BELOIT — West Branch has become quite the playoff force — especially on its home turf.

The fourth-seeded Warriors raised their all-time home playoff record to 10-2 by ousting once-beaten Norton 35-14 in a Division IV regional quarterfinal playoff game Friday night in Clinton Heacock Stadium.

“We’re just happy to get another (playoff) win,” said West Branch head coach Tim Cooper. “I’m satisfied with the win and happy to get another week with these guys because they’re really a fun group of kids.”

“West Branch is a great football team and we made mistakes and great football teams take advantage of those mistakes,” said Norton head coach Glen Kruger. “I’m not taking anything away from them because they played a great game of football.”

With the win, the Warriors, who have won six consecutive Eastern Buckeye Conference titles, raised their record to 10-1. They have an all-time playoff record of 19-13 with 10 of those wins occurring in Beloit. The only teams that have beaten the Warriors at home in their playoff history are Youngstown Ursuline (38-31) in 2020 and Cleveland Glenville (13-0) last season. Friday’s win also marked the fifth consecutive season the Warriors have finished with at least 10 wins or more.

West Branch was the epitome of playing complementary football against Norton. The Warriors scored on both offense and defense. In addition, their special teams pinned Norton so deep that it began five of its drives at its own 20-yard line and another at its own 16.

“That’s not what we wanted to do, obviously,” stated the Norton head coach of starting drives so deep in its own territory. “Kicks got behind us that shouldn’t have gotten behind us. We had to make our own luck at times and we didn’t do that. That’s a good football team over there that made us pay.”

With the triumph, the Warriors advance to the Division IV, Region 13 semifinals next Friday night at Lake County Perry (9-2) at 7 p.m. Perry moved on Friday with a 26-6 win over NDCL.

Norton, which won the outright Metro Athletic Conference title this fall, bowed out with a 10-2 record. Interestingly, West Branch is 8-0 against Metro Athletic Conference teams in the past six years with wins against Woodridge (five times), Streetsboro (once), Field (once) and Norton (once).

West Branch had a number of standouts on the night, led by Gavin Gregory, the Warriors’ 6-foot-7, 240-pound tight end who turned in an outstanding effort on both sides of the football. The University of Toledo tight end commit caught a 32-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and scooped up a Norton fumble and scored from two yards out on defense in the second quarter.

“I haven’t (scored before on both offense and defense), but there’s a first for everything,” smiled Gregory afterward. “I just felt good all week, it was like surely I’ll have a good game.”

“I told Greg before the season started that we’re going to go as far as you take us, man,” said Cooper. “That potential is being seen by the colleges now. He made a couple plays tonight that were really special.”

West Branch jumped out to a 14-7 lead after one quarter, stretched it to 28-14 at halftime and added an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter.

West Branch’s 6-2 junior quarterback Grady Hirst had another big game. The All-Ohio signal-caller who has already taken collegiate visits to Toledo and Western Michigan this season, completed 10-of-15 passes for 181 yards and an aerial touchdown. He also rushed for 73 yards and a rushing six-pointer.

“He’s a great player and he’s only going to keep getting better,” said Cooper of Hirst. “I thought he played well, he’s a leader and he works really hard.”

Meanwhile, the West Branch coach was thrilled with the Warriors’ defensive effort. West Branch held a dangerous Norton team which was averaging 49.5 points-per-game to 14 points and had two defensive touchdowns on Gregory’s fumble recovery for a touchdown and a 16-yard pick six by Jeremiah Thomas.

“I’ve been trying to tell everyone the last two years that our defense has really changed,” said Cooper. “The culture that we have and the coaches on that side of the ball and what they’ve been able to do over the last couple of years (is impressive). At the end of the day, it’s our kids that have bought into that and believe and give full effort.”

“We all know the pick six and the fumbled snap for a touchdown, those were the difference in the game, but all credit to them,” said Kruger. “That’s a good football team and that’s what good football teams do.”

West Branch wasted little time hitting the scoreboard. On its first drive, the Warriors marched 68 yards to find the end zone when Jeremiah Thomas scored on a three-yard run left out of a Wildcat formation. Gavin Clemens added the PAT boot and the Warriors led 7-0 at the 7:21 mark of the first quarter.

West Branch marched 57 yards to find the end zone on its second offensive possession. Hirst, who had 128 yards passing in the first half, hit Gregory on a crossing pattern and Gregory raced 32 yards to score. Clemens booted the PAT kick and the Warriors led 14-0 at the 4:23 mark of the first quarter.

“It feels good, this is a great team,” said Gregory. “We have great chemistry and I just hope we keep going.”

