STEUBENVILLE - Johnnie Blue and Dimitri Collaros made Regional Quarter-final, Big Red, 9-0, vs. Indian Creek Redskins, 7-3, Saturday, November 7th, 2015, at Death Valley.r.

Blue ran for 121 and three touchdowns while Collaros threw for 270 and two scores as unbeaten Steubenville cruised to a 40-0 Region 13 quarterfinal victory over Indian Creek Saturday night before a large crowd inside Harding Stadium.

Big Red, the region's top seed, improves to 10-0 and advances to play fifth-seeded Salem next week. The Quakers knocked off No. 4 Indian Valley, 21-6. Indian Creek, which won its final three games to reach the postseason, drops the curtain at 7-4.

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Mike Mathison
HERE’S JOHNNIE — Steubenvile’s Johnnie Blue runs upfield in the Divison IV opening round playoff game at Harding?Stadium on Saturday. Steubenville beat Indian Creek, 40-0, in the battle with Jefferson County foes. Jonathan Dailey and Keith?Maple of Indian Creek defend on the play. With the win, Steubenville moves on to play Salem, out of Columbiana County. The Quakers beat Indian Valley on Saturday in Midvale.

"Any win is a good win," said veteran coach Reno Saccoccia. "We played really well defensively and offensively, we played a lot better than the score indicates."

Steubenville, which earned its 54th all-time playoff victory, finished with 432 yards of offense while Indian Creek was limited to minus four. The Redskins had 22 passing yards but finished with negative 26 on the ground.

"We've been playing defense well all year," Saccoccia stated. "That's a great showing for the first round of the playoffs. To shut out a playoff team, a 7-3 team, a team that won its league and hold them to negative yard - that's a credit to our defense and our kids."

Big Red took opening kick and quickly moved 45 yards for a touchdown. The score came on a 10-yard burst up the gut by Johnnie Blue. The hosts started with great field possession thanks to a 23-yard kickoff return by Mandela Lawrence-Burke and a personal foul call against Creek.

Saccoccia's crew then missed an opportunity following an interception by Niko Petrides. The senior grabbed the ball while sliding on his knees near his team's bench. Steubenville moved from the Redskin 44 to the two. A fumble and a personal foul call, however, led to a turnover on downs.

A fumble at the Indian Creek one, Keith Maple recovering, stopped another potential Big Red scoring drive. This march covered 63 yards before the turnover. A third Steubenville threat also ended with a lost fumble.

The score finally moved to 14-0 with 2:45 left in the half on a 27-yard Collaros to Charles Reeves pass. The touchdown capped a 64 yard drive. Big Red drew flags for holding and motion but overcame the miscues to reach the end zone.

Big Red made it 20-0 just before the half when Collaros rolled to his right, stopped, and threw back to his left, finding Jeremy Blue all alone. The scoring pass capped a 60-yard drive

In the first half, Steubenville, had 311 yards of offense compared to 40 for the Redskins. Combined, the teams drew 17 flags for 117 yards.

"Sometimes when you play against someone you know, you let your emotions get to you," Saccoccia commented when discussing his team's first half issues. "Emotions aren't a good thing to play with in sports. It's better to play with a passion.

"Credit Indian Creek also. Both teams went after it. Things got a little chippy but that's going to happen. We have no hard feelings and I'm sure they don't either. Both teams wanted it, both coaching staffs wanted it and sometimes that happens."

During the first 24 minutes, Big Red had six possessions with an average starting position of the 50. Andrew Connor's Redskins, on the other hand, began their drives, on average, at their own 16.

"The bad thing was we couldn't flip the field," Connor said. "It's bad enough that you're playing against a defense that is so quick and that fast, but we're playing in the shadows of our goal posts. We just couldn't get anything going.

"Our defense was playing well and our offense would have a couple plays, but we couldn't sustain anything. It's hard to go 80, 90 yards. It's hard to do that against anybody. To do it against a defense that athletic with that speed, it's tough. It's tough to get that many first downs."

Connor felt his Redskins "were right there" before Collaros' scoring toss to Jeremy Blue.

"It was 14-0 and they scored right before the half," he pointed out. "We couldn't get anything going offensively because of where we were at."

Both teams lost key players in the opening half. Indian Creek quarterback Chris Mazar went down late in the second quarter following a big hit by Jeremy Blue. Veteran Big Red lineman William Poplowski, a senior, was injured in the first period.

Steubenville's first touch of the third quarter resulted in a 63-yard scoring drive. Collaros and Petrides hooked up for 65 yards as Big Red overcame a nine-yard quarterback sack. During the march, Petrides made an outstanding diving catch for a first down at the Creek seven. Johnnie Blue did the scoring honors from two yards out.

