By Wes McKinney, WVMetroNews.com
AA No. 6 James Monroe (11-1) at AA No. 2 Mingo Central (12-0) – Saturday 7:30 p.m.
Mingo Central stymied Keyser for a 32-8 win, advancing the Miners to their second straight Class AA semifinal appearance.
Joe Hunt rushed for 190 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns in the win while quarterback Jeremy Dillon amassed 208 yards of total offense for Mingo Central.
“We came out of the gates early,” Mingo Central head coach Yogi Kinder said. “We played well defensively. We kept them inside the tackles almost all night.”
Part of the defensive effort for Mingo Central was three interceptions against Keyser quarterback Brady Ours.
Dillon has been one of the best players in the state this season, but with the weather changing Kinder and his coaching staff will begin to lean on Hunt a bit more.
“When it comes down to crunch time and the playoffs you’ve got to be able to run the football,” Kinder said.
“The weather is going to change this weekend from last weekend. It was 70 degrees last weekend and now it’s going to be around 25 degrees this weekend. The ball gets hard and your hands get cold this time of year, so you have to be able to run the ball. Everything gets a little tougher this time of year.”
The Miners’ opponent this week, James Monroe, was equally impressive as it shutout a high-powered Point Pleasant offense in a 21-0 win.
“We watched them play live at Point Pleasant,” Kinder said. “They are a tough football team. They have several running backs that are good. Defensively, they have kids that get to the football. Both of their linebackers are good. “
Those linebackers are Tripp Shiflet and Grant Mohler. Shiflet has 32 tackles and three sacks in two playoff games
“You definitely have to keep an eye on him or else he will be running through the hole making every tackle,” Kinder said. “We have implemented our whole game plan around making sure he’s blocked on every play. I’m impressed by Grant Mohler just as much.”
James Monroe will be making its first appearance in the semifinals since 2008 while Mingo Central hasn’t forgot what happened last year in the semifinals against Tolsia.
“We got out-toughed last year by Tolsia—they put it to us,” Kinder said. “James Monroe will be coming after us hard. I just hope we have the same intensity from the start like we did against Keyser, and play well on defense.”