Waterford’s Kameron Johnson (23) returns a punt with Danville’s Aidan Mickley (11) and Ashton Spaulding (15) in pursuit. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WATERFORD – Waterford learned first-hand why its portion of the Ohio Division VII regional bracket was turning out to be anything but chalk.

For the third straight week, No. 11 Danville defeated a higher seed after holding off No. 2 Waterford 19-14 in a regional semifinal on Friday night.

While the Blue Devils rode the shoulders of the offense in their first two wins, defense is what made the difference as Waterford’s passing game was picked off three times. The Wildcats also fumbled twice for a total of five turnovers.

“Danville was strong up front,” Waterford coach Eric McCutcheon said after his program closed out the season at 9-3. “They were mixing it up, coming off the edge a little bit. It was kind of confusing our guys a little bit. But for the most part, it was evenly matched in the trenches tonight.”

Waterford also rose to the occasion defensively and limited a Danville team averaging 57 points in the postseason to just 187 yards of total offense. The difference came down to taking care of the football – the third and most critical touchdown for the Blue Devils was set up on a bad snap to the punter which left the ball sitting at the 2-yard line and Waterford trailing 12-7 with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

Waterford’s Maddox Antill (31) and teammate Tylor McDougal (65) combine on the tackle of Danville receiver Wesley Payne during Friday’s Ohio Division VII regional semifinal. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Danville needed just one play to punch the ball in the end zone as Nolan Ridgeway’s TD at the 4:50 mark increased the gap to 19-7.

One minute later, Waterford was right back in the thick of things as Wildcat quarterback Avery Pottmeyer completed four straight passes in as many attempts for 54 yards to complete a scoring drive capped by Trevin Zimmer’s 5-yard reception with 3:50 showing.

Down 19-14, Danville began the ensuing drive at its own 21 and managed one first down before Waterford forced the Blue Devils to punt. Waterford used all three timeouts in the process and still had 1:09 to work while taking over at its own 32.

Pottmeyer connected with Hayden Jones for a 16-yard completion on first down and had to leave the pocket on the following play for a 1-yard gain.

After spiking the ball and still 51 yards from the end zone with 39 seconds on the clock, Pottmeyer threw deep near the red zone into heavy coverage. With multiple Blue Devils defenders in the vicinity and only one green jersey to be found, the pass was intercepted by Danville’s Wesley Payne.

Waterford’s Hayden Jones gets wrapped up by a Danville defender during Friday’s Ohio Division VII regional semifinal. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

The Blue Devils (8-5) went into victory formation and took one knee to secure the program’s fourth straight regional final appearance.

“I knew Waterford wouldn’t back down – I knew they wouldn’t quit,” Danville coach Matt Blum said. “To be honest, we are probably going to see them again next year in the playoffs with how young of a roster they have and how young of a roster we have.

The Blue Devils’ senior class of seven players have played in 57 games.

“We’ve been able to make things happen in the back half of the season,” Blum continued. “We got our guys in the right spots and they finally started getting some confidence.”

With two stingy defenses on the field from the outset, Waterford and Danville nearly played a scoreless first half. Waterford broke through on a one-play drive as Pottmeyer hit Brayden Smith in stride along the sideline for a 26-yard TD completion at the 2:50 mark of the first quarter.

Waterford’s Ryker Hutchins (64) talks with a Waterford assistant coach on the sidelines during Friday’s Ohio Division VII regional semifinal. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Staring at 7-0 deficit, Danville answered in meticulous fashion – covering 65 yards in nine plays. With 26 seconds remaining before halftime, freshman quarterback Parker Proper rolled to his left and found Aidan Mickley for a 34-yard TD completion.

The two-point attempt failed. At halftime, Waterford led 7-6.

Danville, however, was able to pull off a 2-for-1 after taking the opening drive of the second half 66 yards in nine plays. Three straight carries for Proper inside the Waterford 5 finally ended with a 1-yard TD dive and a 12-7 Blue Devil lead.

Proper threw for just 66 yards on 8-of-17 passing, but did not throw an interception. He led the team in rushing with 65 yards on 19 carries.

“We left some passes out there – there were some incompletions I thought we had down the field,” Blum said. “We could have had some big game-breakers, but for a freshman he had a heck of a game.”

Waterford coach Eric McCutcheon surveys the action on the field during Friday’s Ohio Division VII regional semifinal (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

For Waterford, Hayden Jones rushed for a team-high 72 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 12 yards. The junior also completed a halfback pass for 24 yards. Pottmeyer, also a junior, completed 10-of-17 passes for 105 yards.

“We used our timeouts extremely well there at the end which gave us plenty of time for our offense to go down and score,” McCutcheon said. “It just wasn’t meant to be, but I am super proud of our effort.”

Waterford graduates just five members from this year’s roster.

“We are going to miss the seniors, for sure – they have contributed so much this year,” McCutcheon said. “From where we were, we weren’t exactly sure what we were going to have. We knew we had to have the young guys step up. We’ll keep tweaking with them and keep getting better because we are so excited for next year as well.

“All the fans should be proud of how they all fought tonight.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com