Featured Image Credit: Jordan Holland / Parkersburg News

 

Top Teams Roll
With only several games separating Martinsburg with the all-time West Virginia winstreak, they blew out the last team to defeat them at home. Despite another bad start and 6-0 deficit, the Bulldogs quickly got going. Behind the running duo of Dewayne Grantham and Naieem Kearney, the lead ballooned. Two late Kearney runs pushed the game out of reach for HC Woodson and a 42-6 victory. Kearney finished with 184 rushing yards. Also in the panhandle, the Applemen thumped Hampshire to stay undefeated. It started fast with two rushing touchdowns by QB Tre Beard III. Beard would then go onto throw two long touchdown passes while Sebastian Oldham scampered for two on the ground. They were up by 40 before the half. Beard threw for 253 with 127 of those going to Hartman while Oldham finished with 109 on the ground in the 47-7 win.

 

Out-of-State Matchups
Despite for no writer’s picking them for the second week in a row, the #10 Mohigans played their tails off against Ohio superpower Steubenville. A game that had Morgantown playing from around one score down all night, they flexed their muscles on defense especially in a clutch 85-yard pick six by Kaden Rice. A late turnover ultimately cost them the 21-17 loss. Two other northern contenders took on out-of-staters but were victorious. #6 Wheeling Park moves to 2-0 after a dominating performance by Alex Dunlevy and Raphael Bradley on the ground. Allderdice (PA) did not get on the board until the third quarter already down by a handful of scores. The Patriots would finish 34-7. John Marshall had another type of game having to battle to come back after a slow first half against Mountain Ridge (MD). The spark came in a 65-yard pick six by Justin Frohnapfel to bring it to 19-14. After several consecutive scoring drives, the Monarchs had to drive down the field under five minutes for Jordan Wood to QB sneak a score that took it to 26-25. A blown opportunity by Mountain Ridge in the final seconds disallowed them to steal the win back. John Marshall would move to 2-0 and into the top 10.

 

AA’s Win Easy and Hard
#5 Weir decimated yet another team so far in their 2018 campaign. Tyler Komorowski had a stellar performance to say the least including five touchdowns and several huge defensive plays. Three of the passing tosses went to Sebastian Spencer. Anacostia (DC) could not throw but the run game kept them somewhat alive until a 31-point second quarter. They would run away to a 71-20 dub. #4 Bridgeport faced a tougher task with an always gritty Liberty (Harrison). Both teams had to adapt offensively with the score only being 7-0 at the half in favor of Bridgeport. The Mountaineers began passing and the Indians began running sweeps away from Liberty’s tough interior. Both would work as they traded second half scores Bridgeport getting the better behind Bowen’s 217 and four scores. QB Seth McKinney tossing for 151 yards in Liberty’s 28-14 hard fought defeat. In Lewis County, #2 Fairmont Senior had no problem holding them on defense (13 yards at the half) while Breeden Gilbert ran for 156 and four scores alongside Connor Neal’s two TD tosses.

 

 

Battling for the Bubble
Keyser had their way with a struggling Berkeley Springs team. A week after the Vikings of Petersburg laid into them offensively, the Golden Tornado wreaked havoc again. Caden Biser, Brady Clay, and Reggie Redman ran and caught multiple first half touchdowns while also holding a shutout. The Indians never held much of a shot losing 47-0. Robert C. Byrd had a bounce back win after a poor performance against #2 Fairmont Senior. Behind 230 yards on the ground by Ghovan Davidson and efficient passing by Xavier Lopez, the Eagles never were worried against Lincoln. The defense also played great, especially up front, which had them at 28-0 lead at halftime. Include two interceptions by Jeremiah King and the Eagles would roll back into the top ten with a convincing 35-6 victory.

 

Panhandle Showdown
The panhandle matchup between AA Petersburg and #10 Pendleton County lived up to the billing. It didn’t seem that way at the beginning as Vikings built a commanding lead three touchdown lead. However, the Wildcats rode Kole Puffenberger and his arm to bring them back to life. Sitting at 29-14 at the half, Jacob Hartman, who finished 383 yards total and five scores, pushed their lead back to 22 points in the third. However, Puffenberger, who tossed for 307 and four himself, would will them back into a one score 36-28 fourth quarter showdown. However, a touchdown run by Zach Wamper was the nail in the coffin that disallowed the full comeback. Petersburg would move to 2-0 while Pendleton County falls to 1-1 after the 43-28 loss.

 

Moving to 2-0
Elkins moved to 2-0 after another impressive win over Philip Barbour. Despite an ugly first quarter, the Tiger run game would eventually begin heating up. A big drive and then a long run by Daniel Romans gave them an early lead with another big score coming after by Thomas Talkington. With 21-0 lead at the half and came right back out scoring twice more to push it 34-0. However, three straight scores and a safety had the Colts with a lot of momentum. A clutch drive capped again by Romans put the game on ice though and gave them a 40-22 win. Another AA moving to 2-0 is Frankfort after a 45-7 owning of Single A East Hardy. The Cougars are now 0-2 after failing to stop Dalton Pollock or Nick Marley. The Falcons have positioned themselves well after taking out the former panhandle Single A king.

 

Top 5’s Show Out
A week after a tough loss to #1 Wheeling Central, the Yellowjackets proved their worth in a win over #4 Magnolia. This game featured two phenomenal defenses with Williamstown only gaining 55 yards in the first half and Magnolia not gaining a first down in the second half until late. The big difference was Magnolia’s five turnovers. Despite an early score and late safety, Magnolia could not keep Carter Haynes from scoring three short touchdowns to give them a 20-8 loss. #1 Wheeling Central’s Thursday matchup with Madonna went as expected. Not only did the Blue Dons not score, but they didn’t even have a yard in the first half. McGhee III had an awesome first half with 151 yards passing and three scores with accompanying scores by Vinny Mangino, Braden Price, Anthony Robbins, and Payton Marlin. They won 55-0. Now enough with defense, #3 Doddridge County matched up with Tyler Consolidated in what was a clinic of offense. Hunter America and Mark Rucker combined for twelve touchdowns. In a game that finished 62-43. It went exactly as it sounds with alternating runs and passes with America’s 452 yard and seven TD performance outdoing Rucker’s 260 total yards and five scores with his QB Griffin Phillips tallying 292 himself (250 passing).
Notables
Hedgesville lost in an odd fashion after resuming a 33-32 game the next morning. In what ended up being a very controversial finish regarding the runner’s knee, South Hagerstown (MD) was able to score on a walk off touch to give the Eagles a 38-33 loss. University’s Logan Holgorsen was an absolute menace in a 24-7 defeat of Parkesburg South. He tallied 425 yards (339 passing) and three touchdowns. #6 Cameron took care of business by defeating Hundred 51-0 while Grafton also moves to 2-0 with a shutout win over East Fairmont. North Marion struck a bounce back 56-28 win over AAA Preston. St. Marys fell close in their opener against AA Scott in 21-14 loss.

AAA Player of the Week: Logan Holgorsen (QB) University

AA Player of the Week: Jacob Hartman (QB) Petersburg

A Player of the Week: Hunter America (RB) Doddridge County