Big Red got the ball right back when Jabari Taylor, who took over for Mazar, was hit by Nick Scott and lost control of the pigskin, Zach Eky recovering. Blue's third touchdown run of the night along with Mark Smith's fourth conversion kick made it 34-0.

The remainder of the game was played with a running clock. Shay Wallace closed the scoring with his two-yard burst.

Collaros completed 20 of his 29 passes. Pookie Petteway was on the receiving end of seven for 104. Petrides finished with five catches for 88 and Reeves four for 46. Devin Ferguson grabbed three.

"You look at our offense and we have more than 400 yards of offense, but the stats don't show the fumbles," Saccoccia said. "The two guys who turned it over haven't turned it over all year. I'm sure they will pick it up. I think they felt worse than I did."

Collaros and Johnnie Blue were two of 15 seniors playing inside Harding Stadium for the final time. All were introduced prior to kickoff.

"That was an emotional event before the game." Saccoccia admitted. "We have some great seniors. This was their ninth playoff game already. They've almost played an extra season just in the playoffs.

"It was pretty emotional. These seniors are a tight knit group. Hopefully they get even tighter and we play even better."

The location of Big Red's tangle with Salem will be announced by the OHSAA today.

Steubenville 40, Indian Creek 0

Indian Creek 0 0 0 0 - 0

Steubenville 7 13 14 6 - 40

BR: Blue 10 run (Smith kick)

BR: Reeves 27 pass from Collaros (Smith kick)

BR: Jeremy Blue 2 pass from Collaros (kick failed)

BR: Blue 2 run (Smith kick)

BR: Blue 3 run (Smith kick)

BR: Wallace 2 run (kick failed)

RUSHING: Indian Creek 24-(-26) (Mazar 7-7; Rawson 1-3; Dailey 1-(-1); Taylor 8-(-24); Scales 2-(-1); Maple 2-4; Harton 2-3; Team 1-(-17)); Big Red 40-162-4 (Johnnie Blue 19-121-3; Wallace 10-50-1; Lawrence-Burke 1-2; Bernard 2-6; McGhee 1-9; Ferguson 1-4; Collaros 4-(-1); Team 2-(-30)).

PASSING: Indian Creek 3-9-22-0-int (Mazar 3-6-22-0-int; Taylor 0-3); Big Red 20-30-270-2 (Collaros 20-29-270-2; Agresta 0-1).

RECEIVING: Indian Creek 3-22 (Rawson 2-16; Harton 1-6); Big Red 20-270-2 (Petteway 7-104; Petrides 5-88; Reeves 4-46-1; Jeremy Blue 1-2-1; Ferguson 3-29).

FIRST DOWNS: Indian Creek 2; Big Red 25.

PENALTIES-YARDS: Indian Creek 12-82; Big Red 12-100.

PUNTS: Indian Creek 6-36; Big Red 0-0.

FUMBLES-LOST: Indian Creek 1-1; Big Red 3-2.

Regional Semi-final, Big Red, 10-0, vs. Salem Quakers, 10-1, Saturday, November 14th, 2015, at Minerva's Hines Stadium.

The unbeaten Big Red held Salem to 101 yards and delivered a pick six as it rolled to a convincing 46-7 victory before a standing room only crowd inside Dr. Robert H. Hines Stadium Saturday night.

With the victory, Reno Saccoccia's club advances to face Johnstown-Monroe (a 42-38 winner over St. Clairsville) next Saturday. The location for that contest will be determined today by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Big Red and Johnstown-Monroe met in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs, Steubenville posting a 35-22 win.

Salem, which finishes at 10-2, came into the game with 2,244 rushing yards for the season and averaged 30 points per contest. Steubenville, now 11-0, held the Quakers to just eight for the game. The Quakers actually stood at negative 24 before its starters went against Big Red's freshmen late in the fourth quarter.

In the opening half, Salem managed only 23 yards while going zero for five on third down conversion attempts.

"Our defense stung them," Saccoccia stressed. "We've been playing strong defense all year and tonight was another outstanding performance."

Meanwhile, the Big Red offense, which stopped itself numerous timeswith penalties and a couple of interceptions, recorded three first half rushing touchdowns and six overall. Steubenville rolled to 465 total yards in notching its 55th all-time playoff victory.

Johnnie Blue paced the Steubenville ground attack, going for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Jalen McGhee added 83 and a score while Jacob Bernard delivered 54 and a pair of six-pointers.

"We ran the ball really well," Saccoccia continued. "Our passing game was a little off and I'm not sure what the problem was. We have six days before next week to fix it."

