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By Brad Rosemas
For the Mirror
PORTAGE -- River Valley's running back tandem of Sam Yanits and Gavin Burkhart has proven to be a lethal weapon all season for the Panthers, and the pair showcased themselves again on Friday night.
Yanits and Burkhart combined to rush for 308 yards and five touchdowns while River Valley's defense forced four turnovers as the Panthers defeated Portage 41-6, ending the Mustangs' season.
"You can't turn the ball over against anybody, let alone a good team like River Valley," Portage coach Marty Slanoc said. "We had the ball, had some opportunities to score, but then we'd lose the ball. It's hard to overcome obstacles like that in a game."
Players of the game: The Panthers' two running backs Yanits and Burkhart carried the River Valley offense throughout the contest.
Yanits ran for 171 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries, scoring on runs of 11, 22, 23 and 25 yards. The junior reached 1,000 rushing yards and surpassed the 20-touchdown mark in the game. Burkhart compiled 137 yards and a score, a 48-yard scamper in the second quarter.
River Valley held a 14-0 lead with 9:50 to go in the second quarter after Burkhart's score.
Portage cut the deficit to eight with a 10-yard touchdown run by Issac Willinsky, who led the Portage offense with 101 yards on 17 attempts. After the failed two-point conversion, River Valley led 14-6, but the Mustangs got no closer as the Panthers ran off 27 straight points to close the contest.
Unsung heroes: The River Valley defense recovered three fumbles, intercepted a pass and forced a turnover on downs, helping keep Portage at bay.
The Mustangs were held to just 24 yards of offense and two first downs, one by penalty, in the second half.
Portage also completed 1 of 5 pass attempts for minus-1 yards.
"We were preaching about our defense all week," River Valley coach Jess Houser said. "We needed them to get after it and give us some momentum going into the postseason. They definitely did that with forcing the turnovers and lots of negative yardage plays."
Most vital statistic: River Valley's powerful offense out-gained Portage 344-130, with 330 of the yards coming on the ground.
Yanits: "It was a great game. We knew we had to win to get the chance to have a home playoff game. Our offense really clicked, and I'm glad I was able to do my part."
Notable: Portage closes its 2023 campaign with a 3-7 record, marking the first time the Mustangs have missed out on a District 6 playoff berth and posted a record below .500 since 2011, when the team finished 4-5.
The Mustangs closed the year having dropped seven of their final eight games after a 2-0 start.
"It's a tough way to go out," Slanoc said. "Obviously, we're not accustomed to that. We're disappointed on a lot of levels. We had to say goodbye to a bunch of great seniors tonight. It's hard to be in this spot."
Records: River Valley (8-2), Portage (3-7)
Next week: River Valley will compete in the District 6 Class 2A playoffs, Portage's season has concluded.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
River Valley 7 14 20 0 -- 41
Portage 0 6 0 0 -- 6
First Quarter
RV--Yanits 11 run (Heckathorn kick), 2:40.
Second Quarter
RV--Burkhart 48 run (Heckathorn kick), 9:50.
P--Willinsky 10 run (Conversion run failed), 6:20.
RV-Yanits 22 run (Heckathorn kick), 3:05.
Third Quarter
RV--Yanits 23 run (Heckathorn kick), 6:19.
RV--Yanits 25 run (Kick blocked), 5:00.
RV--Witmer 7 run (Heckathorn kick), 3:19.
TEAM STATISTICS RV P
First downs 12 8
Total yards 344 130
Rushes-yar ds 34-330 36-131
Yards passing 14 -1
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 3-7-1 1-5-1
Points-Avg. 2-36.5 4-30.3
Fumbles-lost 2-0 5-3
Penalties-yards 4-50 4-33
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–River Valley, Yanits 12-171, Woodring 3-13, Burkhart 15-137, Witmer 1-7, Speal 1-4, Ewing 2-(-2). Portage, Slanoc 1-(-9), Nesbella 1-(-2), Layo 2-4, I. Willinsky 17-101, Smithtro 8-23, Kick 1-(-4), Gathers 3-11, Nagy 2-0, N. Willinsky 1-7.
PASSING–River Valley, Woodring 3-7-14-0-1. Portage, Slanoc 1-5-(-1)-0-1.
RECEIVING–River Valley, Speal 2-10, Smith 1-4. Portage, Layo 1-(-1).