MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The opening round of the high school football playoffs officially got underway on Friday night with 13 games played around the state. Seven afternoon matchups are set for Saturday and four more games set for Saturday night.
Out of Class AAA on Friday, No. 1 Cabell Midland (11-0) advanced into the quarterfinals with a 55-7 win over No. 16 Princeton (5-6). The Knights finished with three players rushing for over 100 yards as Jacob Hendricks totaled 131 yards, Devin Stapleton added 123 yards and Caperton Humphrey finished with 122 yards in the win.
Cabell Midland’s quarterfinal opponent next week will be No. 9 Brooke as the Bruins (8-3) scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to beat Morgantown (8-3) 27-14. Brooke running back Justin Loughrie scored two rushing touchdowns, while quarterback Koty Hudson threw for 148 yards in the comeback.
“There was never a sense of doubt,” Hudson said. “We all had our heads up and knew that we had been there before at the half. We just wanted to go down and score (to start the second half), come back and win the game.”
Brooke coach Mac McLean and his coaching staff made adjustments at the break, which ultimately helped turn the game.
“Our offensive staff recognized that (Morgantown) was a little weak in the flats and they were having trouble staying with our back out of the flat,” McLean said. “They were leaving Thomas Cole one-on-one and we knew we were going to have to throw the ball and throw a lot of strikes. God bless Koty Hudson – that’s exactly what he did for us.”
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The win sets up another significant challenge for Brooke in the quarterfinals, facing the undefeated top seed.
“We’ve played most of the top 10, so now we’re just going to get it out of the way and play the No. 1 seed,” McLean said. “That’s the playoffs and that’s what we drew. We’re going to get in the film room and start trying to figure out how to slow down that monster.”
No. 2 Point Pleasant (11-0) advanced to its third straight quarterfinal, beating Musselman (6-5) 54-14. The Big Blacks’ Cody Mitchell rushed for over 200 yards and scored seven touchdowns in the win.
“We worked pretty hard for it,” Mitchell said after the win. “I thought Musselman played pretty well and attacked us in a bunch of different ways, but we were ready for it first and our linemen did a great job. Musselman had a couple of big plays tonight, but overall we held them pretty strong. Everyone does their job on defense and we just prevailed.”
Point Pleasant moves on to face No. 7 Huntington (9-2) next week as the Highlanders beat No. 10 George Washington (7-4) 25-7.
“We have to be ready for everybody, but I think that Huntington is a really great team,” Mitchell said. “I have a friend that goes to Huntington, Ryan Gatrell, I worked out with him for a while and he’s a pretty good player. We’re definitely going to have our hands full, for sure.”
Huntington’s Dionne Jackson had a big game in the win over George Washington, returning an interception 75 yards for a touchdown and adding a 42 yard touchdown catch in the first half. The Highlanders held George Washington to just 45 offensive yards at the break and 191 yards for the game.
“Our kids did a nice job of executing the plan,” said Huntington coach Billy Seals. “We felt like we had to play some man coverage against them to not allow NuNu Miller to go off and have a big night (for GW). We seem to go as Dionne (Jackson) goes and he’s done a nice job all year long. We move him around and try to get him plenty of touches – he also has to be one of the best cover corners in the state.”
Huntington has now won four straight games as the Highlanders enter next week’s game at Point Pleasant with a spot in the Class AAA semifinals on the line.
“They’re 11-0 and they’ve been averaging 63-64 points a game on offense,” Seals said. “We’re definitely going to have to play better next week and we’re looking forward to the opportunity. We’re excited about the opportunity to get to play again.”
No. 5 Martinsburg (8-2) defeated No. 12 Greenbrier East (7-4) 47-28 as sophomore quarterback Tyson Bagent had a quick start, throwing for 169 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone.
In Class AA, No. 1 Bridgeport (10-0-1) defeated No. 16 Independence (7-4) 41-7. Indians’ running back Dante Bonamico and quarterback Zack Spurlock both rushed for over 100 yards in the win. Bridgeport lost five fumbles in the first half, but still led 21-0 at the break.
No. 3 Tolsia (10-1) pulled away in the second half for a 28-6 win over No. 14 Liberty Raleigh (7-4). Rebels’ running back Luke Presley totaled 233 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while adding an interception and forced fumble defensively in the win. Presley eclipsed the 3,000 yard mark in his career with Friday’s effort.
No. 4 Fairmont Senior (9-2) took down No. 13 Lincoln (7-4) 28-14 behind Dom Smith’s 204 passing yards and two touchdowns. Polar Bears’ running back Bryson Gilbert added 110 yards on the ground.
Also in Class AA, No. 11 Herbert Hoover (8-3) won a shootout over No. 6 James Monroe (8-3) 55-40.
Out of Class A, No. 3 South Harrison (10-1) dominated No. 14 Valley Wetzel (7-4) 53-12. The Hawks took momentum on the game’s opening kickoff as Freddie Canary took it back for a touchdown. South Harrison, meanwhile, hasn’t given up more than 13 points in any game this season.
“Our defense has been great,” said South Harrison coach Brad Jett. “Right now we’re at 10-1 and for 11 weeks our defense has been great. They’ve done a heck of a job and they’ve done what we’ve asked them to do. Right now, we’re coaching a great group of kids. Our kids rose to the occasion and it was nice to be home for a playoff game.”
The Hawks will face No. 11 St. Marys in the quarterfinals as the Blue Devils (9-2) held on to beat No. 6 Buffalo (10-1) 23-21. St. Marys led 23-7 at the half, and withstood a Buffalo rally in the second half. The Bison scored with 8:22 left in the fourth quarter to tighten the game at 23-21 — the two-point try to tie the game failed as Jaiden Smith intercepted the pass, preserving St. Marys’ lead and ultimate win.
“Our kids played well and played hard,” said St. Marys coach Jodi Mote. “The first half seemed to be our half and the second half seemed to be their half. Our kids are looking forward to moving on to the second round and we happen to go to South Harrison.”
No. 12 Tug Valley (8-3) took down No. 5 Man (8-3) 38-28 – the Hillbillies trailed 22-0 before closing the deficit in the second half, but it was too much to overcome. It was the fourth meeting between the two teams in the last two years.
The other Class A game on Friday night saw No. 4 Moorefield (10-1) beat No. 13 Meadow Bridge (7-4) 42-20. Moorefield’s Wil Schoonover eclipsed the 2,000 rushing yard mark on the year with 169 yards and six touchdowns on 30 carries. Quarterback Shane Myers also added 117 yards on the ground in the win as well.
The full MetroNews scoreboard is posted here.