MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Class AAA No. 1 Martinsburg improved to 3-0 on the young season with a 27-21 win over State College (PA) (1-2) Friday night.
“We did have a lot of mistakes and things we need to fix,” Martinsburg head coach Dave Walker said. “But overall we beat a 4-A PA school that has 2,800 kids in it — and they have a pretty good football team. I’m very pleased with where we’re at right now.”
Martinsburg running back Trey Boyd led the Bulldogs on the ground with 75 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
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“It was a dogfight and we came out on top,” Boyd said. “I just tried to do whatever I could to help the team. We had good play calls and great blocking — it paid off.”
The Bulldogs jumped out on State College early, converting on a couple of Little Lions’ turnovers. After going three and out on its first possession, Martinsburg punted to State College — but the Little Lions fumbled on the return and Martinsburg took over at the State College 25 yard line.
After a Boyd 15 yard run, the senior running back finished the drive off with a one yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs an initial 7-0 lead. Just moments later, though, State College fumbled on its first offensive possession of the game, turning the ball over again to the Bulldogs at their own 49 yardline.
Quarterback Carter Walburn connected with Eric Mitchell for a 45 yard pass on the ensuing drive, while Boyd finished things off with another one yard touchdown run as Martinsburg seemed well in control with that early 14-0 lead with just under 5:00 to go in the first.
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“We were able to jump out on them and have that short field to work with and take advantage of it,” Walker said.
The Little Lions, though, battled throughout and were never completely out of it as senior quarterback Johnny Weakland finished with over 200 yards passing in the loss. He accounted for all three State College touchdowns with passes of 41 and 16 yards, to go along with a one yard touchdown scamper as well.
That 16-yard touchdown pass came with 3:42 to go in the third, tightening the game to 27-21. The Little Lions had a couple of chances to tie or take the lead, but it was Martinsburg’s defense that ultimately won out in the final minutes.
After a bad snap on Martinsburg’s next possession turned the ball over, State College had possession at Martinsburg’s eight yardline in prime position to take its first lead of the game. However, the Bulldogs forced a 4th-and-goal from the 16 as a 33 yard field goal attempt by Kevin Cramer missed for the Little Lions, keeping the score at 27-21.
State College had another chance in the game’s final minutes to get the go-ahead score as the Little Lions drove from their one yard line all the way into Martinsburg territory. A penalty and sack, however, forced a 4th-and-17 from the State College 45 yardline — the ensuing heave down-field was knocked down as the Bulldogs secured the key out-of-state win.
“Those stops were huge,” Walker said. “It builds character and defense is what wins games for you. Even though we did have a few breakdowns on that side of the ball, I think they are things that we can fix. Playing really good and quality teams will make you a better football team.”
Walburn finished 8 of 14 on the night for 91 yards and a touchdown — that score coming off of a 21 yard pass to senior Dylan Brewer. Running back Deamonte Lindsay accounted for the other Martinsburg score, coming from 12 yards out.
“This was a big game for us,” Walburn said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game coming in. It came down to the last minute, just like last year’s game did.”
The win sets up a huge matchup next week for the Bulldogs as they face Tuscarora (VA), a team that defeated Martinsburg 35-34 a season ago.
“We want to get them bad,” Boyd said. “We can’t wait. We’ll work really hard in practice and do what we have to do. Hopefully everything goes as planned, but we want them bad.”
“Tuscarora is a great football team – they beat us last year and have everyone coming back, they only had two seniors on both sides of the ball,” Walker said. “It’ll be a great game and hopefully we can play well. If we can play well, then we’ll see what happens.”