FOREST PARK, Ohio – Winton Woods continued to exhibit Friday night why it is one of the elite high school football teams in Ohio.
Sophomore running back Miyan Williams rushed for 235 yards and five touchdowns as the Warriors defeated visiting Chillicothe 61-27 in a Division II, Region 8 quarterfinal.
PHOTO GALLERY: Winton Woods 61, Chillicothe 27
Winton Woods (10-1) plays Anderson (10-1) in a regional semifinal Nov. 10 at a neutral location to be determined. The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce the second-round locations Sunday.
HUGE night for @warriorsath! @GloMannyy just flat out ridiculous. @cornell_beachem with the stiff-arm of the night! Winton Woods wins tonight 61-27. Highlights on @WCPO at 11:15! pic.twitter.com/qBrRXWQ0AI
— Jake Ryle (@JakeWCPO) November 4, 2017
Winton Woods and Anderson, former rivals in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference Buckeye Division, have not met since Oct. 24, 2013.
Winton Woods coach Andre Parker was pleased with his team’s effort Friday but didn’t like how the first half went against the Cavaliers. The Warriors also had 11 penalties for 101 yards and made too many mistakes for his liking.
“We will get beat next week if we play like that,” Parker said. “We have to really tighten that up.”
Yet Winton Woods, in the postseason for the first time since 2013, showed why it is such a force to be reckoned with in Region 8.
The Warriors had 539 yards of total offense including 406 yards rushing.
“We had a lot of fun,” said senior quarterback Kenny Mayberry, a three-year starter. “I am just blessed. I am excited to play with the players we have and we need to go forward.”
Winton Woods started the season 7-0 – the best start since the Warriors were 7-0-1 in 1992. Forest Park High School and Greenhills High School merged in ’92.
But, if you ask the players and coaches, they are looking ahead and not dwelling on the past accomplishments of this fall.
“(The playoffs) are different,” said Williams. “The atmosphere and intensity is different.”
Williams, 15, scored five touchdowns in a game for the first time since sixth grade when he played in a tournament in Tennessee for his youth team, the Finneytown Falcons.
“Miyan is who he is,” Parker said. “He was huge. I think he was over 12 yards a carry. It’s that type of year where you start leaning on guys like that.”
Winton Woods, ranked No. 2 in the season’s final Associated Press Division II state poll and No. 10 in the USA Today Midwest Rankings, trailed just once and for less than a minute halfway through the second quarter.
Winton Woods led Chillicothe 35-21 at halftime. The first two quarters had a little bit of everything.
The clock malfunctioned twice, including for the remainder of the game starting late in the second quarter.
Maybe just as unique was the fact that Chillicothe led the time of possession (19:06 to 4:54) in the first half but trailed by two touchdowns.
Winton Woods had 270 yards of total offense, including 194 yards rushing in the first half. Williams had 10 carries for 125 yards and three touchdowns.
Winton Woods, which averaged 34.4 points entering Friday night, struck quickly on its opening drive from its own 46.
Mayberry found junior Rae’Quan Prince down the right sideline for a 48-yard pass connection.
Then, Williams scored on a 6-yard run to help give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.
The Cavaliers responded on their opening drive. Senior quarterback Brandon Maughmer scored on a 41-yard run on the fourth play of the possession to help tie the game at the 9:42 mark of the first.
The Cavaliers took advantage of an errant high snap on Winton Woods’ next drive and Chillicothe recovered at the 8:38 mark. Five plays later, Chillicothe senior Connor Mathis scored on a 12-yard run to help give the Cavaliers a 14-7 lead with 6:23 remaining in the first quarter.
Winton Woods took advantage of 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Cavaliers on the next drive to earn prime field position. Williams ran off right tackle for a 49-yard touchdown to help tie the game at 14 at the 5:53 mark.
Chillicothe was forced to punt on its next possession and the Warriors started at their own 35. Mayberry’s 19-yard run put the Warriors into Chillicothe territory near the end of the quarter.
Four plays later, Williams scored on a 22-yard run to give the Warriors a 21-14 with 11:34 left in the second quarter.
Chillicothe tied the game at 21 when Maughmer found junior J’Quan Harris in the middle of the field for a 31-yard touchdown with 6:58 left in the second.
Winton Woods wasn’t finished finding the end zone in the first half. Senior Cornell Beachum caught a 19-yard pass from Mayberry to give the Warriors’ great field position at the Chillicothe 34.
Then, in a play worthy of the highlight reel, Beachum scored on a 34-yard run after he stiff-armed a defender and showed excellent balance in finding the left side of the end zone. That gave the Warriors a 28-21 lead with 5:29 left in the first half.
Chillicothe was forced to punt on its next possession. After the scoreboard clock went out a second time, the Warriors sustained a long drive that resulted in Mayberry’s 2-yard run to give Winton Woods a 35-21 advantage.
Chillicothe punted on its first drive of the third quarter and Beachum returned it 56 yards to set up Williams’ fourth touchdown run of the night – a 3-yard score. That gave Winton Woods a 41-21 lead after the extra point attempt failed.
The Winton Woods defense continued to be strong in the third quarter when junior Kymetrius Gates snagged the first interception of the game.
That helped to set up Williams’ 35-yard touchdown run – his fifth touchdown of the night.
Williams almost scored his sixth touchdown when had a 72-yard carry late in the quarter but barely stepped out of bounds.
Winton Woods senior Navar Gannaway scored on a 5-yard run to help give the Warriors a 55-21 lead and a running clock late in the third quarter.
Later, senior Anthony Clark scored on an 84-yard touchdown run to give Winton Woods a 61-27 lead. Clark finished with 97 yards.
Defensively, senior Markief White had a game-high 11 tackles including a sack. Senior linebackers Chris Oats and Jayden Myles each had eight tackles.
"We knew we had to come in and settle down and play our game like we have been doing all year," Oats said. "We gave up too many points. We are going to come back next week and get better and continue this road."
Chillicothe (8-3) made its third consecutive postseason appearance. The Cavaliers had 197 yards of offense. They also led the time of possession 43:06 to 4:54 for the game.
