By: Michael Minnich
Exponent Telegram
Two top seeds from the Eastern Panhandle will try and finish the job on Wheeling Island. It’s Super Six weekend.
Class AAA: No. 1 Martinsburg (13-0) vs. No. 2 Spring Valley (12-1), Saturday, 12 p.m.
Martinsburg hasn’t been tested yet in the playoffs, shutting out Hedgesville (69-0), George Washington (34-0), and finally Morgantown (51-0) to get back to the state championship game after a two-year absence following four straight titles from 2010 to 2013.
Mikey Jackson rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns against Morgantown and Tyson Bagent toted for three scores, while Grant Harman, who also had a first-half interception, accounted for the final two touchdowns.
“It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been here. We’re excited. Our community is excited,” said Martinsburg coach Dave Walker with MetroNews. “We’ve been very fortunate to have good support and a good following.”
Spring Valley will play in its first state championship game after edging Capital 20-14 in the semifinals.
The Timberwolves got a goal line stop in the fourth quarter, then drove 99 yards, capped by a 49-yard TD scramble by Derek Johnson, for the win.
“I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be up here. It’s special for our community and our kids,” Spring Valley coach Brad Dingess said. “From the get-go, we had high expectations coming in, but to get here is something. If you’d have told me at the beginning of the year, you’ve got to win the MSAC and beat South Charleston twice and Capital twice, I don’t know if I’d believe you.”
The Bulldogs’ journey started last year, really, when a young team jelled late and pushed to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual state runner-up Capital.
“We played Capital really close, so we knew we had a bunch of kids coming back and they put the time in and they worked hard. We felt like we were going to be pretty good, but you never know,” Walker said.
Obviously, with three zeroes on the playoff scoreboard, the defense has been the story for the Bulldogs.
“Our defense has played really well, and you want them to this time of year,” Walker said. “Fortunately for us, two out of the three teams were ones that we had already played, which makes it a little bit easier for us.”
That’s true of Spring Valley, too.
“Our defense has just been lights-out. You want to talk about an A+ defense, I think we’ve got one. We went on a stretch there where we went 20 quarters with our varsity not giving up a touchdown,” Dingess said. “They still haven’t given up a fourth-quarter touchdown.
“They just showed against Capital there, that fourth-and-inches stand on the goal line to help us get the ball back. They’ve been doing that all year,” he continued. “We’ve got some kids on the back end that can guard people. Normally, we’ve had some kids that give you everything they got, but they struggle. This is the first time since I’ve been here in 2008 that we’ve been able to play some man coverage.
“You have to focus on what you do well and what you’ve done to get where you’re at. We played them back three years ago and I know Brad does a great job,” Walker said. “Their kids are going to play hard and they’ll be well-coached.”
Size is everything for the Timberwolves.
“You can’t teach that,” Dingess said. “We’re big. Real big. We like to eat a lot. But they’re athletic, too. They’re not just big slobs up there.”
The Bulldogs’ keys?
“The same old cliches. Not many turnovers and not many penalties. Try and come up with some big plays,” Walker said. “We’ve got to try and play as mistake-free as we can.”
As for the Timberwolves?
“Score more points than them,” Dingess laughed. “We’ve just got to play fast and play smart. I know there’s going to be some adversity that hits us. Someone’s going to turn the ball over.
“Weather the storm early, get settled in, and just play football. Hopefully at the end of the day, we’ve got the ball one more time than them.
“We’ve told our kids after the game against Capital, nobody expected us to be there,” Dingess said. “We’re not the experienced team. We don’t have the years at the Island. So our kids are going to be loose.”
Class A: No. 1 East Hardy (13-0) vs. No. 2 St. Marys (13-0), Saturday, 7 p.m.
The last two runners-up in Class A, one will finally bring home their school’s first state title and cap an undefeated season.
