MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The West Virginia Class AA state championship matchup is set between No. 1 Wayne (13-0) and No. 2 Bridgeport (12-1) after both teams enjoyed comfortable wins Friday night.
The top-seeded Pioneers made quick work of No. 13 Robert C. Byrd 44-20, and Bridgeport pulled away from third-seeded Bluefield 42-21 during semifinal games played Friday night.
In a Class A semifinal, No. 1 Madonna ousted No. 4 Williamstown 42-28. Three more semifinal games are set for Saturday.
Wayne jumped out to a 44-point halftime lead against Byrd (9-4) as quarterback Grant Ferguson returned after missing a couple of games with an injury. He finished 9-of-17 through the air for 250 yards and two touchdowns in first-half action.
“For him to come back and be able to make plays in space like that with a bad wheel helped our football team,” said Wayne coach Tom Harmon. “Anytime you have all of your pieces, you’re going to be better.”
The Pioneers put up 428 yards in the first half alone.
“I thought us being able to come out early on and establish the line of scrimmage made all the difference in the world,” Harmon said. “When you can establish yourself upfront like that, everything else just falls in line.”
The win was the 36th straight for Wayne, tying Ansted for the most consecutive wins in state history. A win over Bridgeport next week would give the Pioneers the record all to themselves.
“We know it will be a physical ballgame and they will bring their best effort,” Harmon said. “We know their community will be excited, but ours will be too. That’s why we play the game.”
Bridgeport pulled away from Bluefield in the second half for a 42-21 win. Bridgeport quarterback A.C. Caldera led the Indians with 150 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. Running back Anthony Bonamico added 107 yards and two scores.
“Anthony continues to put up impressive numbers and they both do it in stride,” said Bridgeport coach Josh Nicewarner. “They’re a good one-two punch. We need to lean on A.C. a little bit, like he did for us tonight, and like Anthony has before. Both of those guys, though, will be the first to admit the guys up front were just remarkable tonight.”
It will be Bridgeport’s first trip to the state championship game since 2001.
In Class A, Williamstown tied the game at 21-all in the third, only to see Madonna’s Will Bowser return the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown. That was part of 21 straight points for the Blue Dons.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Madonna coach Doug Taylor said. “They gave us a little bit of trouble, but we were able to win the turnover battle and get a couple of quick scores in the second half. We were able to play our game after that.”
You can view the complete MetroNews Football Scoreboard here.