John Glenn and Licking Valley to battle in regional semi-final

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – When Licking Valley meets John Glenn in the regional semi-final on Friday you’ll have two head coaches at very different points in their careers.

For John Glenn’s Matt Edwards this is all new. He’s in his third year as the Little Muskies head coach and is coaching in the playoffs as a head coach for the first time. On the other side is Licking Valley’s Randy Baughman. He’s been in charge of the Panther football team since the early 80s and this is his 17th time in the post season.

The Little Muskies finished the regular season 8-2 and we’re runners up in the MVL. They opened the post season with an easy road win over Bloom-Carroll 48-21. The JG defense has been what they hang their hat on this year, giving up about 10 points per game through out the regular season.

Coach Baughman admitted this is probably the most talented defense that the Panthers have faced all year.

“They are really big up front and nobody has really been able to run the ball inside on them. On that side of the ball you just have to mix it up and keep them guessing. They show you a lot of different looks and they have good speed to the ball. We’re excited for it. It’s going to be a great challenge on both side. This is what high school football is all about,” said Baughman.

After a 4-6 season in 2016, the Panthers went undefeated in the regular season and finished ranked 10th the final AP poll. Their offense has only been held under 33 points in a game once this year. They opened post season play with a shutout win, their first of the season, against Unioto.

The Panther’s offense has a great backfield made up of quarterback Jake Lewis and running back Connor McLaughlin.

“They (Lewis and McLaughlin) are maybe the best one-two punch we’ve faced all year. McLaughlin is a fast and physical runner and their quarterback can throw it and run it. They do a good job of making sure you don’t cheat them either because if you start to pack the box they’ve got some speed kid on the edges. It’s a dynamic offense,” said Edwards.

Friday’s game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. from Sulsberger Stadium. You can listen to live play-by-play on Z92 Radio.