FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Over the better part of the last decade, Spring Valley’s football program has taken pride in physical play that often allows the Timberwolves to control the line of scrimmage.
So in the lead-up to Friday’s Class AAA quarterfinal between No. 2 Fairmont Senior and the No. 7 Timberwolves, Polar Bears’ head coach Nick Bartic challenged his team to measure up on both fronts.
Fairmont Senior did just that, and as a result, the Polar Bears will stay home next weekend for a Class AAA semifinal.
The Polar Bears scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions and intercepted Timberwolves’ quarterback Liam McGuire, one of which Brock Martin returned 81 yards for a touchdown to help punctuate Fairmont Senior’s 29-6 win at East-West Stadium.
“They’re always physical and we were able to match that physicality,” Bartic said. “Our guys, especially in the box, did a good job of staying discipline and that was hard-nosed football.”
FSHS (11-1) now awaits the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 3 Bridgeport/No. 6 Nitro in a semifinal.
The Polar Bears moved 80 yards on their opening series and got a 22-yard touchdown pass from Logan Canfield to Jeff Cowger at the 8:15 mark of the opening quarter. After a Timberwolves’ penalty on the point-after play, the Polar Bears elected to go for two and the move paid off when Chris Wilson crossed the goal line on a run to make it 8-0.
SVHS (8-4) went three-and-out on its first possession and the Polar Bears then started their second series at the Timberwolves’ 46-yard line.
Wilson ripped off an 18-yard run on the second play, Canfield gained 7 yards on fourth-and-2 from the SV 9, and Wilson found the end on the next play, scoring on a 2-yard run that left the home team with a 15-0 lead and 2:37 to play in the opening frame.
“I’d have liked to have run the ball more, but when we got down a couple scores, it put us in a tough spot,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said. “They were able to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback. They’re a good, well-coached football team and it wasn’t our night.”
McGuire was stopped 1 yard short on a fourth-and-6 from the Fairmont Senior 16 on the Timberwolves’ second series.
It marked the first of three straight Spring Valley possessions that ended with in Polar Bear territory with no points. The second instance saw Senior’s Damani Johnson intercept McGuire on a pass thrown to the Polar Bear 8-yard line, while McGuire’s pass fell incomplete on a fourth-and-15 play from the FSHS 31 with 11 seconds remaining in the half.
In turn, the Polar Bears went to the intermission with the 15-point advantage.
“We were able to get pressure up front to force some throws,” Bartic said. “They have some really good skill players and guys that we really had to game plan for. Our defensive backs did a great job communicating and we had personnel groups with how they packaged personnel. Everybody was really in-tune with what the game plan was. Our guys delivered. Anytime we gave up a big play, our guys regrouped and usually didn’t let it lead to points.“
Spring Valley put together its only scoring drive to start the second half, utilizing a 39-yard pass from McGuire to Jalyn Abercrombie to enter the red zone and getting a 2-yard touchdown run from Logan Harris for its only points. A Polar Bear penalty on the point-after play led to SVHS attempting a two-point conversion, but the Polar Bears stopped them short on a run.
By the time the Timberwolves got the ball back, their deficit had grown to 16 as Wilson ripped off a 38-yard touchdown run one play after Canfield converted on fourth-and-7 with a 9-yard run.
The Timberwolves approached the red zone on their ensuing series, but faced with fourth-and-6 from the Senior 25, McGuire was intercepted by Martin, who raced 81 yards the other way for a pick six. McGuire was pressed by Polar Bear defensive lineman Trevor Bigelow on the play and got the pass off just before he was brought down.
“Before the game, the coaches told us the line would win or lose this ball game, and it made a world of difference,” Bigelow said. “We came out and played one of our best games.”
Fairmont Senior’s Rudy Carrillo recorded his team’s third and final interception with 46 seconds left in the third.
Canfield, starting his third straight game at quarterback in place of an injured Brody Whitehair, rushed for 86 yards on 16 attempts and completed 4-of-7 passes for 36 yards.
“Anytime you can gain experience, it’s going to help,” Bartic said. “The flow of the offense continues to improve with the more reps that you get.”
Wilson paced the Senior ground game with 137 yards on 16 rushes.
McGuire completed 11-of-22 passes for 154 yards, with Abercrombie bringing in five catches for 98 yards in defeat. McGuire also rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries.
Harris added 79 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
“They kind of controlled the line of scrimmage. They got the best of us up there and put us in some tough spots,” Dingess said. “We did leave opportunities out there on the field, but we didn’t play very well tonight. A lot of it had to do with them. You can’t go on the road in the playoffs and play like what we did tonight and win a football game.”