P.J. Pope rushed for 251 yards on 28 carries to lead Wyoming to a 20-12 victory over Blanchester in a Division IV playoff game Friday night at Princeton.

        Wyoming next will play Germantown Valley View. Valley View beat Minford 55-13 Friday.

        Wyoming had beaten Blanchester 36-34 in the regular-season finale in which Pope didn't play. But Friday he was dominant, adding three rushing touchdowns to his impressive totals.

        “P.J. just had a phenomenal game tonight,” Wyoming coach Bernie Barre said. “And don't forget he's playing with a bad shoulder too.”

        Pope had missed more than a game and a half before returning last week. And not only did he star running the ball Friday, Pope played a fantastic game at linebacker too.

        Wyoming allowed only 165 total yards and recovered two Blanchester fumbles — a big defensive improvement after allowing the same team to score 34 points two weeks ago.

        Neither team could get anything going through the air. Blanchester completed just one of eight passes for 9 yards. Wyoming went into halftime just 1-of-6 with three interceptions.

        Leading 7-6 at halftime, Barre had his team run the ball every play in the second half, and Pope runs of 14 and 26 yards gave Wyoming a 20-6 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

        It is surprising success for a team picked to finish as low as fourth in the Cincinnati Hills League.

        “Everybody called this a rebuilding year, but this team has some serious pride,” Pope said. “This team can go as far as we want to as long as we keep believing in ourselves.”

        Blanchester finished 10-2.

        Blanchester ....... 0  6   0  6—12

        Wyoming ....... 0  7  13  0—20

        B—Runyon 24 run (run failed)

        W—Pope 33 run (Kaszubski kick)

        W—Pope 14 run (kick failed)

        W—Pope 26 run (Kaszubski kick)

        B—Lansing 1 run (rush failed)

        Records B 10-2, W 10-2.

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