WEST UNION, W.Va. — When Lincoln and Doddridge County met in Week 10 of the regular season, the Cougars contained the Bulldogs’ explosive rushing attack enough that they hung tough throughout a 28-14 loss.
That was anything but the case in the rematch Friday night when the Class AA No. 8 Bulldogs welcomed the No. 9 Cougars for a first-round playoff matchup.
Doddridge freshman Corben Hall, who was plenty effective in the regular season contest, again had his way and rushed for 291 of his team’s 406 yards while the Bulldogs scored touchdowns on eight of their first none possessions to roll to a 52-16 victory.
“I want to shout out the offensive line. They were huge,” Bulldogs’ head coach Bobby Burnside said. “For the last several weeks, we’ve had several turnovers. We had zero tonight and that was big. The backs, the o-line, all these guys want to do is win. They don’t care who gets it done and I think that showed. The strides the secondary has made in pass coverage have been amazing to see throughout the season.”
The result advances DCHS (9-2) to a quarterfinal matchup at two-time defending state champion and No. 1 Frankfort.
Hall wasted no time giving an indication of what the night would be like as he took a direct snap and rushed for a 56-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage. The point-after attempt was no good, leaving the Cougars with a 6-0 deficit.
“We just played two weeks ago. It was a very tight game for most of the game,” Burnside said. “We came out tonight and kind of how we started the fourth quarter with that direct snap to Corben Hall, a very talented freshman.”
LHS (5-6) successfully faked one punt, but not another, which brought an end to its opening possession.
Doddridge then capitalized on a short field after starting at the Cougars’ 35 and added to its lead on a Brandon Davis 4-yard TD run. Colton Key knocked in the point-after kick to make it 13-0 with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.
Doddridge 13, Lincoln 0, 6:10 1Q
Davis 4-yard TD run.
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Lincoln got a 45-yard run from Connor Rice on its ensuing possession and neared the goal line before Davis tackled Cougars’ quarterback Bear Saab for a 5-yard loss on second-and-goal from the 2. After Saab’s incomplete pass on third-and-goal, Lukas Sostheim made a 24-yard field goal to bring LHS to within 10.
“We had a chance to basically cut it in half at 13-0 and we made a couple mistakes and ended up settling for a field goal,” Lincoln head coach Rob Hawkins said. “I was glad to get points on the board, but mentally, I felt it was a letdown for our kids.”
Hall broke off a 43-yard run on the first play of the Bulldogs’ next possession — one that ended with Evan Cross’ 2-yard TD run for a 20-3 advantage 46 seconds into the second quarter.
After the Cougars had a turnover on downs in Doddridge territory, Hall made it 26-3 with a 68-yard touchdown run.
However, the ensuing kickoff was returned 79 yards by Cade Mooney for Lincoln’s first touchdown, allowing the visitors to pull to within 26-10.
Lincoln forced the Bulldogs into their only punt of the night to regain possession 3:17 before halftime, but the Cougars were unable to move the ball and punted it back, allowing DCHS to start at the Cougars’ 35 with 56 seconds left in the half.
That was plenty of time for the Bulldogs to add to their lead, and they did exactly that on Davis’ 5-yard TD run for a 32-10 halftime lead.
All 273 first-half yards for Doddridge came on the ground, including 225 on 14 carries from Hall.
“Their backs did a great job,” Hawkins said. “There were times we had them bottled up and they’d still end up with yards. Their backs were excellent tonight.”
Three straight incompletions from Saab brought an end to Lincoln’s opening series of the second half at the Bulldogs’ 45, and three plays later, Hall had his third and final touchdown of the night on a 32-yard run.
Cross found Aaron Glaspell on 10-yard touchdown pass later in the third to make it 45-10 on what marked the quarterback’s lone completion on three attempts.
A 6-yard TD run from Tommy Walters-Hickman with 7:50 remaining in the fourth quarter marked the Bulldogs’ eighth and final touchdown, before the Cougars generated their only offensive touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run from Rice.
“A lot of hard work from the coaches and players in practice,” Burnside said. “We’ve improved so much throughout the season. I’m really proud of them.”
Hall’s game-high rushing total came on 17 carries. He rushed for 274 of his team’s 323 yards in the regular season meeting with LHS.
David added 99 yards on 12 carries to help the Bulldogs rush for 406 yards on 37 attempts.
Rice carried 28 times for 140 yards in defeat.
Saab completed 8-of-17 passes for 72 yards, which combined with Jacob Bart’s two completions, allowed the Cougars to finish with 106 yards through the air.
“We do a good job moving the ball to a certain extent and then we’re not able to finish off drives,” Hawkins said. “That was one thing that happened tonight, especially in the first half. If we could finish off a couple drives, mentally, that would’ve helped us defensively.”