SACKED — Indian Creek’s Ian Starkey is hit by St. Clairsville’s Colten Florence during Friday’s game at Red Devil Stadium. – Lauren Florence

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — It’s been said in football that the offense puts points on the scoreboard, but the defense wins championships.

While not official, St. Clairsville (9-0) took a huge step towards another OVAC Class 4A championship with a 22-6 victory over visiting Indian Creek Friday night on the artificial surface inside Red Devil Stadium. The Red Devils held a comfortable lead over the Redskins entering the heavyweight battle.

With the hard-fought victory, St. Clairsville continued its dominance in the all-time series. It now holds a commanding 19-5 advantage. The Red Devils have won four of the last five and 14 of the last 16 meetings. The win also clinched at least a top 4 finish in Ohio Division VI, Region 15, and at least one more home game.

“This was a full-moon type of game,” veteran St. Clairsville head coach Brett McLean said. “Both teams are very physical and very good. We can only take good things from this game. Our defense played lights-out. I don’t know how many tackles for lost yardage we had, but it had to be up there.”

After forcing an Indian Creek punt on the opening series of the game, St. Clairsville went 49 yards on seven plays as senior fullback Mikey Balgo lunged across the goal line from 2 yards out with 7-minutes, 23-seconds on the clock. The extra point was blocked as the hosts led 6-0.

That would be the score at the half as both defenses kept the opposing offenses in check for the most part. Penalties and two lost fumbles in the first half hindered the Red Devils.

The Redskins (7-2) had a chance towards the end of the half when Jordan Hines recovered a muffed punt at midfield. However, the drive stalled as time ran out.

Late in the third quarter, St. Clairsville quarterback Brady Schafer made the first of his two big plays. Faced with a third-and-goal from the Indian Creek 16, the senior scrambled around looking for a receiver. Finding none, he tucked the ball, found a seam and bulled his way into the end zone for a touchdown. He then found Niko Jacob for the two-point pass in the left corner of the promised land for a 14-0 advantage with 1:57 on the third-quarter clock.

The Red Devils’ defense stepped up as Brody Saunders sacked Indian Creek quarterback Ian Starkey for an 8-yard loss. Saunders then teamed with Colten Florence on another sack of minus-6 in which Starkey was injured and didn’t return.

The Redskins punted for the seventh time in the game, giving the Red Devils the ball at the opponents’ 38. A 5-yard illegal motion penalty set them back 5 yards and Gavin Schoolcraft picked up three to the 40. Schafer fired a strike to a streaking Ollie Muhly who caught it in stride at the 15 before waltzing in to complete a 40-yard hookup. Schoolcraft ran over left tackle for the two points and a 22-0 lead with 10:39 left to play.

“Brady had a fantastic night. He did things that we’ve been excited for him to do,” McLean said. “He made a great read on the touchdown and then threw a strike to Ollie. He did some things tonight that only those in our circle understand. They were really intelligent plays. I’m really proud of him. He’s a great leader and a great example for all the kids on our team. For him to have a night like that on senior night was pretty special.”

Indian Creek scored in the final minutes when backup quarterback Ethan Starr led a 9-play, 74-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard Zion McGee run.

“I thought our young quarterback played well on that drive,” Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor said. “Our offense seemed to buckle down and got us on the scoreboard. That’s something to build on for next week.”

The vaunted Indian Creek running game was completely shut down by a swarming Red Devils defense that included Saunders and Florence on the ends; tackles Wyatt Toothman and Mason Wilt; and the linebacking corps of Balgo, Max Fogle, Schoolcraft and Kyle Rankin. The Redskins managed just 54 yards on 29 carries. McGee gained 66 on 18 attempts to become the program’s all-time leading rusher, surpassing Trevor Fante.

“Just a poor job by me. I’ll take the blame,” Connor said. “We couldn’t move the ball and I’m the guy calling the plays. Give St. Clairsville credit. They are a good football team, but I’ve got a week to get better before we play Edison.

“Our defense played lights-out again tonight,” Connor noted. “The offense couldn’t help them though.”

Meanwhile, St. Clairsville ran for 195 yards on 34 rushes with Schoolcraft picking up 74 on 13 trips. Senior Dino Burk had 54 on four carries before leaving with an ankle injury. He did not return, as well.

Schafer completed 10 of 13 attempts for 84 yards.

“It’s bittersweet when the seniors come to the final home game. I think they’ve earned themselves at least one more game here in the playoffs,” McLean added. “We’re going to celebrate them tonight. They are a fantastic group of kids.”

St. Clairsville will seek a 10-0 season next week when it travels west on I-70 to Cambridge. Meanwhile, Indian Creek returns to Kettlewell Memorial Stadium in Wintersville as Edison visits in the Route 43 Rivalry.

St. Clairsville 22, Indian Creek 6

Indian Creek 0 0 0 6 – 6

St. Clairsville 0 6 8 8 – 22

StC-Balgo 2 run (kick blocked)

StC-Schafer 16 run (Jacob pass from Schafer)

StC-Muhly 40 pass from Schafer (Schoolcraft run)

IC-McGee 4 run (kick failed)

RUSHING: Indian Creek 29-54-td (McGee 18-66-td, Nett 2-8, Pownall 2-2, Starr 1-1, Starkey 6-(-23). St. Clairsville 34-195-2tds (Schoolcraft 13-74, Burk 4-54, Schafer 3-30-td, Muhly 6-28, Wolfe 2-11, Vcelka 1-2, Fogle 1-1, S. McLean 2-(-14)

PASSING: Indian Creek 9-15-101 (Starkey 6-11-52, Starr 3-4-49). St. Clairsville 10-13-84-td (all by Schafer)

RECEIVING: Indian Creek 9-101 (Nett 5-56, Shultz 2-26, Hines 1-18, McGee 1-1). St. Clairsville 10-84 (Pastor 4-31, Saunders 2-(-4), Muhly 1-40-td, Wolfe 1-11, I. McLean 1-5, Schoolcraft 1-1)

FIRST DOWNS: Indian Creek 7. St. Clairsville 13

FUMBLES: Indian Creek 0-0. St. Clairsville 6-2

PENALTIES: Indian Creek 9-73. St. Clairsville 9-82