WHEELING, W.Va. — Williamstown head coach Chris Beck and James Monroe head coach John Mustain were in agreement Saturday’s Class A title game at Wheeling Island Stadium would largely be decided in the trenches.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, that worked out well for the Yellowjackets.
No. 2 Williamstown consistently won at the point of attack to rush for 416 yards, 272 of which came from quarterback Maxwell Molessa, who added five rushing scores to pave the way in a resounding 52-20 victory over the top seed Mavericks.
“Our guys just play so hard. They have a lot of size up front, but you can’t measure heart,” Beck said. “We have a bunch of guys that just play like maniacs. We always talk about alignment, assignment and effort. We feel like if we know who to block and we go 100 miles per hour as hard as we can, good things will happen and we were fortunate that happened tonight.”
The win gives WHS (12-1) its third state championship and first since 2014 and also helps the Yellowjackets avenge a loss to Ritchie County in last year’s Class A final.
Williamstown followed in the footsteps of Class AA champion Independence and Class AAA champion Huntington, both of which also claimed state championships this season after runner-up finishes a year ago.
“It’s always great to win a championship, but after what happened last year, being able to make it all the way back and finish it, that’s something special,” WHS tailback Rickie Allen said. “It’s something else.”
Playing on a new stage, it was a nightmare start for JMHS (13-1). The Mavericks turned it over on their first play from scrimmage when Logan White forced a Chaz Boggs fumble that Harbor Haught pounced on at the Mavericks’ 31 and returned 6 yards.
“That’s a backbreaker when something like that happens that quick,” Mustain said. “Would it have made a difference in the game? I don’t know. Maybe it would have and maybe not, but you hate to have that happen that quickly in a game like this. But hats off to them. They have a fantastic team.“
Four plays later, tailback Allen scored the first of Williamstown’s seven touchdowns on a 1-yard run. Molessa used his legs to convert the 2-point attempt, giving Williamstown an 8-0 lead.
The Mavericks settled in on their second series and Boggs atoned for the fumble with a 25-yard touchdown run. Layton Dowdy’s 2-point pass to Eli Allen enabled the Mavericks to pull even at 8 at the 8:40 mark of the opening quarter.
The game didn’t remain tied for long.
Molessa’s 64-yard touchdown run on third-and-5 put the Yellowjackets back on top 2:26 later, and though he was stopped short on the conversion attempt, Williamstown was in front to stay.
“I knew I had a line that’s disciplined and would get me the holes I needed,” Molessa said. “I was just going to make the best of what I was given.”
After Jacob Hall recovered a Haught fumble that allowed the Mavericks to start at Williamstown’s 34, the Yellowjackets’ defense delivered a key stop when Cooper Ridgeway was stopped at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-2 from the 26.
On the ensuing series, Molessa got into the open field and raced 55 yards to the end zone to make it 20-8. Molessa connected with Louis Goodnow on the 2-point play to up the Yellowjackets’ lead to 14 just 46 seconds into the second quarter.
“He’s a stud. He’s a gamer. The line dominated up front, but Max made a lot of guys miss on his own,” Allen said. “He was the best player on either team and that was clear tonight. I love having him as my QB and best friend.”
Ridgeway’s 2-yard TD run capped off a 69-yard drive and brought the Mavericks to within eight, but the 2-point attempt failed, leaving WHS with a 22-14 lead at the 5:35 mark of the second quarter.
The Yellowjackets responded with an 84-yard drive that featured a pair of third-down conversions, including Molessa’s 9-yard TD run on third-and-2.
Allen reached the end zone on the 2-point play, giving Williamstown a 30-14 lead 1:03 before halftime.
“I thought the beginning of the game was going to be critical with an inexperienced bunch like they have as far as this atmosphere and everything,” Beck said. “If things don’t go your way early, it can kind of set a tone. That got them behind the 8-ball and I really believe they wanted to slow the game down with a power run game to limit possessions. Once you get them behind and they’re chasing, that changes the complexion of what they want to do.”
That score stood until the opening series of the second half when Molessa accounted for his fourth rushing touchdown from 4 yards, which combined with his successful 2-point run, gave the Yellowjackets their biggest lead to that point at 38-14.
Molessa’s final touchdown came on a 17-yard run to start the fourth quarter and he again used his legs to run in the 2-point try and make it 46-14.
Dowdy found Boggs for a 48-yard touchdown pass on a crossing pattern to provide the Mavericks with their final points, before Allen answered with a 5-yard touchdown run for the final scoring play of the contest.
“It’s always easiest when your best players are your hardest workers,” Beck said. “Nobody works harder than those two. They deserve everything they get. They’re selfless and they know if a team is taking one weapon away, the other guy can have a big night.”
The 52 points allowed by the Mavericks were 30 more than they surrendered in any other game this season and more than the 41 they allowed in 10 regular season games.
Molessa needed only 19 carries to rush for his game-high total with an average of 14.3 yards per attempt.
“The only thing on my mind was to bring this trophy back. Whether the yards came with or they didn’t, that didn’t matter to me as long as the trophy came back,” Molessa said.
Allen was also key in the victory and rushed 21 times for 116 yards.
Molessa completed all five of his passes for 58 yards.
The Mavericks were out-gained 474-242.
JMHS rushed for 120 yards on 32 attempts and Dowdy completed 7-of-11 passes for 114 yards.
Boggs had a game-high 58 receiving yards and Eli Allen followed with 56. A
“That’s a heck of a team and I knew they would be,” Mustain said. “Hard running backs and a good line up front. We don’t have anything to hang our heads about as far as I’m concerned. Everybody always talks about they don’t remember who comes in second, well so what. I don’t give a crap about that. We’re here and a bunch of other teams weren’t here.”