Senior Dimitri Collaros completed 14 passes for 137 yards. Fellow senior Niko Petrides grabbed five for 50 and junior Charles Reeves hauled in four for 67.

Big Red, the region's top seed, struck at the 7:01 of the first quarter, marching 59 yards in 10 plays. Johnnie Blue sprinted in from 14 yards away. Collaros had key completions to Reeves for 10 and Petrides for 16. The extra point kick was blocked.

The scoring drive came after the Big Red defense delivered a three and out on Salem's initial possession. The Quakers began with poor field possession thanks to outstanding coverage by Big Red's kickoff team.

"Before the game, we talked about having great kick coverage and we did," Saccoccia pointed out. "We stopped them inside the 20. We got them quick defensively, they punted quick and we scored quick."

Blue found the end zone again on Big Red's next possession, this time bursting up the middle on a fourth and two and motoring 44 yards for the score. Mark Smith's kick made it 13-0.

McGhee crossed the goal with 5:50 left in the half on a five-yard run. His touchdown came after Big Red's defense forced a fumble by Salem quarterback MattWeingart. Ny'Juan Robinson got the hit and Marlon Lawrence pounced on the pigskin. Smith's kick put Big Red ahead 20-0.

One first half touchdown was nullified by a penalty and a long pass to Mandela Lawrence-Burke also was wiped out by a flag. A third scoring opportunity ended with an interception after Big Red had a first and goal at the Salem six.

Big Red stretched the score to 27-0 with 3:17 left in the third on Blue's seven yard jaunt. The touchdown capped a 64 yard drive, all the yardage coming on the ground.

Bernard's four-yard run early in the fourth quarter made it 33-0 and kicked in the OHSAA's running clock rule. He also scored on a 14-yard sweep.

Shay Wallace got into the scoring act with his fourth quarter interception return covering 38 yards.

Salem, which was seeded fifth in the region and was enjoying its best football campaign since 1960, finally got on the board with two minutes left on a one-yard run by Kade Byland. The touchdown came after Saccoccia inserted his freshmen into the game but Quaker coach Ron Johnson left his starters on the field.

"I'm certainly happy with the win but the thing I'm happiest about is how our older kids act when our younger guys are in there," Saccoccia pointed out. "We have kids out there who are three-year starters and they're hugging freshmen. That just makes me happy."

State Semi-finals, Big Red, 12-0, vs Youngstown Ursuline Irish, 8-5, Saturday, November 28th, 2015, at Boardman's New Spartan Stadium.

After falling in the Division IV semifinals the past two seasons, Steubenville is on its way to the championship game.

The now 13-0 Big Red rode another stellar defensive performance and a dominating ground attack to a convincing 28-0 victory over Youngstown Ursuline inside New Spartan Stadium Saturday night.

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ROLL RED — Steubenville’s Drone Moore, left, embraces Big?Red teammate Dujuan Jones after a Jones interception against Ursuline on Saturday. Big?Red beat the Fighting Irish, 28-0, in a Division IV?state semifinal at Boardman’s Spartan?Stadium. Steubenville has advanced to the state title game. -- Mike Mathison

Reno Saccoccia's crew will meet Columbus Bishop Hartley, a 26-14 winner over Middletown Bishop Fenwick, this Saturday inside Ohio Stadium. The D IV title tilt will start at 8 p.m.

"It feels good," Saccoccia said after watching Steubenville improve its semifinal record to 7-9 all-time. "It's been a long, tough year but these kids have come every day ready to play. We haven't cheered all year and we're not going to start now. We still have another six or seven days of hard work ahead of us. I'm just glad we're playing.

"The thing I am most proud of is how our seniors have fought through adversity for the last three years. They kept our name great. All they care about is Big Red, not about how many carries they have or how many passes they catch. They care about Big Red first, their city second and most of all their families. They just kept plugging away no matter how much adversity we faced."

Steubenville's defense delivered three turnovers (two fumble recoveries and an interception) in posting its second postseason shutout. The offense, on the other hand, rolled to 375 yards (235 coming on the ground).

After its defense delivered a three and out on Ursuline's first possession, Big Red struck quickly. On the initial snap following the stop, Dimitri Collaros hit Niko Petrides for 29 yards. Johnnie Blue then plowed in from three yards away. Mark Smith's kick made it 7-0.

A tipped pass by Ny'Juan Robinson and a sack by Jeremy Blue and Zane Zimish were the highlights of Ursuline's initial three plays. That stand set the defensive tone for the evening.

Ursuline responded to Big Red's score by marching from its own 25 to the Steubenville 17. However, the defense rose up and the time-consuming drive stalled on a sack of quarterback Jared Fabry by Jeremy Blue and A.J. Cochrun.

