BARNESVILLE — The Wheelersburg ground attack had a heyday during Friday’s trip to Belmont County.

On 53 carries, the visiting Pirates (9-3) tallied 416 rushing yards — en route to a 55-31 victory over Barnesville (11-1) in the Division V, Region 19 playoffs.

Senior running back Derrick Lattimore finished with game-highs in the backfield, totaling 236 yards on 19 touches and finding the end zone three times.

Lattimore broke free in the fourth quarter to help solidify their road win — posting scoring carries of 20 and 53 yards to extend their lead to 10 (41-31) and later 17 (48-31) points.

With Wheelersburg trailing 14-7 late in the opening quarter, Lattimore landed an initial 20-yard scoring run — as the 14-14 tie was the second of two.

The Pirates punted just one time and dominated time of possession — 29:52 to 18:08 — in their 24-point win.

After trailing 24-21 at halftime, ‘Burg went on to outscore the Shamrocks 34-7 in the second half.

Wheelersburg forced three turnovers — including two interceptions by sophomore Xander Mowery.

Senior quarterback Eli Jones threw two go-ahead touchdown passes in the win — one for 29 yards to Creed Warren in the second quarter, and later a 14-yard pass to Caleb Arthur in the third.

Jones completed half of his eight passes for 81 yards.

Arthur (43 yards) and Warren (38 yards) caught two passes apiece.

Junior Landon Hutchinson scored two touchdowns, while senior Ethan Glover found the end zone for the game’s final score — with 3:04 to play and on a 14-yard run.

Connor Estep added another 7-of-7 on extra-point kicks, keeping him a perfect 56-for-56 for the season.

Glover (10 carries, 80 yards), Jones (eight carries, 50 yards) and Warren (six carries, 31 yards) all went for at least six carries and 31 yards apiece.

With the win, the Pirates are back in the Division V, Region 19 semifinals where they’ll face a familiar opponent — the Harvest Prep Warriors (12-0).

Harvest Prep defeated Wheelersburg 20-17 in last year’s regional championship game.

This year, the two will face off a round earlier — with a spot in the regional final on the line.

Kickoff between the Pirates and Warriors is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11 at Nelsonville-York High School’s Boston Field.

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BOX SCORE

Wheelersburg 7 14 13 21 — 55

Barnesville 14 10 7 0 — 31

Scoring plays

W — Landon Hutchinson, 3-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 8:04 1Q 7-0 W

B — Hannahs, 42-yard run (Lough PAT good); 7:45 1Q 7-7

B — Starr, 36-yard pass from Casey Carpenter (Lough PAT good); 2:30 1Q 14-7 B

W — Derrick Lattimore, 20-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 11:00 2Q 14-14

B — Lough, 21-yard field goal; 7:02 2Q 17-14 B

W — Creed Warren, 29-yard pass from Eli Jones (Connor Estep PAT good); 6:30 2Q 21-17 W

B — Hannahs, 1-yard run (Lough PAT good); 9:00 3Q 24-21 B

W — Caleb Arthur, 14-yard pass from Eli Jones (Connor Estep PAT good); 9:00 3Q 28-24 W

W — Landon Hutchinson, 1-yard run (run failed); 7:00 3Q 34-24 W

B — Hannahs, 1-yard run (Lough PAT good); 1:52 3Q 34-31 W

W — Derrick Lattimore, 20-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 11:00 4Q 41-31 W

W — Derrick Lattimore, 53-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 8:18 4Q 48-31 W

W — Ethan Glover, 14-yard run (Connor Estep PAT good); 3:04 4Q 55-31 W

Team Stats	Wheelersburg	Barnesville
Yards (Pass-Rush)	497 (81-416)	378 (213-165)
Plays	61	59
First Downs	23	19
Turnovers	1	3
Penalties	4 for 45 yards	3 for 25 yards
Time of Possession	29:52	18:08

Individual Stats

Passing — Eli Jones (W) 4/6 81 yards, 2TD, INT; Hannahs (B) 17/26 177 yards 2INT, Carpenter (B) 1/1 36 yards TD

Rushing — Derrick Lattimore (W) 19-236 3TD, Ethan Glover (W) 10-80 TD, Eli Jones (W) 8-50, Creed Warren (W) 6-31, Eric Lattimore (W) 4-18, Landon Hutchinson (W) 3-2 2TD, Jake Darling (W) 1-3, Team 2-(-4); Hannahs (B) 21-126 3TD, Starr (B) 9-33, Alamaraz (B) 2-6

Receiving — Caleb Arthur (W) 2-43 TD, Creed Warren (W) 2-38 TD; Detling (B) 7-87, Castello (B) 3-52, Starr (B) 5-45, Wise (B) 1-19, McIntire (B) 1-9, Almaraz (B) 1-1

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