MORGANTOWN — As Morgantown High senior John McConnell lined up for his second field goal attempt Friday night, you could likely hear the roar from Pony Lewis Field all the way on High Street.
MHS was neck-and-neck with Linsly in an overtime battle, the score tied 28-28 — the result of a 21-point comeback from the Cadets in regulation. The down-and-distance was 3rd-and-1, but MHS coach Matt Lacy decided to send the kicking team on the field one play early — he knew they could seal the game here.
“It was a no-brainer. I’ve got some guys on the sideline saying go for it, but I didn’t want a case where there was a bad snap or any of that type of thing,” he said.
As the ball was snapped, McConnell stepped up and booted it through the uprights to seal a 31-28 victory.
“This win comes down to our defense. Coach [Matt] Kelly coached the crap out of these kids. We came up with some big turnovers when we needed them — key times to stop their drive or keep them from scoring,” Lacy said.
“I have to give credit to Linsly. They fought all night and have some phenomenal ball-players and coaches.”
The Mohigans recorded six takeaways during the game, including an interception returned by senior Ty Konchesky over 90 yards for a score and an Aaron Alvarez interception that ended the Cadets opening drive in overtime — setting up the game-winning possession for MHS.
“Overall, I’d say we played great team defense,” said senior defensive lineman Nick Malone.
“Coach Kelly stresses in practice all the time those takeaways, and we have to turn around and capitalize and turn those into more points,” Lacy said.
MHS came out firing on all cylinders, with a Cam Rice pass to Jestohn Moore going 69 yards for a touchdown on the opening play for the Mohigans. Rice led MHS offensively, going 6-of-11 for 149 yards passing, while rushing for 51 yards and adding a second touchdown on the ground.
“He gets better and better each week, and we’re still coaching him up,” Lacy said. “He still makes mistakes here and there, but he learns from them and doesn’t make those mistakes two weeks in a row.”
“I think I played well, but I had a few missed opportunities. I definitely could have done better,” Rice said.
Linsly responded on the next drive with a 59-yard bomb from senior Wyatt Hirt to junior Trevin Tush to even the score, and proceeded to keep the MHS offense off the field with long drives, chewing up the clock and wearing down the Mohigans defense. The Cadets won the time of possession battle 13:48 to 10:12 in the first half and 26:57 to 21:03 overall.
MHS looked to recapture momentum, jumping out to a 28-7 lead in the third quarter, but the fatigue began to show on defense, as Linsly scored responded with their 21 unanswered to tie the game. A John McConnell 53-yard field goal fell short as time expired, sending the game to overtime.
“You could see starting off that third quarter; we were fresh and played with low pad-level. As the game progressed, we started standing up and they moved us around,” Lacy said. “We’ll have to continue to condition and get in better shape. We need to do better.”
MHS will be back at home next Friday as it hosts Musselman. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
