Martinsburg, East Hardy look for return to semifinals

By Sean McNamara – Times West Virginian for WVMetroNews.com

We have reached the quarterfinals of the WVSSAC playoffs, and only two eastern panhandle teams remain.

With wins over Morgantown and Williamstown, respectively, the Martinsburg Bulldogs and East Hardy Cougars both earned their spot in the second round, and each are only two wins away from a return trip to Wheeling Island.

The opening round of the postseason was not so kind to the other four Eastern Panhandle teams, who all saw their seasons come to an end.

In Class AAA, No. 14 Spring Mills lost on the road at No. 3 University, 37-7. The homestanding Hawks used 27 unanswered second-half points to defeat the Cardinals. Spring Mills’ lone score in the game came from Mason Williams, who caught a touchdown pass from Trenton Kerns late in the first half.

Martinsburg hosts John Marshall on Friday, while East Hardy hosts Sherman on Saturday.

The fifth-seeded Mussleman Appleman saw their season come to a close with a 28-18 upset loss to No. 12 Cabell Midland. Ivan Vaught rushed for 199 yards while Isaiah Duncan rushed for 146 yards and two scores in the win for the visitors. Cam Medler and Tyler Sine each scored touchdowns in the loss for Musselman, which ends its season 8-3.

No. 8 Hedgesville lost its opening-round matchup, 52-21, at home against No. 9 Hurricane and finished the season 7-4. Nyjere Smith, Aiden Smoot and Jason Plotner all scored touchdowns for the Eagles, but the Redskins’ attack was too much.

In Class AA, the No. 13 Keyser Golden Tornado were outmatched by the No. 4 Fairmont Senior Polar Bears, 34-12. Keyser was outgained 375-158 by FSHS, and only gained 57 yards in the first half. Reginald Riggleman and Caden Biser scored touchdowns for Keyser.

Now, with only 24 teams left playing in all of West Virginia, the Bulldogs and Cougars will each look to keep their seasons going this weekend in the second round.

 

No. 10 John Marshall (8-3) at No. 2 Martinsburg (11-0), 7:30 p.m., Friday

Eleven times this season the Martinsburg Bulldogs have taken the field, and 11 times they’ve come out victorious, most recently by virtue of a 61-0 win over the 15th-seeded Morgantown Mohigans Friday.

With the win, Martinsburg earned its 25th consecutive win and advanced to the Class AAA quarterfinals.

“We’re really proud of our guys,” coach Dave Walker said. “They’ve worked really hard, and it’s paid off for them.”

In the win over Morgantown, the Mohigans provided little resistence to Martinsburg, which scored six times in the first half to build a 47-0 lead and allowed the Bulldogs to rest their starters in the second half.

“Offensively you have to start with Tyson Bagent,” Walker said. “Tyson has really been playing well and throwing the ball well, and he’s definitely got some kids to throw to.”

Bagent played just the first half, completing 11-of-17 passes for 165 yards with three touchdown passes and one touchdown on the ground. On the season, Bagent has 2,453 passing yards with 31 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing just under 70 percent of his throws.

According to Walker, while Bagent may be the catalyst, the Bulldogs win by virtue of a full team effort.

“Our offensive line has done a really nice job, and we’ve got two really good running backs in Dewayne Grantham and Mikey Jackson,” Walker said. “We’re just not a one-man show.”

Grantham had three rushing touchdowns Friday, bringing his total to 17 on the year to go along with 787 yards. Jackson rushed 10 times for 105 yards with a score, giving him 741 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the season.

Now, Martinsburg will host John Marshall, which defeated Parkersburg, 42-35, in the first round.

In the win, which improved John Marshall to 8-3 on the year, the Monarchs led 14-7 at the half and held on for the victory in the end.

The Monarchs were led by Nick Coulter and Charles McCool, who combined to rush for 408 yards.

“I’m sure they’re a really good team,” Walker said. “You don’t just go into Parkersburg and win unless you’re pretty good.

“I’m sure it will be a challenge for us.”

The win was John Marshall’s fourth against an opponent from West Virginia as the Monarchs have played much of their schedule against out-of-state opponents.

Regardless of the lack of common opponents or any other factors, Walker and the Bulldogs know that at this point in the season no victory will come about easily.

“This late in the year there’s only eight teams left, and they’re all pretty good,” Walker said. “You have to just take each day and play each game like it’s the last one, because if you don’t play well it will be the last one.

“If you’re still in it at this point, you’re pretty good, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. It makes it exciting for the fans and the players to go out and play. It’s a special time of the year.”

The winner of the Martinsburg/John Marshall matchup will face the winner of Friday night’s matchup between No. 3 University and No. 6 Capital.

 

No. 9 Sherman (9-2) at No. 1 East Hardy, 1:30 p.m., Saturday

The top-seeded East Hardy Cougars were tested in the opening round of the Class A playoffs, falling behind before rallying to beat No. 16 seed Williamstown, 14-10.

“I thought they were far better than the 16th best team in the state,” East Hardy coach Chad Williams said. “They proved that tonight, there’s no doubt about it.”

An early field goal put Williamstown up, 3-0, in the first quarter, but a touchdown run by Clay Skovron put East Hardy up, 7-3, at halftime.

Williamstown captured the lead back in the third quarter as Donathan Taylor scored on a 4-yard touchdown run.

After several fumbles and missed opportunities, the Cougars went into the fourth quarter trailing, 10-7, and it looked like some key errors by the top-seeded team may lead to an upset.

“We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the game,” Williams said. “We actually had first and goal inside their 5 yard line twice, and just a couple of untimely turnovers (hurt us). … They were opportunistic and they were going after the ball. They played really hard on D, and they ran the ball better on us than anybody has all year.”

The Cougars were able to respond, as the reliable duo of Skovron and receiver Brett Tharpe connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass to pull ahead. The Cougars held on for the win, 14-10.

“There’s a lot of teams where you comes out as the 16 seed and you kind of just go out and go through the motions,” Williams said. “That definitely wasn’t us this week. We’ve got nothing but the highest amount of respect for Williamstown, and they showed us why.”

In the victory, Skovron completed 9-of-18 passes for 193 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with Tharp being the recipient of 117 yards.

On the year, Skovron has 2,453 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. Tharp went over 1,000 yards on the season in the victory. He currently has 1,085 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on the season.

Being tested in the first round was no surprise for Williams, and he thinks it will benefit his team the rest of the way.

“The fact that we had to play four quarters kind of sets the tone the rest of the way,” Williams said. “We did get a little banged up, and that’s going to happen in a game that physical. As long as that doesn’t hurt us in the long run, competition never hurt anybody.”

Now, the Cougars will take on a Sherman team that defeated Madonna, 37-14, in the first round.

The win was just the second of the season over a playoff team for Sherman, but Williams and the Cougars won’t be taking their opponent lightly.

“Any opponent you have, especially after some teams get weeded out in the first round, it’s going to be tough every week,” Williams said. “Sherman, boy, I feel for them. I’ve made that drive before to Boone County. That’s a heck of a trip coming out here. I think they’re looking at about a 5-5 1/2 hour bus.”

The winner of this game will take on the winner of Friday’s game between No. 4 Tug Valley and No. 5 St. Marys.





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