MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Sean Biser stood near midfield preparing to field questions.
Before doing so, the Morgantown High School football coach looked around and asked one himself.
“Has the rescue squad left? I might need one of them,” Biser said in jest.
It was that kind of afternoon at Pony Lewis Field.
The Class AAAA No. 1 Mohigans scored eight points in the final minute of regulation to force overtime against No. 8 Spring Mills, before blocking a point-after attempt in the second extra session to advance with a 34-33 victory.
“Our body language was getting a little bad and we just reminded them, ‘play this play. Don’t worry about anything and let it come to you.’ I pulled the line over on the side and said, ‘keep playing, don’t hang your heads.’ They went back out and did exactly that. A great team effort. It takes all of us to do it,” Biser said.
It was a far different contest than the regular season meeting between the two, which MHS won 21-0 back on September 26.
“The first game was tougher than what everybody thought it was, and when we watched film, we knew it was,” Biser said. “A couple plays here or there could’ve swung that game easily and we made a big play on defense.”
In the rematch, the No. 8 Cardinals (7-5) had two golden opportunities to take a two-possession lead in the fourth quarter. On the first, Spring Mills (7-5) was stopped 4 yards short of a first down on a fourth-and-5 completion. On the other, the Cardinals narrowly worked their way into the red zone, but Landon Stanley couldn’t convert a 36-yard field goal attempt with 4:44 remaining.
Morgantown (11-1) took over at its 20, but had yet to record a first down on either of its two second-half series. Needing to change that and do much more, the Mohigans got a 28-yard pass from Maddox Twigg to Tanzer George to approach midfield. Four plays later, the Mohigans kept hope alive when Twigg threw a 10-yard pas to Owen Young on fourth-and-4.
MHS eventually got inside the Cardinals’ 10, and on second-and-goal, Twigg tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Thompson with 52 seconds left.
“At the end, we said we have to let it all go and once [Twigg] got in a rhythm, he was just making plays and all of our kids were,” Biser said. “He was distributing the ball and running the ball. He did a fantastic job.”
Trailing by two, Morgantown called timeout before trying to tie the matchup, and did just that when Twigg rolled left and found Jayden Smalls on a successful pass play.
“We knew if we didn’t get it done there, we’re losing each other and we’d never get to play with each other again as this team,” Twigg said.
Spring Mills 21, Morgantown 21, 0:52 4th qtr
Twigg to Smalls on 2-point pass.#wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/MqBQIUS1nu
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 22, 2025
The Cardinals got the ball back with 47 seconds but were conservative in running two plays and settling for overtime.
In the first extra sessions, SMHS benefited from a targeting penalty on the Mohigans that negated what would’ve been fourth-and-4, and the visitors got a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rylan Swartz to Xavier Anderson to lead 27-21. Stanley’s point-after kick missed wide, leaving the margin at six before Morgantown’s overtime possession.
Starting at the Cardinals’ 20-yard line, MHS got even abruptly when Twigg threw a 15-yard pass to Carter Cooper on a crossing pattern. That set the stage for the Mohigans to move on, but Aiden Petsko missed wide on the point-after attempt, leaving the matchup tied at 27 through one overtime.
Morgantown was in possession to start the second OT, but faced a third-and-25 after a personal foul penalty combined with a sack. But Twigg kept his composure and found Smalls, who maneuvered down the sideline to get the exact 25-yard gain necessary for a first down.
Three plays later, after a false start pushed the Mohigans back from the 1 to the 6, Twigg covered that distance as he willed his way into the end zone on a power run. Petsko made the PAT this time around, leaving the home team with a 34-27 lead.
Twigg’s 6-yard touchdown run in second overtime after Morgantown converted on third and 25 three plays earlier.#wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/6K5UOjZm2f
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 22, 2025
But the Cardinals answered in three plays, the last of which was an 8-yard touchdown run from Swartz.
Unfortunately for SMHS, Stanley’s point-after kick was blocked, creating an entirely different scene on the two sidelines — joy for MHS and heartbreak across the field.
“I felt confident going for one and going back out there,” Cardinals’ head coach Marcus Law said. “We moved the ball both times and scored, so it wasn’t like we had gotten lucky on trick plays and I figured we could do it again.”
Swartz 8-yard touchdown run for Cardinals in second overtime. Cardinals then played to tie it and the point-after kick was blocked. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/6rpcd3BxNT
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 22, 2025
Cooper began the outing with a 71-yard kickoff return and Twigg broke off a 25-yard touchdown run on Morgantown’s first play from scrimmage, leaving the Cardinals facing a 7-0 deficit 18 seconds into the action.
SMHS answered in the exact fashion it desired and drew even at 7 when Blake Sanders powered his way into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal, capping an 11 play drive that allowed the Cardinals to outdo their entire offensive output from the first meeting with Morgantown.
A 37-yard touchdown pass from Swartz to Douglas Mayer with 9:21 remaining in the first half gave Spring Mills its first lead at 14-7.
Morgantown countered on the third play of its ensuing series when Twigg threw a screen pass to an uncovered Zaiiden Lockett, who raced 59 yards to the end zone for a score. Petsko’s point-after try was blocked, leaving SMHS with a 14-13 halftime lead.
The Cardinals took off 7:36 of the third quarter clock on the first series of the second half, which ended with Swartz finding Anderson for a 24-yard touchdown pass that allowed Spring Mills to lead by eight.
Spring Mills 21, Morgantown 13, 4:24 3rd qtr
Swartz 24-yard touchdown pass to Anderson finishes off a 14 play drive. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/H97UuMQd02
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) November 22, 2025
Swartz was admirable in defeat, completing 22-of-28 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 59 yards on 15 carries.
“He took it on himself and did everything he possibly could to give the team a chance,” Law said. “I give that kid everything. He put extra work in, did more film study and did the extra small things to give us a chance.”
Spring Mills finished with 345 total yards.
“This was what we expected the first time around. Our guys weren’t scared of the situation,” Law said. “They knew what the environment was going to be and we gave everything we had.”
Twigg completed 8-of-13 passes for 151 yards and rushed 19 times for 107 yards. He had a hand in nearly all of the Mohigans’ 267 total yards.
“I definitely thought it was going to be a tougher game,” Twigg said of Saturday in comparison to the regular season meeting with Spring Mills. “I worried it would be a rough start because we had beat them bad and they were going to come in fighting to keep their season on the line. But we knew we had to keep our heads in the game and keep pushing.”
Morgantown will welcome No. 4 Jefferson in a semifinal.