Norton, led by the power running of senior Marcus Brown who had 63 yards rushing in then first half, scored when Brown crossed the stripe from five yards out, pulling the Panthers within 14-7 following Blake Kaminski’s PAT boot at the 1:59 juncture of the first quarter.

The Warriors’ defense had two gems in the first half. The first occurred when Jeremiah Thomas stepped in front of a Norton pass on the left sideline and returned the pick six 16 yards as the hosts went up 21-7, following the PAT boot by Clemens with 11:14 showing in the second quarter.

Norton closed within a touchdown of West Branch when the Panthers drove the ball 80 yards and scored on Brown’s 23-yard run up the middle. Kaminski added the PAT kick and the Panthers closed to within 21-14 of West Branch with 4:04 left before halftime.

But the Warriors came up with their second defensive gem in the final minute of the first half. With Norton perched deep in its own territory Gregory picked up a Norton fumble and crossed the stripe from two yards out, giving the Warriors a 28-14 lead with 51 seconds showing before the break.

“When he went down the ball popped out and I just kind of grabbed it out of the air,” said Gregory.

West Branch led in total offense at halftime, 196-130, and 358-280 for the game.

After a scoreless third quarter, West Branch iced the game away when Hirst scored from six yards out with 10:55 left in the contest.

Norton had six fumbles on the night, losing two.

“They were physical with us,” said the Norton coach. “Obviously, we’d like to have three or four plays back. Just like any game that’s important in Week 12 and beyond, you can probably go back and look at five to 10 plays that dictate the game.”

Kruger was proud of all his team accomplished this season.

“Don’t be sad that you lost tonight, be sad that it’s over,” Kruger told his Panthers afterward. “You have nothing to be ashamed of because it was a great season and one of three teams in Norton history to win 10 games — just a great ride and I’m real proud of them.”

“They (the Panthers) have some terrific players and they’re well coached and fundamentally sound,” said Cooper. “We knew it was going to be a physical game and our kids responded like they always do.”

West Branch will now prepare for a regional semifinal at Perry next Friday. The Warriors have met Perry once before in the playoffs and beat the Pirates 26-19 in the 2021 season.

“They (the Pirates) have got some special kids up there and they’re super physical,” stated Cooper. “They play Kirtland every year for a reason and they get tested that way. We’ve got a lot of respect for them, but we’re excited to compete as well.”

Game notes

• According to fourseasonsfootball.com, West Branch has an all-time football record of 426-256-6 (a winning percentage of .624), which is the second best winning percentage for a public school in Mahoning County history. Only South Range at 449-165-4 has a better winning percentage at .730.

• Friday marked the first-ever meeting between West Branch and Norton in football.

• Gregory recently got an offer by the University of North Carolina and coach Bill Belichick. Gregory took an official visit to Chapel Hill on Oct. 25.

NO: 7- 7-0-0–14

WB: 14-14-0-7–35

SCORING

WB — Jeremiah Thomas, 3 run, 7:21 1st (Gavin Clemens kick)

WB — Gavin Gregory, 32 pass from Grady Hirst, 4:33 1st (Gavin Clemens kick)

NOR — Marcus Brown, 5 run, 1:59 1st (Blake Kaminski kick)

NOR– Marcus Brown, 23 run (Blake Kaminski kick)

WB — Jeremiah Thomas, 16 interception return, 11:14 2nd (Gavin Clemens kick)

WB — Gavin Gregory, 2 fumble return, :51 2nd (Gavin Clemens kick)

WB — Grady Hirst, 6 run, 10:55 4th (Gavin Clemens kick)

NOR WB

First downs 17 24

Total yards 280 358

Rushes-yards 38-164 30-177

Passing 125 181

Comp-Att-Int 10-17-1 10-15-1

Penalties-Yards 5-30 3-30

Fumbles-lost 6-2 0-0

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING — Norton, Jason Beverly, 4-10, Marcus Brown, 13-82, Trey Kersten, 12-24, Buddy Willig, 6-44; West Branch, Grady Hirst, 13-73, Gavin Marshall, 4-9, Damon Edwards, 4-27, Jeremiah Thomas, 9-65.,

PASSING — Norton, Trey Kersten, 10-17-125-0-1; West Branch, Grady Hirst, 10-16-181-1-1.

RECEIVING — Norton, Buddy Willig, 5-55, Brown, 4-54, Alex Meinen, 1-4 ; West Branch, Gavin Gregory, 2-57, Jeremiah Thomas, 4-40, Drake Stryffeler, 3-34, Lukas Black, 1-10, Jake Weingart, 1-40.