WINFIELD, W.Va. — Mingo Central quarterback Jeremy Dillon totaled 460 offensive yards and scored eight touchdowns as the defending state champion Miners beat Winfield in a 56-50 shootout.
“I don’t want to say we’re getting used to (shootouts), but we’ve been in some games like that – at least one other this year,” said Mingo Central coach Joey Fields. “But it was fun. Winfield fought and they’ve got a good football team. They exposed us on some things and did a great job. The momentum went back and forth all night.”
Dillon completed 14 of 20 passes for 236 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He added 227 rushing yards and four scores on 24 carries.
Winfield quarterback Andrew Huff threw for 317 yards and six touchdowns in the loss.
The Miners completed their second straight 10-0 regular season and another Cardinal Conference championship with the win, also locking up home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“It’s special,” Fields said. “To go undefeated two years in a row has only been done twice in our county. We’re the 13th team to go undefeated in our county. I told (the kids) that as long as we’re up on that scoreboard, we’ve got to shake it off and we’ve got another big one next week.”
Dillon, the reigning Kennedy Award winner and 2016 MetroNews Player of the Year ends the regular season completing 67.5 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,386 yards, 37 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also tallied 874 rushing yards and 14 more touchdowns on the ground.
Official WVSSAC playoff pairings and seedings will be released on Saturday, with dates and times set on Sunday from Parkersburg.