Licking County Exacts Its Revenge, Ends Muskingum County’s All-Star Winning Ways

ZANESVILLE, OH – For all the build up, expectations, and the hype ahead of the 43rd annual Muskingum County vs. Licking County all-star game, it was about time to get it done between the lines.

Sulsberger Stadium at Zanesville High School was the site for the all-star festivities, as Muskingum County sought its fifth straight win, something that Licking Valley was looking to prevent. Ahead of kickoff, players were certainly raring to go in Zanesville.

“I’m really excited. This is a great opportunity to get better, right before I take off for college” said former Maysville receiver and defensive back Landon Iden, who is committed to play at The College of Wooster in the fall.

“It’s also another opportunity to represent the school I’m playing for in the MVL (Muskingum Valley League). We definitely want to win number five. We don’t want to be the team that loses the streak.”

Unfortunately for Iden and his Muskingum County teammates, that did not come to fruition. As football all-star games tend to do, it started out a defensive-minded game, as Heath’s J.J. Holloway and John Glenn’s Dominic Bates stole the show in the first half, helping keep the game scoreless at halftime. Momentum was hard to come by in a gritty, physical intense bout, at least until the second half began.

Watkins quarterback Drew Samsal led a four-plus minute drive to open the third quarter, capping it off with a touchdown run, only for Muskingum to respond through an acrobatic touchdown grab from former Tri-Valley star, and future Muskingum player Ryan Lamonica.

Licking County was successful on its two-point conversion, while Muskingum County was not, giving us an 8-6 game in the second half.

Though much like the start of the game, defense was pivotal down the stretch. Licking County pinned Muskingum County deep in its own territory, leading to an interception from Holloway, ultimately setting up the second Samsal touchdown, which was the deciding blow. Licking County ended a long four-year drought, defeating Muskingum County, 15-6.

He’s been there, he’s done that, and Tim Ward gets the win again, having been the head coach in 2021 the last time that Licking County won this matchup.

“It was like one that I haven’t seen in a long time” said Ward, who will be the first to admit his defensive mindset, something he preached during practice all week.

He added, “One of the things that we were trying to make sure happen is that we raise the level of physicality. We know that they have beat us for four years in a row, and a lot of that is because they were more physical up front. So we knew we had to raise the physicality, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

With little scoring and offense to go on in the game, Licking County’s most valuable player in the game was Northridge punter Charlie Kinkead, helping control field position all game long. The aforementioned Bates took home the honors for the Muskingum County all-stars after his impressive showing on the defensive side of the ball all game long.