(Highlights by Teran Malone)
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. – Williamstown secured its second straight appearance in the Class A Championship Game with a 53-21 win over Doddridge County. Senior running back Rickie Allen led the second-seeded Yellow Jackets with 143 yards rushing on 16 carries and four touchdowns. Maxwell Molessa ran for 124 yards and threw a touchdown to propel Williamstown to its 11th championship game appearance.
Williamstown now faces top-seeded James Monroe in the Class A Championship game next Saturday.
“Our guys, last December said ‘we’re getting back to the island and we’re going to win this thing,’ and they haven’t been shy about setting that goal, and every week they’ve risen to the challenge,” said Williamstown Head Coach Chris Beck.\
Williamstown turned a one-point game late in the second quarter into a blowout in the course of fewer than six minutes of game time. Leading 14-13 with 1:56 remaining in the first half, the Yellow Jackets engineered an 8-play, 77-yard drive that culminated with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Molessa to Colt Hesson. That gave Williamstown some breathing room at halftime, 22-13.
Coming out to start the second half, Williamstown’s offense unleashed a flurry of points, scoring on its first three possessions to take a commanding 46-13 lead with 6:19 to play in the third quarter.
“Everybody wants to ask about adjustments, and some were made but at the end of the day the kids make the plays,” Beck said. “We’ve got great kids. It wasn’t any special coaching formula. We just have a bunch of great kids who play the game hard.”
On the opening drive of the first half, Allen broke away for a 15-yard touchdown run with 10:23 on the clock to put Williamstown up 30-13. The Yellow Jacket defense forced Doddridge to go three-and-out on the ensuing series then Williamstown went for the dagger. The very next play, Beck called a double pass that caught the Bulldogs’ defense off guard. Quarterback Maxwell Molessa lateraled to Lynken Joy who connected with tight end Kent Wigal for a 55-yard touchdown pass putting the Yellow Jackets firmly in control 38-13.
“That’s actually the second time we ran it this year. That was a great job of Lynken [Joy] and Kent [Wigal] connecting up but what probably goes unnoticed there is Rickie [Allen] blocking the defensive end to give us time to get that off,” Beck said.
Allen reached the endzone again on the next Williamstown series, pulling away from the Doddridge defense for a 34-yard touchdown run, blowing the game open 46-13.
Allen tacked on one more score midway through the fourth quarter to finish off a 13-play drive that ate 7:34 off the clock.
“That’s Rick. He’s one of the best players in Class A and the best natural leader I’ve ever been around. Moments like this are not too big for him,” said Beck.
The game was close to start out with both offenses struggling to find their footing early on. Williamstown scored first on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Hesson to Molessa. Doddridge immediately answered with a 61-yard Seth Richards touchdown run and briefly held a 7-6 lead. The two teams traded scores on the next two possessions. Allen put Williamstown back in front with a 40-yard touchdown run. Doddridge countered with a 6-yard scoring run by Richards, who finished with 24 carries for 165 yards and a pair of scores.
(Coverage sponsored by Burdette Camping, www.burdettecamping.com)