“It’s been a great year for us. We set the goal to be here when we walked off the field last year after that 62-0 loss. The kids have responded to every challenge that’s been set out there for them,” East Hardy coach Chad Williams said. “Thrilled to be back here.”
“Tremendous respect for Chad and his staff. It’s remarkable what they’ve done over there,” Mote said. “You take two 13-0 teams. We lost two years ago (in the state championship game) in triple overtime. They lost last year by a significant spread. Unfortunately, one of us as a team is not going to be able to pull it off.”
Both teams are perfect despite running a tough gauntlet: East Hardy’s defeated Tyler Consolidated (54-22), Williamstown (20-14), and Pendleton County (48-20), all teams that arguably were better than their seeds, while stingy St. Marys has dispatched Buffalo (49-7), Gilmer County (47-0), and Fayetteville (47-0).
Quarterbacks were the standouts in the semis: Corey McDonald passed for 226 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for two more scores to lead the Cougars, while Will Billeter passed for three touchdowns, all over 30 yards, to finish with 181 yards for the evening.
“I don’t think people realize just how tough some of the teams we see over in our area are. I really thought all year that Pendleton County was severely underrated. I really think beating them twice is our biggest accomplishment,” Williams said. “People don’t realize what’s over there. Pendleton County’s got a heck of a team. Moorefield was down, but that’s very rare for them. And I think people are still kind of sleeping on Petersburg, because they don’t have a whole lot of tradition.”
Obviously, these aren’t one-dimensional teams.
“I feel like they’re an ‘A’ in all three phases. And the same would go with East Hardy. 13-0 doesn’t just happen,” Mote said. “The kids have to play well. And I feel like they’ve done that for both teams.”
“Everyone knows about the offense…Corey McDonald, Phillip Mullin, those guys. I think what you miss on offense is up front and the O-line, where I don’t think we’ve been beaten this year, although I think St. Marys will certainly be the biggest task,” Williams said.
“Defensively, those guys have just been great this year. Three touchdowns to Pendleton County, all three of them came on the same play, and it was just a coverage breakdown,” Williams said. “Other than that, we’ve been great on defense too.”
“Special teams is probably the best we’ve ever been. Brett Tharp is as good of a punt returner as there is. He had two that he ran back inside the 10-yard line (against Pendleton County). Ricky Robinson’s probably a next-level punter. We’ve got a great kickoff man in Nick Miller, PATs, field goal range out to about 45,” Williams said.
Both teams have great leadership.
“Obviously, we’ve got Corey and Brett. The unsung leaders: Austin Whetzel’s probably the vocal leader of our team, middle linebacker/guard. Ricky Robinson and Luke French are two others there. And those guys play on the line both ways, they don’t get a lot of recognition,” Williams said.
“Throughout the whole season, when I’ve talked about kids, I’ve talked about our team and not individual kids because it may be this kid this week, it may be another kid another week. We’re blessed with the kids that we have,” Mote said. “With that said…some guys that have had some big games this season: Jaiden Smith; Braden Barnhart, our fullback and linebacker; Will Billeter, our quarterback and secondary guy; Dylan Gray, our tight end and defensive end; Jacob Northrop, Devin Boley are two senior linemen for us.”
“The team concept was one of the main things that was my focus going into this season,” Mote said.
“I knew we had a lot of individual talent, but if we could come together as a team and forget the stats and just focus on our team, I knew if we stayed healthy and the ball bounced our way, then good things can happen.”
The bottom line is, these are clearly the two best teams in Class A and deserved finalists.
“There’s no doubt about it. For most of the season, I think people have been pointing at us and St. Marys,” Williams said. “I think this is a matchup that a lot of people have seen coming since late September.”
“We know we’re playing a great football team. We’ve got to control what we can control. In a game that’s this evenly matched, hopefully a couple of the lucky breaks go our way,” Williams said.
“There’s no words that can describe it. It really can’t. We’re blessed and honored to have this opportunity,” Mote said. “People tell me to enjoy it, but it’s hard, because you’re prepping to win.”