Beaver Local’s Tanner Johnston jets up the field as East Liverpool’s Braidyn Wright awaits the tackle on Saturday. (Photo by Jimmy Joe Savage)

EAST LIVERPOOL — The win was worth the wait for East Liverpool.

The Potters held off a determined second-half effort by arch-rival Beaver Local by producing some clutch plays of their own at crunch time to post a 27-15 win over the Beavers at Patterson Field Saturday night.

The season-opening game between the Ohio River rivals was initially scheduled for Friday night but was pushed back to Saturday due to inclement weather.

“It’s rivalry week and with everything that’s going on I couldn’t be more proud of the guys,” said East Liverpool head coach Josh Ludwig. “They fought all game and did whatever they had to do to win the game. We found a way to win tonight.”

Beaver Local coach Mike McKenzie loved his team’s second-half effort but felt a slow start hurt his squad.

“We just took too long to get going,” said McKenzie. “Obviously, I didn’t have us ready to go early but we battled back and we made some plays.”

With the Potters clinging to a precarious 20-15 lead with 3:42 left, East Liverpool senior quarterback-defensive back Howie Williams made sure the triumph ended up in the win column for the hosts. Offensively, with the Potters looking to run out the clock, Williams had other ideas and skillfully scrambled 40 yards around left end to score an insurance touchdown with just 1:02 left. It gave the Potters a 27-15 lead with the successful PAT boot by Joseph McNicol.

“I just try to do everything I can for my team out there,” said Williams. “We knew we were a better team but we just had to show it on the field tonight. It feels great to get the win over them.”

On defense, Williams sealed the win with an interception of a Beaver Local pass in the closing seconds.

“He (Williams) is just a very, very good football player,” lauded Ludwig. “He’s been a leader all along and we’re just so glad to have him on our team. The defense gave us some great stops when we needed them and we got the ball back and were able to clinch it with our offense.”

Williams accounted for 227 yards, including 117 on the ground and 110 through the air with a touchdown. Running back Devin Toothman added 52 yards on 16 carries.

“Credit to them, they (the Potters) made plays,” said McKenzie. “The quarterback made plays but I was proud of our kids the way they fought back.”

East Liverpool scored first on its second possession of the game. After a short Beaver Local punt to the Potters’ 37, the hosts quickly moved the necessary distance and scored when Toothman took a pitchout and scampered one yard around the right side. Joseph McNicol added the PAT kick and the Potters took a 7-0 lead at the 4:26 mark of the first quarter.

Beaver Local cut the deficit on its second offensive series when the Beavers marched all the way to the East Liverpool 17, and on fourth down, kicker Chase Flati hit a 27-yard field goal that hit the top of the right upright and bounded in. The boot cut the Potters’ lead to 7-3 at the 8:58 mark of the second period.

Quarterback Tanner Johnston led all Beaver Local rushers with 116 yards on 15 carries and running back Caleb White had 64 yards on eight rushes.

On its next possession, East Liverpool came right back. The Potters scored when Howie Williams went right up the middle on a four-yard quarterback keeper. McNicol added the PAT kick and the East Liverpool advantage grew to 14-3 with 5:42 left before halftime. The touchdown was set up by a 47-yard pass from Howie Williams to Braidyn Wright which put the Potters deep in Beaver Local territory.

After a scoreless third quarter, Beaver Local edged within 14-9 of the Potters when running back Caleb White took a handoff and scampered 11 yards around left end to score. The Beavers went for two on the conversion and a quarterback keeper by Johnston came up just inches short. But the score gave the Beavers momentum.

But that changed midway through the fourth quarter when Beaver Local fumbled a fake punt attempt and the Potters’ Landen Bailey recovered at the Beavers’ 20. The Potters capitalized when Howie Williams hit Toothman with a 19-yard scoring strike in the middle of end zone with 6:48 left. The PAT kick failed but East Liverpool built a 20-9 cushion.

But Beaver Local answered the drive to edge within 20-15 when Johnston tossed a perfectly placed 11-yard scoring aerial to Logan Krulik in the left corner of the end zone with just 3:42 left. The conversion run failed.

East Liverpool then picked up a crucial first down at its own 41 to keep the clock running and locked up the triumph with Williams’ key 40-yard sprint to the end zone with 1:02 left.

“I’m just proud of our guys and overcoming everything we’ve been though and I’m just excited to get the win,” said Ludwig.

“It’s nice to get a chance to play but it’s a tough loss in a rivalry game,” said McKenzie. “They (the Potters) made more plays, especially early on.”

NOTES

¯ East Liverpool also defeated the Beavers last season by a 26-7 final.

¯ The Potters play next Friday night at Indian Creek in a league game.

“We’re going to start right now working on Indian Creek. It’s fun to get into the grind of the season as a staff and now we just want to keep rolling,” stated Ludwig.

¯ The Beavers return to action next Friday at Barnesville against the Shamrocks.

“It (Barnesville) is a new opponent for us and we’ll have to get refocused,” said McKenzie.

BEAVER LOCAL: 0-3-0 -12 — 15

EAST LIVERPOOL: 7-7-0-13– 27

SCORING

EL — Devin Toothman, 1 run, 4:26 1st (Joseph McNicol kick)

BL — Chase Flati, 27 field goal, 8:58 2nd

EL — Howie Williams, 4 run, 5:42 2nd (Joseph McNicol kick)

BL — Caleb White, 11 run, 11:50 4th (Run failed)

EL — Devin Toothman, 19 pass from Howie Williams, 6:48 4th (Kick failed)

BL — Logan Krulik, 11 pass from Tanner Johnston, 3:42 4th (Run failed)

EL — Howie Williams, 40 run, 1:02 4th (Joseph McNicol kick)

——

BL EL

First downs 14 16

Total yards 274 302

Rushes-yards 33-181 33-192

Passing 93 110

Comp-Att-Int 8-16-1 3-6-0

Punts 4-30 4-35

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 5-38 3-21

——

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING — Beaver Local, Tanner Johnston 15-116, Caleb White 8-64, Joe Monte 2-1; East Liverpool, Howie Williams 14-117, Devin Toothman 16-52, Eric Williams 3-23

PASSING — Beaver Local, Tanner Johnston, 8-16-93-1-0; East Liverpool, Howie Williams, 3-6-110-1-0

RECEIVING –Beaver Local, Dylan Moore 3-64, Logan Krulik 2-21, Joe Monte 1-2; East Liverpool, Braidyn Wright 1-47, Eric Williams 2-14, Devin Toothman 1-19

INTERCEPTIONS — Beaver Local, none; East Liverpool, Howie Williams

FUMBLE RECOVERIES — Beaver Local, none; East Liverpool, none.