By: Fred Persinger II
No. 6 (AA) James Monroe (10-1) at No. 3 (AA) Point Pleasant (11-0)
In the first round of the Class AA playoffs last week, James Monroe defeated Winfield 38-28 as quarterback Evan Beasley had a big game.
The senior rushed for 138 yards and two scores, threw for 148 yards and two more scores, kicked three extra points and added a two point conversion.
“We weren’t going to let it happen again – we weren’t going to get beat (in the opening round of the playoffs) again,” Beasley said. “That had been our No. 1 goal from our whole team and our seniors. We knew we had something special this year and we just wanted to keep it going.”
Listen: James Monroe QB Evan Beasley on the MetroNews High School Sportsline
James Monroe looked to put the game away in the first half, up 31-7, but Winfield came back to score 21 straight points, cutting the lead down to just three, 31-28 with four minutes left in the game.
A late touchdown, though, sealed the opening round win for the Mavericks.
“We came out and played great in the first half,” Beasley said. “We came out a little bit weak in the second half and they made a comeback. We were a little bit shocked for a few minutes, but we handed the ball off to Grant Mohler a couple of times and he went up the sidelines to score a touchdown and that was huge – it sealed the game.”
Mohler on the season has 800 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns on 146 carries. Beasley, meanwhile has thrown for 558 yards and four touchdowns, adding 537 yards and 14 scores on the ground as well.
Point Pleasant, meanwhile, continued its outstanding season last week with a 45-42 win over North Marion as the two teams combined for over 1,100 yards of offense. Point Pleasant tallied 594 yards of total offense in the win, with 508 of those yards coming on the ground. Grant Safford finished with 288 yards on 26 carries for the Big Blacks, while quarterback Cason Payne added 211 yards rushing on 20 carries.
“They’re an excellent team – they have huge size,” Beasley said. “But that doesn’t phase us, it just makes us want to play a lot harder. They have a great running back who is really good up the middle and around the outside. The quarterback is a lefty and he can run-and-gun.
“It’s going to be a good matchup – I think we matchup well, but we are a little bit smaller,” he continued. “We have to come out with our heads on straight and play fast and hard.”
Kickoff on Saturday is set for 7:30 p.m.
No. 6 Wheeling Central (9-1) at No. 3 Fayetteville (11-0)
The Fayetteville defense continued to impress last week against Van, shutting out the Bulldogs 28-0 in the opening round of the playoffs. It was the fourth shutout of the season for the Pirates’ defense.
Offensively in the win, Fayetteville received an outstanding game from sophomore running back Jordan Dempsey who rushed for 169 yards on 20 carries and three scores.
Wheeling Central, meanwhile, defeated Sherman 45-8 last week as the Maroon Knights outgained Sherman 545-133 in total offense. Quarterback Isaac Rine was 10 for 15 passing for 132 yards and two scores. Running back Bray Price finished with 239 yards and four scores in the win, while fullback Dawson Wear added 105 yards on the ground.
It’s a battle of two of the better quarterbacks in Class A as Wheeling Central’s Rine faces Fayetteville’s Will Fenton who has thrown for 28 touchdown passes on the year.
“I have a lot of respect for Will (Fenton),” Rine said. “I’ve been watching film on him from last week about the things he can do. He can throw the ball a mile and I’m excited for the opportunity to go up against him this weekend.”
Fayetteville and Wheeling Central will battle Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.