By Jon Moffett

Penalties and turnovers plagued the Vikings in the regional quarterfinal.

MASSILLON — Turnovers and penalties were the difference in Friday’s Division IV playoff game between LaBrae and Tuslaw.

Tuslaw was penalized only three times for 20 yards and held onto the ball, with the exception of one fumble in their 28-0 victory.

LaBrae committed 10 penalties for 60 yards and turned the ball over five times.

“We had a lot of mistakes, but that’s not what beat us,” said coach Bill Bohren of LaBrae. “They were just a more physical team and executed better than we did. They were the better team by far.”

The Vikings turned over the ball three times in the first half. A fumble by running back Cameron Truss gave the Mustangs the ball at LaBrae’s 36-yard line, which led to a touchdown. Tuslaw quarterback Shelby Combs rushed for the score from 1 yard out.

The Mustangs’ next score came on a 19-yard pass from Combs to Graydon Fletcher to put them ahead by 14 at the half.

Combs ran for a second score in the third quarter and finished with 57 yards rushing on 16 carries.

“The were more physical, and they made a lot more big plays,” Bohren said. “They were the better team and they just outplayed us tonight. They’re a fine football team.”

LaBrae (9-2) limited running back Jake Kobilarcsik to only 14 yards on eight carries. However, teammate Mason Miller finished with 102 yards on eight carries and scored on a 48-yard run in the third to spell the end for LaBrae.

“They came off the ball against us hard,” Bohren said. “I was impressed with both sides of the ball for Tuslaw. They have a good offense and a good defense.”

The Mustangs defense frustrated LaBrae and kept the Vikings out of the end zone. Quarterback Jordan Miller completed four of his six passes for 58 yards with an interception. Truss led the offense with 98 yards on 14 carries, but the Vikings were unable to make the most of their opportunities.

Early in the fourth quarter, Miller fumbled the ball in the red zone, giving Tuslaw the ball on their own 11. Miller was sacked four times in the game.

The Vikings offense was put in many situations where down and distance worked against their game plan of running the ball, said Bohren.

“They took control of the game,” Bohren said. “They had us in situations where our running game wasn’t going to help us at all.”

Tuslaw (10-1) coach Nathan Held said the field position gave his team a clear advantage.

“Any time you can get an advantage of down and distance with a running team it makes it a little more difficult for them,” Held said.

“Tonight our defense did a good job of adjusting to couple of things they were doing and were able to know their assignments and get to the ball,” he said. “That’s something we stressed all year. When you look at who was making the tackles, it was more than just one guy.”

The Vikings ended their season on a sour note after having won nine consecutive games to reach the postseason.

Combs completed seven of his 16 attempts for 88 yards and a touchdown.

“Our defense did a great job of creating turnovers, and our offense did a great job of responding and moving the ball down the field,” Held said.

jmoffett@vindy.com