Staff photo / R. Michael Semple McDonald’s Drew Zajack (10) looks for running room as Warren JFK’s Christian Dixie, left, and Landon Snyder go for the tackle during the first quarter of Friday’s Division VII regional quarterfinal in McDonald.

McDONALD — Friday’s second-round tilt between top-seeded McDonald and eighth-seeded Kennedy was a battle of Trumbull County small-school heavyweights.

The Blue Devils’ defense bent, didn’t break, and the offense countered to help McDonald stay alive and down Kennedy, 28-13. It’s the last home game of McDonald’s 100th season of football.

“The seniors, they’ve been working all year round, and they are committed to having a great season. And the 100th year, they knew that was a big season for us,” Blue Devils coach Dan Williams said. “The whole community is excited. I can feel the enthusiasm throughout the whole community, the school system. You could see our student section was out here with us celebrating. I’m proud of the whole system, from the village down to the school system, down to our student body, and we’re moving on. That’s exciting.”

McDonald made the most of its opening possession, scoring on the third play of the drive.

Quarterback Kyle Puckett found senior Jordan Perry in stride, who raced to the end zone on a 61-yard score.

After trading possessions, Kennedy’s run game started finding its rhythm. The Eagles made their way down the field swiftly. To cap the drive off and knot the game, Steven Thomas broke through a sea of tacklers on the edge of the field, scoring on a 31-yard run.

But the top-seeded Blue Devils had a counterpunch ready on the ensuing drive.

McDonald’s run game bulldozed its way down the field, including a big run from Casey Miller to set the Blue Devils up inside the 10-yard line. Miller scored the go-ahead touchdown for McDonald on a 2-yard sweep.

The Blue Devils forced a punt on Kennedy’s next possession, giving McDonald an opportunity to go up two scores before halftime, but the Eagles had other plans.

Kennedy’s aggressive defense stalled the Blue Devils, sacking Puckett and forcing a punt on fourth-and-16, which gave the Eagles the ball at midfield and two minutes to tie the game before the break.

Kennedy was inches away from scoring as the waning seconds ticked away, but a false start penalty forced the Eagles to score the ball in from the 6-yard line with one second left in the half. LaMarcus Provitt’s pass fell incomplete, and the Blue Devils went into the locker room with a 14-7 lead.

On its second possession of the second half, Kennedy found itself in a similar situation. Down on the goal line, hoping to punch in a game-tying score. The drive nearly ended at midfield, but an unsportsmanlike call on McDonald gave the Eagles a second chance they didn’t waste.

Provitt called his own number this time, running 4 yards to score. The senior did everything he could to keep his team from losing.

“He’s such an emotional player in a good way,” Eagles coach Damon Buente said. “He just has such a competitive spirit. He’ll take stretching lines in the first drill you do in practice and somehow turn it into a competition and bring the best out of other players. He just plays within a surplus of passion and we were lucky to have him.”

Unfortunately for Kennedy, they didn’t score on the two-point conversion and trailed 14-13.

On the ensuing possession, McDonald made quick work of the Eagles. A long run by Miller flipped the field to set the Blue Devils up in the red zone. Drew Zajack got the touch and scored from 10 yards out to extend McDonald’s lead to an eight-point advantage.

The Blue Devils’ defense was oppressive on the next Eagles’ possession, forcing a fumble and near-interception and a punt on fourth-and-20.

McDonald’s offensive response was swift. Set up by a deep pass to Josh Krumpak, the Blue Devils gave the ball to Miller once again, and the senior delivered once again. This time on a 16-yard run that gave McDonald a 28-13 lead with little time for Kennedy to work with.

“Casey Miller really stepped up,” Williams said. “He hadn’t been 100%. He had a hamstring problem throughout the year, but I told him during that bye week, I told him that this helped you and you look fresh tonight. He looked healthy, and he was a big difference in the football game.”

The Blue Devils (11-0) forced a turnover on downs and wound the clock down on their second-round victory.

After starting the year 0-5, the Eagles finished the season with a 6-6 record. It’s their first loss since Sept. 20.

With a season that very easily could have gotten away from them, Buente credits the seniors for maintaining that fighting spirit.

“They’re everything. Each one of them contributed to their position group and to the locker room,” he said. “When you start 0-5, oh man, you could pack it in real quick and just say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna do this, and we’ll try again next year.’ But they put everybody on their back, and credit to them.”

McDonald will face Monroeville in the Division VII, Region 21 semifinals on Friday.