By Ryan Jones

The Bears slipped past Western Reserve, 40-34, on the game’s final play.

BERLIN CENTER — On a night where Leetonia’s Josh Selway was ubiquitous, he was right where he needed to be with 0:02 seconds remaining of a 34-34 game.

Leetonia’s quarterback sneaked into the end zone behind left guard Jake McNally to give the Bears (7-1) a 40-34 victory over ITCL Tier Two rival Western Reserve (6-2).

“Western Reserve knew what was coming, I think everyone in the stands knew what was coming,” Selway said. “I got behind big Jake McNally [6-foot-4, 295 pounds] and fought to the end zone.

“I’m so proud of my guys up front. They kept blocking for me all night long. No one else complained about not getting the ball tonight. This was a total team effort.”

The 5-foot-11 senior rushed 38 times for 205 yards and three touchdowns, passed for 124 yards and two scores and returned a fumble 47 yards for a touchdown.

Selway said he told Coach Matt Altomare he wanted 35 carries against Western Reserve after only rushing nine times last week.

“He told me he wanted 300 yards if I carried it that much,” Selway said. “I don’t think I got that many yards, but I felt like I could be the leader for our team this week if I had the ball in my hands.”

Trailing 26-13 at the half, Western Reserve scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to pull ahead 27-26.

Shane Ewing, who went 11-of-16 for 212 yards and three scores, connected with wide receiver Justin Lude on scoring strikes of 32 and 21 yards during the third quarter.

Just when the Bears seemed vulnerable, Selway led Leetonia on a 20 play, 80-yard drive that took up the first 9:25 of the fourth period. His 4-yard touchdown plunge and subsequent two-point conversion put Leetonia up 34-27.

The Blue Devils’ potent offense needed only a little more than a minute to respond, and Ewing’s 25 yard touchdown scramble tied the game at 34 with 1:23 remaining.

That’s when the Bears marched 80 yards in the final 1:15 to post the winning score. Selway set up his game winning touchdown on second-and-4 from the 43. He scrambled right and hit Justin Colella for a 38 yard gain to the 5-yard line.

The Bears, who came in ranked seventh in Division VI, Region 21, improved their chances of making the playoffs with the win over the Blue Devils, who came in ranked 12th in Division VI.

“Playoff and ITCL aside, high school football is so fun,” Selway said. “It’s fun to compete against a great team like Western Reserve and a great player like Shane Ewing. I love the stepping onto the field each week and seeing if we deserve to win.”

Western Reserve coach Mike Kopachy said it’s going to be hard for his team to get to the next level if they continue to have defensive breakdowns.

“They couldn’t stop us and we couldn’t stop them,” Kopachy said. “I felt we were going to stop them on the final play of the game, but we didn’t. [Selway’s] a difference maker and a winner. He willed his team to victory. If he doesn’t come up with those two defensive plays in the first half, I think we win the game.”

Selway gave Leetonia a 13-0 first quarter lead when he stripped Western Reserve’s Paul Arditi and returned the fumble 47 yards for a touchdown.

Selway also stripped Western Reserve’s Clayton Hull at the 5-yard line to prevent what would have been a second-quarter touchdown.

Lude led all receivers with six catches for 122 yards and three scores, while Arditi had 58 yards rushing and a touchdown. Ewing rushed 12 times for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Colella led Leetonia with three catches for 105 yards and two scores.