By Josh Hughes, News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — Morgantown’s Wing-T offensive attack overwhelmed Parkersburg South early and often on a cold Friday night, as the Mohigans walked out of the Erickson All-Sports Facility with a 55-21victory.
The loss for the Patriots (1-6) is their fifth-straight defeat, and that’s the team’s longest losing streak in 13 years. Morgantown (1-2) notched its first win, as head coach Sean Biser talked about his team’s rushing attack and all the challenges his team faced throughout the year.
“That’s the thing this offense lends itself to. You have to be a selfless team player in this offense,” Biser said of his runners who combined for 570 yards in the win. “We try to spread the ball around, and there are different ways to be balanced by throwing the ball and running the ball, but you can also be balanced by spreading the ball against multiple carriers. That’s what we tried to do. We’d like to throw a little more than we have, and we’re working on that. (COVID) hasn’t really affected us that much, other than us sitting for two, three weeks. We’re still playing catch-up and trying to iron out all the kinks. We’re trying to prepare like it’s mid-season.”
South signal-caller Sam Schuler had his number called time and time again throughout the night, as he was 29 of 46 for 308 yards and a trio of touchdowns and interceptions. Jake Hogsett was the main beneficiary of the passing game, with five grabs for 101 yards and two scores (a 68-yarder in the third quarter and 59-yarder in the 4th). The other one went to Gage Wright from nine yards out with 11:53 remaining. That willingness to sling the ball came out of necessity, as the Mohigans kept scoring until the game snowballed out of reach.
Davon Eldridge led the way for a balanced Mohigans box score, with two scores and 194 yards on 12 carries. However, it was Caden Biser who started off the affair with 4:06 left in the opening frame. The big back barreled his way through the Patriots’ defense for a 12-yard strike to put his side up, 6-0. Then, he capped off the quarter with a 36-yard score to double MHS’s lead. Eldridge then got on the board with a pair of scores from 41 and eight yards away to make it 28-0 at the break. In total, Biser tallied 116 yards on 13 rushes. Through all that, those ushers didn’t lead the team in yards. That went to Deondre Crudup, who added a touchdown of his own on 14 carries and 126 yards.
Key interceptions from Mali Hall and Zachary Brendan stopped Patriots possessions dead in their tracks, as it took longer to get started than what PUSH head coach Neat Tanner wanted. They face another challenge when they head to Cable Midland next week.
“The first half, we just got punched in the mouth. They dominated us up front,” he said. “We weren’t able to capitalize on a couple opportunities. There were some times in the second quarter where we had some mental lapses in our execution. Whether it be running the right route or finding the right man. We got that squared away at halftime, and I think that’s why we were able to get some truncation and do some positive things. The message (to the student-athletes) is to not give up. As a man, still try to keep improving. We need to keep trying to do what we can.”
MHS (1-2) 12 16 13 14 — 55
PSHS (1-6) 0 0 7 14 — 21
SCORING SUMMARY
MHS — Caden Biser 12 run (Jack Grushecky kick no good) 4:06 1st
MHS — Biser 36 run (kick blocked) :14 1st
MHS — Davon Eldridge 41 run (Biser run) 10:43 2nd
MHS — Eldridge 8 run (Eldridge run) 1:00 2nd
MHS — Cameron Rice 7 run (pass failed) 5:20 3rd
MHS — Rice 68 run (kick good) 3:40 3rd
PSHS — Jake Hogsett 68 pass from Sam Schuler (Nick Murphy kick good) 1:30 3rd
PSHS — Gage Wright 9 pass from Schuler (kick good) 11:53 4th
PSHS — Deondre Crudup 12 run (kick good) 7:39 4th
PSHS — Hogsett 59 pass (kick good) 7:20 4th
MHS — Eldridge 12 run (kick good) 2:15 4th
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing (M) Deondre Crudup 14-126, Caden Biser 13-116, Cameron Rice 7-87, Davon Eldridge 12-194, Brodrick Washington 9-41 ; (PS) Devin Gaines 13-25, Aidyn Cooke 2-2, Sam Schuler 2-(-7), Trent Parsons 2-0; Passing (PS) Sam Schuler 29-46-3, Turner Garretson 0-5-1; Receiving (PS) Landon Francisco 4-25, Trent Parsons 6-55, Jake Hogsett 5-101, Gage Wright 4-37, Gaines 8-46