Following the big defensive play, Saccoccia's crew immediately marched 67 yards to take a 14-0 lead. The drive was aided by two penalties against Ursuline on the same play (pass interference and a personal foul). Johnnie Blue's 30th touchdown of the season came on a two-yard plunge. Smith again split the uprights.

With 6:03 left in the opening half, Big Red struck again. Johnnie Blue capped the 58-yard march with a one-yard run. Smith's kick made it 21-0. This march also began after another huge defensive play by Jeremy Blue, his third quarterback sack of the contest.

The ensuing squib kick bounced away from the Irish, Dujuan Jones recovering, giving Steubenville the ball right back at the Ursuline 28. Steubenville, however, was unable to turn Jones' recovery into points.

Ursuline's second threat of the half ended when Kimauni Johnson was stripped of the football at the Steubenville two, Johnnie Blue recovering with 2:01 left. The Irish traveled from its own 31 on the possession, a key play being a screen pass to Johnson.

The Irish had an opportunity on its first possession of the second half, moving to Steubenville's 30 after Saccoccia's gamble to go for it on fourth and five failed. Nick Scott delivered a huge hit on Johnson after he caught a Fabry pass, forcing a turnover on downs. A second Ursuline drive was thwarted by a Jones interception at the Steubenville five.

Big Red's fourth score capped a 95-yard drive, most of it coming on the ground with Johnnie Blue and Jalen McGhee chewing up big yards. The touchdown came when Collaros pitched the ball to Mandela Lawrence-Burke, who stopped and threw the ball back to Collaros for a 13-yard six-pointer. Smith again nailed the kick.

"Our defense just played lights out," Saccoccia stated. "Aside from our offensive series after the muffed kick, our offense was great. Our kickoff team was good but your defense was lights out. We just played a really good brand of football tonight.

"I'm so thankful for the coaches I have. They just keep me going. I'm thrilled for the coaches, our kids and their parents."

Johnnie Blue paced Big Red's rushing attack with 111 yards on 22 carries. McGhee added 92 on 11 trips, including a 24-yard burst on Big Red's last possession.

"Jalen just came back healthy, he stepped in, took his shot, took his time and did a great job today," Saccoccia noted. "The most important thing when it comes to the offensive line is the length of the football. That's what those guys have to control-the length of the football and they did that tonight."

As senior offensive tackle Paul Runkel pointed out, the offensive line stuck together Saturday night "like we have all year."

"We've been playing together since we were in the seventh grade and we know how to deal with adversity," he stated. "It's all coming together and we're really in a nice groove right now.

"Getting to Columbus is something we really wanted especially after getting stuffed in this game the last two years. We talked all week about getting over the hump and getting to the state championship."

Johnson rushed for 105 to pace Ursuline, which finishes at 8-6. As a team, the Irish compiled 185 (122 on the ground and 63 through the air).

Senior nose guard Seth Biacco was "feeling great" about the defense's performance and the opportunity to play inside OSU's Horseshoe.

"I've wanted this my whole life," he stressed. "There's nothing else I could wish for-the feeling is just out of this world. We were knocked out three times since I was a freshman, now that we are going-it's just crazy."

Robinson, the junior defensive end, noted his unit "works hard all week in practice and that hard work pays off in the game."

"It's all about keeping that mindset," he said. "We played hard in Week 1 of the season and we are still playing hard. "

Saturday's semifinal was a rematch of the Oct. 12 meeting between the schools, won by Big Red 48-12. Steubenville now holds a 9-4 lead in its series with the Irish. The win gives Big Red an overall playoff record of 57-24. Steubenville, which last played for a state title in 2008, is 3-3 in championship games.

State Championship, Big Red, 13-0, vs Columbus Bishop Hartley Hawks, 11-3, Saturday, December 5th, 2015, at Ohio Stadium.

Bishop Hartley's defensive unit denied Steubenville a first down on fourth and short late in the final period then delivered an interception in recording a stunning 31-28 victory in Saturday night's Ohio Division IV championship.

Big Red, which finishes at 13-1, found itself down three after Hartley's Ben Hawk nailed a 40-yard field goal with 5:23 to play.

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RUNNERS?UP — Steubenville Big Red teammates, from left, Amir Richmond, Johnnie Blue, Anthony Zorne and Mandela Lawrence-Burke, accept the state runner-up trophy after falling to Columbus Bishop Hartley, 31-28, in the Division IV?state championship game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
-- Michael D. McElwain

Steubenville mounted what had the makings of a game-winning drive from its own 46 following a kick return by senior Mandela Lawrence-Burke. Four runs by Johnnie Blue gave Big Red a first down at the Hartley 32.

