MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Class AAAA No. 4 Morgantown faced adversity early into Thursday’s WVSSAC Kickoff Classic against Parkersburg.
How the Mohigans handled it went a long way toward ensuring they cruised by the Big Reds, 44-7, in the season opener for both teams from Pony Lewis Field at J.W. Ruby Stadium.
On the Mohigans’ second play from scrimmage, quarterback Maddox Twigg’s pass was intercepted by the Big Reds’ Sylas Cheuvront, who returned it 19 yards to the MHS 26-yard line.
Four plays later, the Big Reds faced fourth-and-2 from, and Morgantown’s Carter Cooper came off the edge to bring down Ethan Jones for a 1-yard loss.
That was as close as PHS came to playing with a lead.
MetroNews broadcast interview with Morgantown QB Maddox Twigg following MHS’ 44-7 win over Parkersburg: #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/ouhqhkAjwV
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Twigg broke off a 67-yard touchdown run that saw him reverse fields and break out into the open, and Clifton Shreves followed with his first of five point-after kicks to give Morgantown a 7-0 lead 3:40 into the matchup.
“You don’t ever want to throw an interception, but it kind of worked in our favor that we had to face adversity right off the bat,” Mohigans’ head coach Sean Biser said. “It tested our quarterback and tested our defense. They did their job and then he came back in and did an excellent job. We talk about adversity all the time and when it hits, how to handle it.”
PHS then put together perhaps its best series against the Morgantown starting defense, only to have Alex Greer’s fourth-and-3 pass fall incomplete at the Mohigans’ 16. It marked Greer’s first incompletion on his sixth attempt.
Four plays later, Twigg found Jayden Smalls streaking behind the Parkersburg secondary for a 70-yard touchdown repletion, allowing the home team to double its lead.
“You’re always amped up Game 1 and we make a big play early and our guys were fired up. We go from such a huge high and then don’t capitalize on that opportunity, and they turned around and made a big play of their own,” PHS head coach Matt Kimes said. “That’s when I felt like the wind came out of our sails. We have to learn as a team to keep that same mentality — can’t get too high or too low and the most important play is the next play. Once the momentum got away from us tonight, we never could get it back.”
Following a Parkersburg three-and-out, Cooper outran the Big Red defense for a 77-yard touchdown on the final play of the opening quarter, leaving MHS with a 20-0 advantage through the opening period.
Zaiiden Lockett’s interception of a Greer pass set up the only second-quarter touchdown, which was scored by Isaiah Thompson on a 38-yard run 4:29 before halftime.
Shreves connected on a 30-yard field goal on the final play of the opening half, sending Morgantown to the intermission with a 30-0 advantage.
Through two quarters, MHS had a 360-120 edge in total yardage. Hoping to be more balanced and less run dominant, the Mohigans were exactly that as Twigg hit on 7-of-14 passes for 141 yards in the first half.
“We have more that we didn’t show tonight. We took what they were giving us and went with that,” Biser said. “It definitely opens up our offense and with the guys we have, it suits our personnel.”
The Big Reds went three-and-out on their opening second-half series and Morgantown scored its fifth touchdown on Twigg’s 58-yard pass to Cooper.
A 2-yard touchdown run from Thompson with 4:21 to play in the third quarter made it 44-0 and created a running clock.
Cheuvront prevented Parkersburg from being shutout by ripping off a 13-yard touchdown run with 5:27 remaining in the contest.
Twigg finished 10-for-15 with 226 yards.
“I feel very protected and confident with those guys in front of me,” Twigg said. “Can’t really complain or ask for anymore out of them.”
Smalls had 134 receiving yards on three catches and Cooper caught seven passes for 92 yards.