By: Michael Minnich
Exponent Telegram
Two regular season rematches are on tap in the state semifinals as Bridgeport continues its quest for a record fourth straight Class AA title.
Class AAA
No. 4 Morgantown (10-2) at No. 1 Martinsburg (12-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Morgantown advanced to the semis with a 29-14 win over Hurricane.
Jordan Page rushed 20 times for 146 yards, 141 in the second half, while Ben Waibogha had a 7-yard TD run and a 55-yard return of a blocked field goal to extend a 10-7 halftime lead.
Logan Holgorsen connected with Camron Henderson, who blocked the FG to set up Waibogha’s return, for a 12-yard score.
Martinsburg easily won their quarterfinal against George Washington, 34-0.
It took just 20 seconds for the Bulldogs to go ahead for good thanks to a GW fumble and an 11-yard TD run from Mikey Jackson on the next play.
Jackson rushed for 172 yards, adding a 39-yard score in the fourth quarter, with Dewayne Grantham adding 127 and a touchdown.
Grant Harman replaced ill starter Tyson Bagent at quarterback in the second quarter and ran for two scores.
Martinsburg won at Morgantown on September 23, 33-6.
The Bulldogs quickly built a 26-0 lead as Tyson Bagent and Stephen Edmond connected for the first two TD’s through the air, and Issac Brown returned a punt for a score and caught another touchdown from Bagent.
Mikey Jackson added the final TD.
Morgantown’s lone touchdown came on a Maverick Wolfley touchdown to open the fourth quarter
Martinsburg won four straight state championships from 2010 to 2013 and also made the finals in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2006.
Morgantown’s last trip to the Super Six came in 2005, when they defeated Nitro in overtime, 27-24.
The Mohigans also defeated Martinsburg in 2004, 38-12, adding to titles in 1983, 2000, and 2002.
Morgantown lost in the final in 1971 and 1998.
Class AA
No. 5 Fairmont Senior (9-2) at No. 1 Bridgeport (12-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
This is the seventh meeting between the senior classes for the Polar Bears and Indians, the second this year, and the second straight year the two will cross paths in the semifinals.
And since Bridgeport hasn’t lost a AA game since 2012, you can do the math.
But the closest the Indians came to seeing their 37-game unbeaten streak end was probably the 17-14 encounter at East-West Stadium on October 28, with special teams playing a key role.
With the score tied at 7 on a rushing TD by FS’s Jake Abbott and an 82-yard strike from BHS’s Gordon Swiger to Makenzie Holmes, a bad snap on a punt gave Bridgeport great field position that they turned into a go-ahead 21-yard Koby Kiefer field goal, then a partially blocked punt set up Holmes’ plunge to make it 17-7 before a late 7-yard TD pass from Jake Abbott to Talon Miller.
Harris caught three passes for 107 yards, while Bryson Gilbert rushed for 58 yards for the Polar Bears.
Bridgeport won last year’s semi, 28-20, then blanked Tolsia, 30-0, in Wheeling to three-peat.
Both teams came to life in the second half last week to advance.
Bridgeport, leading 13-6 over Lincoln, recovered a fumble on the third quarter kickoff and cashed it in thanks to a 13-yard rush by J.T. Harris.
Kiefer added a 36-yard field goal, then Zach Osborn recovered a fumble in the end zone and Holmes returned an interception 24 yards to push the lead to 37-7; it ended 45-14.
Fairmont Senior also only led by a score at the break against Weir, with Abbott’s 63-yard TD run giving the Polar Bears a 6-0 advantage.
But in the third quarter, a fumble set up David Childers’ 32-yard field goal, Gilbert returned an interception 31 yards for a touchdown, and an Antonio Parson INT led to a 20-yard passing TD from Abbott to Gilbert.
Fairmont Senior led 30-0 before the Red Riders scored 15 points against the second unit for the final score.
Bridgeport has state titles in 1955, 1972, 1979, 1986, 1988, 2000 in addition to their current run and lost in the final in 2001.
Fairmont Senior was selected as the state champion by writers in 1946 and lost in the championship game in 1957, 1977, and 1981.