New Lex Offense Rolls Past Unioto in D-4 Regional Semi
Article Presented By Ross Chillicothe Convention & Visitors Bureau…
(11-1) New Lexington found ample ways to score against a vaunted Unioto Shermans’ defense that had yielded an average of only five points per contest entering their Division 4/Region 15 Semifinal Friday. The Panthers rolled to a 47-14 victory, handing Unioto their lone loss of the 2025 campaign.
New Lex struck paydirt first, going to a trick play on a 67 yard double-pass play for a TD. Quarterback Lane Ratliff tossed the ball to Tanner Toth, then back to Ratliff for the score at 7:56 of the first quarter for a 6-0 lead, after a two-point conversion attempt failed.
The Panthers made it 12-0 when the scored with 28 seconds remaining in the opening period as Ratliff found Tyson Spicer on a 26 yard strike. Again, the two-point PAT attempt failed. New Lex’s Tanner Toth took a pick-6 for another score at 10:56 of the second quarter, followed by the PAT kick for a 19-0 advantage.
The Shermans had difficulty gaining ground offensively and were only able to reach the end zone on special teams.
The Sherman’s got on the board at 6:33 of the second quarter when Panthers’ punt snap went over the NewLex punter’s head. Unioto’s Jonah Renner recovered the ball for a TD, followed by a Liam Mathey PAT kick to cut the deficit to 19-7. But, that was a close as Unioto would get. New Lexington scored just over four minutes later when Tanner Toth found Jonah Renner on a half-back option pass for a 26-7 lead following the PAT, which was the halftime score.
The Panthers notched their next score with 6:28 in the third quarter thanks to a 56 yard TD pass from Ratliff to Spicer for a 33-7 margin, following the successful PAT.
Unioto speedster Jack Welch caught lightning in a bottle with an 85 yard kickoff return at 6:12 of the third period. Liam Mathey’s PAT kick cut it to 33-14.
The Panthers had two more TD’s in their arsenal, scoring at 2:31 of the third quarter on an 11 yard run by Paul Stenson, then finished it off at 9:10 in the fourth period on a Lane Ratliff 21 yard scoring strike on a 4th down play for the 47-14 final score.
Unioto’s Isaac Coy threw 10/20 for 131 yards and Jack Welch caught 6 passes for 95 yards and added an 85 yard kickoff for a score. New Lex’s tough defense held Shermans’ runner Cody Braden to only 24 rushing yards on 13 carries.
In his post game huddle with the Tanks, Coach Matt Hoops praised the efforts of his senior class for getting the team to Week 13 for the first time in program history. And the future is bright for the Shermans due to the number of underclassmen who found playing time on Friday nights throughout the season.
“Playing into Week 13 gave us three more weeks of practice which those guys got to be a part of, too” said Hoops. “Valuable, valuable experience for them. I hope, and I think they will, they’re smart kids, appreciate the guys that came before them and have paved the way for them to have an opportunity to keep this thing movin’ even further down the road and in the right direction.”
Prior to Friday, the Shermans senior class had experienced 38 wins over their four seasons with just 6 losses, one of the most remarkable stretch in Unioto history.
New Lexington advances to face defending state champion Indian Valley next Friday in the regional final, following IV’s 47-28 victory over Jonathan Alder.
Unioto concludes their SVC Gold Ball Championship season with an (11-1) record.
