New Philadelphia, OH -- On a night at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium, where legendary coach Woody Hayes once patrolled the sidelines, West Branch used a strong second half to pull away from New Philadelphia for a 35-7 victory.

The Warriors scored 28 unanswered points after halftime, with quarterback Grady Hirst accounting for all five touchdowns, four coming in the second half. Hirst rushed for four scores and added a 9-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Marshall as West Branch pulled away from the Quakers.

West Branch's defense also turned up the pressure after halftime, forcing two interceptions to help put the game out of reach.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

Neither team found the end zone in the opening quarter, but the Warriors broke through early in the second when Grady Hirst scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. Cruz Leone added the extra point to give West Branch a 7-0 lead.

New Philadelphia answered with 4:51 left in the half, tying the game at 7-7. West Branch had a chance to regain the lead before halftime, but a late turnover and a couple of penalties gave the Quakers an opportunity to try a long field goal as time expired. The attempt missed, sending both teams into the locker room tied at 7-7.

Second Half

West Branch came out of the locker room and immediately went back to work. Hirst put the Warriors back in front with a 1-yard touchdown run, but New Philadelphia blocked the extra-point attempt, leaving West Branch with a 13-7 lead.

Hirst wasn't finished. With 2:04 left in the third, he broke loose for an 18-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 19-7. The Warriors went for two, and Drake Stryffeler ran it in to make it 21-7.

Hirst found the end zone again in the fourth quarter, scoring from one yard out to push the lead to 28-7. West Branch added one final score with 2:14 remaining when Hirst connected with Gavin Marshall for a 9-yard touchdown. That score capped a 28-point second half and put the finishing touches on a 35-7 victory over the Quakers.

Two second-half interceptions added to the defensive effort, with Hirst returning one 33 yards and Jeremy Ramsey bringing the other back 24 yards. Owen Bloss also recorded a sack, while both the offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the night, helping West Branch move the ball and keep New Philadelphia's offense in check.

Offensive Highlights

• West Branch finished with 490 total yards of offense
• West Branch ran the ball 55 times for 286 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry
• QB Grady Hirst: 13-of-18 passing, 204 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT; 29 carries, 155 yards, 4 TDs
• RB Damon Edwards: 8 carries, 46 yards
• RB JJ Marra: 6 carries, 40 yards
• WR Drake Stryffeler: 5 catches, 99 yards; 1 carry, 32 yards
• WR Gavin Marshall: 5 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD
• Offensive line turned in a strong performance, opening holes for the Warriors' rushing attack and helping West Branch find continued success on the ground

Defensive Highlights

• Warriors held New Philadelphia to just 169 total yards of offense and shut out the Quakers in the second half
• Grady Hirst: 33-yard interception return
• Jeremy Ramsey: 24-yard interception return
• Owen Bloss: 1 sack
• Defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the night, consistently putting pressure on New Philadelphia and limiting its ability to move the ball