By Josh Lewis, Writer

The Lions clinched the county championship on Friday night thanks to a convincing win over the Senators. Salem had a bit of a slow start, but a big second quarter helped propel Salem over West Washington 34-7.

Salem Head Coach Brian Glesing said it was good to win the county after having a three way tie last year. “It’s good. It’s always good to beat your county rivals. And we did in good convincing fashion both games. I’m excited about how we handled business. It was a good win on senior night and these guys deserve it.”

Both teams struggled offensively in the first quarter. Salem converted an early fourth down on an Adam Mull throw to Lenny Nguyen close to midfield, but the drive stalled in the red zone after a bad snap made it 4th and 27 at the 35 yard line. After a Senator punt, a Seth Ponsford punt return score was called back on a penalty.

The Lions offense broke the stalemate early in the second quarter thanks to some big runs from Logan Dent setting up a Mull to Ponsford 13 yard pitch and catch. Noah Deaton raced around the end for the two point try and Salem led 8-0 with 10:18 to go in the half.

Turnovers allowed the Lions to start pulling away in the second quarter. After a long run Mull ripped the ball free from a Senator ball carrier and returned it to the 38 yard line. A four yard run from Dent and a two point conversion run from Mull pushed the lead out 16-0 with 6:30 to play.

It took just one play for the Lions to get the ball back on another fumble at the 41 yard line. Dent got his second score of the night on a 17 yard run to push the lead out 22-0 with just over two minutes to go in the half. 

Salem took over with just under a minute in the half and tried to go quick and get another score but Hayden Morrow ripped down an interception at the 11 yard line to end the half. 

Glesing said the turnovers really changed the game after the slow start. “They pose some problems with their option game. They ran some power tosses too. We adjusted to those, but the turnovers were the big story. We got the turnovers and capitalized on that and got out to a comfortable lead. When you do that you don’t have to panic and can do some other things.”

The Lions got back on the board early in the second quarter when Mull found Deaton open down the seam for a 28 yard score to make it 28-0. The Senators though finally got some offense going. They were pinned deep but put together a drive with some gashing runs. Gavin Hunt raced up the middle to get out close to midfield. A few plays later Hudson Cress found room outside and raced for a 33 yard score. After the PAT the Lions still led 28-7 with 5:46 left in the third.

West Washington looked like they were about to put more points on the board, getting down to the five yard line but were stopped on fourth down and the Lions took over. Salem put the finishing touches on the game a few minutes later when Dent found the endzone again from one yard out to make it 34-7 and lock up the county title.

It was also senior night for the Lions. Glesing said all the seniors played well and he was happy for them. “I’m thankful for all the seniors and they all played well. Noah Lee got to start at linebacker. Braxton Backus got in and made some plays as well. The offensive line played well too. We were able to run our power game and control the line of scrimmage.”

Salem has won three games in a row. Glesing said his team is playing pretty well right now. “We wanted to play our best football in October and I think we are. We would like some games back, but hopefully we will be at full strength health wise or close to it. We have just been battling injuries like everybody does. Hopefully we will be at full strength for Clarksville next week.”

Up next is sectional play. The Lions will host Clarksville in the opening round and West Washington will travel to South Decatur.

Noah Daulton and CJ Ward bring down Colton Brown.

Logan Dent gets brought down by Colton Brown.

Jamesdon Collier finds some running room against the Salem defense.