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NOXON – No one's patsy on the football field any longer, the Noxon Red Devils have earned respect for the program and the school over the last several years as evidenced by the Devils' third straight State 6-Man playoff appearance.

Coach Bart Haflich and his Red Devils completed a fine 2019 football season on semi-sunny Jenny Lampshire Field Saturday, losing the hard-fought game 38-29 to the Outlaws.

Hampered by injuries to key performers, the Red Devils did not have all their players available for their biggest game of the year but gave it their all nonetheless and were right in the game deep into the fourth quarter.

"We are kind of bummed, it is disheartening to lose to a team we felt we could have beat," Haflich said, "and I think I could've coached the game a little differently, too.

"But that doesn't take anything away from our players," he added. "They are good kids that worked really hard and did it the right way. I don't know how many people from the other teams we have played that have come up to me and complimented these guys for the way they carried themselves and treated the other teams. And they deserve it, they planted the flag and gave teams in the future a new goal to shoot for."

Noxon finishes its third straight playoff season with a 6-3 record, and the Devil coaches and players can always remember the fact that the game with R-W at Lampshire Field was the first high school football playoff game ever played in Noxon. That, in itself, is a notable accomplishment for coach Haflich and crew.

Now also 6-3, the Outlaws from Roy-Winifred will stay on the road this week, playing at 9-0 Big Sandy, the No. 1 ranked team in the state Saturday in Big Sandy.

The first half of play Saturday was back-and-forth with R-W scoring first on a 46-yard run by the Outlaws' Bobo Adorni. After the two-point conversion kick failed, the Outlaws had a 6-0 lead.

Showing the competitive fire that brought them so far this season, the Devils answered with a long drive keyed by the running of Josh Baldwin, who picked up 55 yards on three carries. A 33-yard jaunt by Baldwin set the stage for a fourth down, seven-yard touchdown pass from Derreck Christensen to Rylan Weltz to get Noxon on the board.

Faking an extra-point kick, Weltz took the snap and instead passed to Jared Webley for the one-point conversion to put the Devils ahead 7-6 with 5:18 left in the first quarter.

Right before the end of the first period, R-W quarterback Tyler Fordyce, scrambled 31 yards for another Outlaw touchdown to put his team up 12-7.

On the first play of the second quarter, Christensen found Baldwin with a short pass and Baldwin did the rest, steaming 53 yards for the touchdown to put Noxon ahead 13-12.

Seeming to take control, the Devils then got the ball back when Webley stripped the ball away from the Outlaw ballcarrier and secured the recovery, giving the ball to Noxon on their own 21-yard line. On the first play after that, Weltz took the pitch from Christensen and threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Webley and Christensen popped the kick through for two to give the Devils a 21-12 lead, and the teams went into halftime with that score.

Roy-Winifred scored twice in the third quarter, the first time on a one-yard plunge by Ardoni and the second on a 13-yard pass from Fordyche to Justin Stulc. Ardoni added the two-point kick after Stulc's TD to give the Outlaws a 26-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

With only 3:57 remaining, Fordyche scored again on a 32-yard run to put R-W ahead 32-21.

Showing that they did not want it to end this way, the Devils quickly answered, with Weltz pitching a perfect pass to Webley for a 29-yard scoring play and, after Christensen booted the two-point extra try to make the score 32-29 Outlaws with only 3:28 of game time remaining.

Roy-Winifred sealed the deal on the next series, moving 58 yards in six plays, reaching the end zone on a seven-yard pass form Fordyche to Anthony DeMars with 2:10 remaining to make the score 38-29.

Sophomore two-way starter Cade VanVleet, injured early this season, and Riley Wood, who hurt his ankle badly in Noxon's big win at White Sulphur Springs the week before, were both on crutches on the sidelines Saturday, and both undoubtedly would have made a difference had they been able to play.

John Hamilton

NOXON SENIOR Michael Antonich chases Roy-Winifred quarterback Tyler Fordyce during 6-Man playoff action in Noxon Saturday.

"I hate to make excuses but losing Cade like that early in the season was really hard on us, not to mention hard on him, he just wanted to play so badly," Haflich said. "Riley tried to play Saturday but just couldn't do it either. And he's a senior so I feel bad for him, not being able to play in the playoffs at home like that."

It was a very successful season for Noxon in spite of the loss. Haflich was impressed with how fans in Noxon got behind his team, including greeting them back from White Sulphur Springs two weeks ago with a fire-engine welcome after the Devils clinched their playoff spot and a home game with a 36-35 win over the Hornets.

"It was nice to see the community rally behind us like they did this season," he said. "We will have three big holes in our lineup – Rylan, Michael (Antonich) and Riley – next year, so it will be interesting to see if our success this year will motivate some other kids to come out."