Warren's Reme Fairbanks maneuvers with the ball between Gallia Academy's Easton Staats (11) and Ashton Neill (20) during the Warriors' 1-0 Division III district semifinal loss on Tuesday at Logan's Chieftain Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

LOGAN — Warren kept knocking on the door, but Gallia Academy keeper Maddux Delaney registered a shutout here Tuesday as the Blue Devils edged the Warriors 1-0 in a Division III district semifinal at Chieftain Stadium.

Following a foul just outside the box the Blue Devils of head coach Cory Camden, who tied with the Warriors 1-1 back on Aug. 23 in Gallipolis, had a prime opportunity to dent the scoreboard.

With just 10 seconds left in the 30th minute, Logen Drummond took the free kick and blistered a shot that went inside the right post for what proved to be the match winner.

“Against Fairland this year they had a little gap in the wall and I exploited that, and they did too. I found the gap and put it in the back of the net,” Drummond admitted of his 10th tally of the campaign.

Coach Camden knew it was going to be a tough task on Tuesday, but his squad kept their season alive and improved to 16-2-1.

Warren's Zack Holman and Gallia Academy's Beckett Camden go after the ball during the Warriors' 1-0 Division III district semifinal loss on Tuesday at Logan's Chieftain Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“Just seeing them play here lately they’ve been playing with four really deep center backs holding the ball and trying to possess and we really wanted to disrupt that, and I’m not going to lie to you, try to make it a little sloppy,” coach Camden said. “I thought we really kept the ball on our side, especially the first half.

“In the second half they started opening us up a little bit and they started finding the gaps. They are well coached, great kids and understand the game very well. The wall had a crack in it and then when they jumped the crack opened up and he put it right between.”

Beckett Camden, who entered the fray with team-highs of 28 goals and 14 assists, was denied by Warrior keeper Jonah Hollis in the 12th minute. Hollis also made a save on a header attempt by Colton Reed in the 71st.

“A poor start in the first half giving away such a bad goal. It never should be getting through the wall and then still struggling not to keep the ball,” admitted WHS second-year boss Ben Atkinson. “Same thing against Athens. We let them kind of dominate us and we weren’t keeping the ball. We weren’t composed and then once we finally do we’re playing down.

“You miss your chances, multiple, over and over and over. Some teams get fortunate. Some teams get unlucky. At the end of the day you start slow and you don’t compete the entire game, you can’t really say you deserve to be there. The most disappointing part is we should be dominating and competing from start to finish, not from second half to finish like we did against Athens.”

Warren's Ashton Barrow pursues Gallia Academy's Beckett Camden during the Warriors' 1-0 Division III district semifinal loss on Tuesday at Logan's Chieftain Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Delaney had a leaping save with two minutes left in the opening half to deny Warrior Ian Gardner his eighth goal of the season. The Blue Devil keeper also stopped a laser off the foot of Zack Holman in the 66th minute and another one from Gardner in the 78th.

The Warriors had trouble mounting a consistent attack in the opening 40 minutes. Liam Grosselin got the ball to Kyle Anthony in the 11th minute, which led to a shot by Reme Fairbanks, but he couldn’t put it on frame.

Warren had a 35-yard free kick in the 24th minute by Jackson Perdue, but it sailed high.

In the 52nd, Warrior Shawn Adams had the ball in the box, but got sealed off by Drummond and Luke Sisson. Perdue tried a shot from near the end line a minute later, but Delaney dove out to grab it. Although he bobbled it initially, there was no other Warrior close enough to attempt a shot.

At the end of the 57th, Fairbanks got the ball to Grosselin in the box, but his shot was wide right.

Warren keeper Jonah Hollis makes a save during the Warriors' 1-0 Division III district semifinal loss to Gallia Academy on Tuesday at Logan's Chieftain Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Perdue had a decent look in the 62nd not far out of the box, but was unable to put in on frame. The theme continued in the 65th when Perdue made a pass to Anthony deep in the box, but his touch went high and it was the same at the end of the 70th when Ashton Barrow’s 26-yard free kick went wide right.

In a match where both teams had five corner kick chances, the Warriors had two late, but failed to score. Barrow’s attempt in the 71st was cleared by Blue Devil Jaxon Myers. WHS also had a chance to tie it in the 76th, but Grosselin’s attempt was off the mark.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the seniors,” added coach Atkinson, whose club finished 11-5-2. “A lot of them have dealt with injuries, dealt with adversity. We just hope we can give them the soccer experience that some players are robbed of. I hope they enjoyed it. I’m sure they did. I’m sure this one stings. It stings for me, but they are the start of something new.

“Hopefully, that’s the goal right? To be the start of a winning program, not a program that only wins six games every year like the two years before. Two seasons, both seasons with 10-plus wins, minimal losses, barely any goals conceded, but it still sucks because we should have more to show for it.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Gallia Academy's Owen Nourse shields Warren's Gabe Gandee from the ball while teammate Logen Drummond looks on. Drummond scored the only goal of the match on a free kick in the 30th minute to lift the Blue Devils to a 1-0 victory in Tuesday's Division III district semifinal at Logan's Chieftain Stadium. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)