LOGAN — Matthew Blum couldn’t find the words, but the tears in his eyes spoke volumes.
Playing in the regional championship game for a third straight year, Blum’s Danville Blue Devils finally broke down the door in a resounding 40-6 win over Beaver Eastern on a cold and rainy Friday night at Chieftain Stadium.
The victory sends Danville into the state semifinals for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2017. The Blue Devils (12-2) will play Hillsdale in an all-north central Ohio showdown next Friday at a site to be determined.
Danville lost in the regional final each of the past two years. The heartbreak of those setbacks was replaced Friday by emotions Blum had a hard time verbalizing.
“Words can’t describe this,” an emotional Blum said, his voice cracking. “There was a lot of sacrifice that went into this.
“I’m just really proud of our kids. All the credit goes to them and our assistant coaches and to this amazing community. I’m just glad they get to experience this.”
The top-seeded Blue Devils flexed their muscles early against the second-seeded Eagles. Eastern went three-and-out on its opening possession and, after just a 7-yard punt, Danville set up shop at the Eagles’ 33-yard line.
On Danville’s first offensive play, speedy freshman Cyren Wallace took a handoff around the left end and raced virtually untouched into the end zone. Wallace added the two-point conversion run and the Blue Devils led 8-0 with 10:15 remaining in the first quarter.
Danville scored on its next two possessions on touchdown runs of 4 yards by Aidan Burke and 6 yards by quarterback Jacob Hackman to open a 22-0 lead after the first quarter.
Eastern scored its only points of the night when defensive back Carson Peters corralled a tipped pass and raced 92 yards for a touchdown to make it 22-6 midway through the second period.
But the Blue Devils responded just before halftime as Hackman scored on a 1-yard keeper to make it 28-6 at intermission.
Burke scored on a 4-yard run midway through the third quarter and triggered the running clock with an 11-yard TD on the first play of the fourth period. The 5-foot-9, 220-pound wrecking ball rumbled for 146 yards and three scores on 22 carries.
“There are no words to describe this moment. It feels great,” said Burke, who pushed his season rushing total to 1,551 yards. “We fed off those previous (regional final) losses to get to where we are today.
“We proved that we can win these big games.”
Danville piled up 337 rushing yards on 52 carries. Meanwhile, the defense limited Eastern to 7 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
“This means everything,” said defensive end Caleb Lucas, who set the program record for tackles for loss this fall. “To experience the pain of losing two regional championship games and come all the way back to where we are today, It’s hard to explain.”
Those losses made Friday night that much sweeter.
“That just added fuel to this fire,” Blum said. “To play in three straight regional finals and, now to get to go to the Final Four, it’s special.
“I’ve always said if I had one goal, it’s to get to the Final Four. It’s a surreal moment.”