 9 yards down to the 1 before Proper plowed into the endzone to give the Blue Devils a 6-0 lead. Proper then hooked up with Mickley for the 2-point conversion making the score, 8-0, with 2:39 left to play in the first quarter.
The boys in white were forced to punt on their second possession of the night, and the victors took over at their own 34. Facing a 4th-and-3 from their 41, Wallace, who recovered a fumble on the first play of the drive, broke through the Toronto defense for a 59-yard touchdown on the last play of the first. Proper threw to Burke for the conversion, and the Blue-and-White led, 16-0, at the end of the quarter.
Wallace, who is a junior, became the program’s all-time leader in rushing yards on the play. He broke the record set by Heath Buckingham in the 2011 season.
The boys from the Gem City started their third possession of the night in good field position at their own 44, however, they were not able to take advantage of it as they were forced to punt once again.
Following a punt return by Wallace, Danville took over at its own 41. The Blue Devils drive into Red Knight territory, however, the Toronto defense rose to the occasion and stopped the boys from Knox County on fourth down to bring the drive to an end at its 34.
Unfortunately, the Red Knights were unable to get anything going offensively, and Drake Bouscher was forced to punt again, and the Blue Devils took over at their own 38.
This time, Danville drove 62 yards for its third touchdown of the night. A 34-yard run by Wallace moved the ball down to the Toronto 15, and on the next play, Proper hooked up with Burke for a 15-yard touchdown to extend Danville’s advantage out to 22-0. Then, Proper ran in for the conversion making the score, 24-0, with 5:10 left to play in the second.
A bad snap resulting in an 18-yard loss back to the 20 doomed Toronto’s next drive as the locals were forced to punt. Wallace fielded the 28-yard punt at his own 47 before breaking off a 24-yard return down to the Red Knight 29, however, a personal foul penalty on Toronto moved the ball down to the 14.
On first down, Wallace ran the ball for 12 yards down to the 2, where Proper hooked up with Justice Tharp for a 2-yard score to increase Danville’s advantage to 30-0. Then, Mickley hauled in the 2-point conversion pass from lineman Caleb Inverso to make the score, 32-0, with 2:17 left to play in the first half.
Bouscher ripped off a long return on the ensuing kickoff as the senior standout gave Toronto the ball at the Danville 19. The Red Knights looked to get on the scoreboard before halftime, however, it was not to be as the Blue Devils forced a turnover on downs before Proper took a knee to run out the clock.
Tharp’s touchdown brought the running clock into play in the second half, and the boys in blue tacked on two more touchdowns in the third quarter.
First, Mickley snagged a 32-yard touchdown pass from Proper, and Nolan Ridgeway found Tharp in the endzone for the 2-point conversion to give the Blue Devils a 40-0 lead. Then, Mickley capped the scoring on a 16-yard touchdown from Proper.