McDonald pulls away to beat Lowellville
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McDONALD -- Lowellville had McDonald on the ropes for a while, but the Blue Devils pulled away in the fourth quarter to top the Rockets for the second time this season, 56-24, in a Divison VII, Region 25, quarterfinal on Friday.
"We just told our kids to relax at halftime and regroup and come out and establish a run and play better defense. That’s what we had to do, and we we did that in the second half with a few turnovers," McDonald coach Dan Williams said. "I think that helped us and got the run game really going. We played with more effort and we executed better (in the second half). It’s plain and simple."
While stopped on its first drive, McDonald got a second chance relatively quickly, with Quinn Schmidt intercepting a Lowellville pass to set them up inside the 10-yard line. One play later, the Blue Devils found points off a run by senior Dom Sampson.
After forcing a three-and-out, McDonald took over offensively near midfield. The Blue Devils struck again, this time off a 26-yard pass to freshman receiver Joey Krumpak.
The Rockets got some momentum stifling McDonald inside the 10 once again, but this time parlayed it into points. Senior quarterback Ricky Willrich connected with Carter Hvisdak on an 82-yard pass.
But the Blue Devils pitched a quick response, with Schmidt punching it in from 5 yards out.
Despite being underdogs, Lowellville wasn’t going away. The Rockets struck again in the passing game, with Willrich finding Anthony Kacir from 17 yards out. Willrich found Kacir again with eight seconds left before halftime to cut McDonald’s lead to 21-18 at the break.
Lowellville’s defense was stout throughout the first half, forcing three McDonald turnover-on-downs in the first 24 minutes.
The defensive success continued after halftime as a fumble recovery quickly led to points for Lowellville. The Rockets earned their first lead of the night with Daniel Huff racing to a 76-yard score to put Lowellville up 24-21.
McDonald retook the lead on the ensuing possession, working its ground game down the field. Preston VanMeter earned the touchdown on a 25-yard rush. That score began a surge for the home team. After stopping Lowellville’s response, the Blue Devils continued their ground-focused approach. Schmidt found the end zone on a quarterback keeper from 5-yards out.
Sampson scored his second of the night on a 16-yard run to put his team up 42-24. A minute later, Sampson did it again, once again on a 16-yard rush to further extending their lead.
The Blue Devils iced the game with just under two minutes left with a 26-yard run from Caleb Gallner.
Lowellville’s 2026 campaign comes to an end with a 6-6 mark.
"Our younger guys got a taste of Week 11 and Week 12, so they understand what it takes. If you want to be as good as the team that we played, it takes a whole offseason, so they’ve got to understand that they got to lift, and that’s what’s going to come down to for next year," Rockets coach Drew McLaughlin said. "Late in the third quarter you’re up 24-21 against the one seed. There’s things to build off going forward, they’ve got to understand that and get ready for next year."
McDonald will look for redemption, squaring off against Springfield, the team that handed the Blue Devils their only loss of the regular season, with a trip to the regional final on the line.
McDonald is eager for the challenge and the opportunity for revenge.
"Not much to say to motivate us," Williams said. "We’re gonna be ready to go. They beat us pretty handily that first game. The score was a little closer than the actual game itself, but we’ll be ready. The kids will practice hard, and prepare, and we’ll be ready for a dog fight."