A pair of No. 1 seeds clinched spots in state title games on a busy Friday of high school semifinals across the state.
In Class AAA, Martinsburg recorded its 41st straight win as the Bulldogs beat No. 4 Musselman for the second time this season, 42-14.
Later Friday, defending Class A champion Wheeling Central topped No. 4 Doddridge County 47-7 at Wheeling Jesuit.
A closer look at both games:
Martinsburg 42, Musselman 14
While the Bulldogs (13-0) didn’t win quite as convincingly as their 70-0 regular season victory over the Applemen, they hardly struggled while securing a trip to Wheeling to play No. 2 Spring Valley for a third straight year in the state title game.
Naieem Kearney’s 47-yard touchdown run started the scoring and gave Martinsburg a 7-0 lead.
Grant Harman found Michael Boaitey for a 61-yard TD pass 4:24 before halftime that upped the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-0, and Harman’s 4-yard TD run in the final minute of the half allowed Martinsburg to lead 21-0 at the break.
The Bulldogs added two more touchdowns in the third quarter, getting a 5-yard run by Harman and a 4-yard run by R.J. Barrett to take a 35-0 lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, Musselman quarterback Tre Beard had a pair of rushing touchdowns and Dewayne Grantham scored on a 62-yard run for Martinsburg.
The Applemen finished 11-2.
Martinsburg will be in search of its third straight state championship and a seventh in 10 years next Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium.
Wheeling Central 47, Doddridge County 7
The Maroon Knights moved to 12-1 overall and knocked the Bulldogs from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Wheeling Central (12-1) scored its first touchdown with 3:40 to play in the opening quarter when Curtis McGhee threw a 53-yard pass to Anthony Robbins to make it 7-0.
McGhee added a 50-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and the Maroon Knights took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, McGhee threw TD passes of 37 and 76 yards, respectively, to Bray Price, before throwing a 52-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Robbins that gave the Maroon Knights a 35-0 lead.
McGhee passed for 355 yards through three quarters, with Robbins and Price combining for 338 of those yards.
Robbins added another receiving touchdown from Price in the fourth quarter and Price intercepted a pass and returned it 28 yards for the Maroon Knights’ final TD of the contest.
Tanner Lett’s touchdown pass to Griffin Devericks got the Bulldogs on the board.
Doddridge County finished 12-1 and recorded the most wins in a season in school history.
The Maroon Knights will face No. 6 Williamstown in next Saturday’s Class A title game. Wheeling Central won at Williamstown in Week 1, 33-0.