Wheelersburg scored early and just never really stopped in a 68-14 victory over Portsmouth on Friday in Portsmouth.

The Pirates’ offensive success was in part due to seven names that don't appear in the box score according to Wheelersburg coach Rob Woodward.

Woodward said it was the offensive line of Joey Reinhardt, Jeb Conkey, Zach Frowine, Chris Prater, Danny Hudgel and the help of tight ends Nick Kemper and Drew Parsley that allowed the Pirates to run for 445 yards.

"They did a tremendous job opening up holes and Brandon Schankweiler commented on that and he talked to them," Woodward said. "He had a tremendous game running tonight but he said 'Coach I couldn't have done any of that without those offensive linemen opening those holes.'"

Schankweiler was the games lead rusher, carrying 12 times for four scores and197 yards — 194 of which came in the first half. Schankweiler also returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score.

"He doesn't light up the stopwatch the way some others individuals do but his football speed doesn't slow down," Woodward said of his top rusher. "If you put 20 pounds of pads on him he doesn't slow down a bit. He's deceptive with his running speed and does a tremendous job."

It was Wheelersburg's Tyler Lang that scored the first touchdown of the game on a 34-yard run before the teams traded possessions. Lang ran for 129 yards in the contest and Tyler Craigmiles ran for 70 yards with a touchdown.

Portsmouth scored its first touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Josh Myers to Kyle Simpson, tying the game at seven early on.

After Schankweiler’s 56-yard run on Wheelersburg's next possession, the Pirates led the rest of the way.

"We played a pretty good first quarter," Portsmouth coach Curt Clifford said. "Their backs are big, strong fast kids. They don't go down on one hit. We knew going in that we were going to have to play a very very good game to win it. We thought they were a little better than us. We didn't think they were 68-14 better than us."

Portsmouth tried to regain the momentum once more in the third quarter on another touchdown pass from Myers to Simpson but Schankweiler ran the ensuing kickoff back for the score.

Late in the game both teams were able to get some playing time for their backups and other less utilized players with C.J Adkins, Brett Hood and Zaide Whitley all picking up touchdowns for the Pirates.

Despite the final margin, the loss only drops Portsmouth to 2-1, and Clifford said a successful season is still very much in reach.

"Our guys don't put a premium on the mental discipline side of the football game... The mental discipline is the single most important factor in a successful football team," Clifford said. "We didn't respond very well. These guys got to do some soul searching. They need to decide if they want to do it the right way. If they do, I still think we can have a successful season."

Next week the Trojans host Jackson while Wheelersburg will host Villa Angela-St Joseph.

JOHN STEGEMAN can be reached at jstegeman02@hotmail.com

Wheelersburg 14 27 14 13 — 68

Portsmouth 7 0 7 0 — 14

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

W — Lang 34 run (Leach kick) 7:44

P — Simpson 9 pass from Myers (Newton kick) 1:43

W — Schankweiler 44 run (Leach kick), 1:09

Second Quarter

W — Schankweiler 28 run (kick failed) 10:36

W — Schankweiler 15 run (Schankweiler run) 6:10

W — Craigmiles 10 run (Leach kick) 2:56

W — Schankweiler 30 run (kick failed) 1:55

Third Quarter

W — Adkins 2 run (Leach kick) 8:25

P — Simpson 36 pass from Myers (Newton kick) 1:57

W — Schankweiler 80 yard kickoff return (Lewis kick) 1:45

Fourth Quarter

W — Whitley 1 run (Lewis kick) 1:45

W — Hood 4 run (run failed) 1:14

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Wheelersburg; Schankweiler 12-197, Adkins 2-2, Craigmiles 7-70, Lang 9-129, Silvey 1-1, Graf 4-11, Hood 5-21, Hall 1-5, Whitley 2-5, Workman 3-5. Totals 44-445: Portsmouth; Myers 3-3, Jackson 12-51, Royster 2-5 Kennedy 4-9, Collins 4-1, Cosby 1-1. Totals 25-67.

PASSING — Wheelersburg; Lang 3-8-0 41; Whitley 1-1-0 9: Portsmouth 7-22-1 131

RECEIVING — Wheelersburg; Craigmiles 3-41, Shears 1-9: Portsmouth; Simpson 6-119, Malone 1-11.

Record — Wheelersburg 2-1; Portsmouth 2-1