After a first down pass fell incomplete, Lawrence-Burke ran for six. Blue added a little more than three on third, setting up the critical play. The Hartley defense rose to the occasion and gave the ball back to its offense with 1:15 left.

The Big Red defense then came up with a stop of its own and Reno Saccoccia's offense was back in business with 44 seconds left. On the first snap, however, Hartley's Cody Kirkbride came through with the interception to seal the deal before an announced crowd of 10,141 fans inside Ohio Stadium.

"We were selling out for everything," Hartley coach Brad Burchfield said about his defense on the fourth and short. "We knew where they were running and we knew who they were giving it go.

"Stopping them was a whole different thing. We sold out for it. But we did it a week ago and they (Middletown Bishop Fenwick) gashed us for 60 yards. It was a calculated risk and that's they was it went."

As Saccoccia pointed out, Big Red did on the play what most football teams would do.

"A rule most coaches go by and a rule we go buy is when you're down to the nitty gritty, you want to have your best back running behind your best lineman," he stated. "We just came up a little short.

"I didn't make many calls during the game, but I made that one. It was a great game; we just came up short on fourth and one."

Hartley, which finishes at 12-3, took the opening kick and proceeded to march 79 yards for the game's first score. Quri Hickman accounted for 39 of the stripes and got the score on a one-yard plunge. The drive consumed more than seven minutes of the first quarter.

The touchdown marked the first time since Week 3 that Big Red had trailed in a game.

Big Red quickly responded, covering 65 yards in 10 plays. The touchdown came with 2:12 left in the opening period on a seven-yard Johnnie Blue run. Mark Smith's kick knotted the score. Blue gained 45 of the 65 yards.

The Hawks grabbed the lead back with 6:16 left before the half when Hickman capped a 66 yard march (18 plays) with a one-yard plunge. Hartley's scoring march was aided by two offside penalties against Big Red, both coming on fourth and short.

Big Red tied it at 14; again moving 65 yards after Hartley's kick went out of bounds. Blue's second score came from a yard out. A key play on the march was a 19-yard Dimitri Collaros to Anthony Zorne completion.

Hartley took a 21-14 lead on an eight yard pass from Jake Ruby to Rian Anderson.

The Hawks dominated the time of possession in the opening half. The Hawks ran 37 plays for 170 yards and took 18:20 off the clock. Big Red, on the other hand, only had the football for 5:40, running 19 plays for 115.

Big Red tied the score with 2:40 remaining in the third period thanks to a two-yard Blue run. His third touchdown capped a 71 yard drive (Steubenville was able to overcome a 15-yard chop block penalty) that featured 12 plays, including a 25 yard Collaros to Niko Petrides connection on a screen pass.

The tying score came after each defense forced the opposition to punt to begin the period.

It didn't take Hartley long to regain the lead. Richard Jones III took a handoff from Ruby, got outside Big Red's defense, broke a tackle and sprinted 64 yards for a touchdown. With 1:50 left in the third, Hartley was up 28-21.

After a Ny'Juan Robinson fumble recovery early in the fourth quarter, Big Red wasted no time getting the score back to even. Collaros went deep and Lawrence-Burke made an outstanding over the shoulder catch for the touchdown. The play covered 42 yards. The six-pointer came with 10:25 to play.

Hawks' field goal capped a Hartley possession which began at its own 33 and finished at Big Red's 23. The Hawks got some help again from Steubenville's defense, another offside call on a fourth and five from the 30.

Big Red's defense, which played outstanding all season, surrendered 247 yards to Hartley's potent ground game. Jones III accounted for 110 and Hickman 89.

Meanwhile, Blue collected 115 for Big Red while Collaros threw for 123.

"Coming in, we thought there were three keys to this game," Burchfield noted. "We wanted to control the football, since every first down would equal another three minutes off the clock. We needed to not let them get out early since they had done that all year and we didn't want to give up big plays.

"Looking back, we did all three of those things and were able to come out on top."

Saccoccia, who now is 3-4 in state title games, called the contest "very competitive."

"Naturally we are disappointed with the outcome, but I'm very proud of my players," he stated. "I thanked my players after the game and told them if this is the worst thing that happens in their lives, then they're lucky.

"We've had some controversy with our school in the last three years and it was never mentioned in our locker room until today. These seniors got us through the toughest three years in our school's history. I appreciate these guys for giving all they had to their team and their teammates.

"One thing as a coach, I never forget to say is thank you and I want to thank our seniors for they've given to our program."

For Hartley, the championship was the second in school history