MORGANTOWN — And then there was one.
After the first round of the WVSSAC football playoffs, University is the lone Monongalia County remaining in the postseason.
With a 52-10 victory over Woodrow Wilson, the No. 4 Hawks now face No. 5 Cabell Midland in the Class AAA quarterfinals.
Kickoff is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium.
“We’re excited about remaining at home,” said UHS head coach John Kelley. “That’s a great reward.”
The 10-1 Knights must make a nearly 200-mile trip from Ona to Morgantown. But Cabell Midland hasn’t lost a true road game since 2018.
“They have a three-hour bus ride and that’s always tough for any team to travel like that,” Kelley said. “I know we have some excitement building for this one. I think the WVU-Pitt (basketball) game hurt the crowd a little bit last week, but we still had a strong showing. Our student section — the U Zoo — always plays a factor. They came out in big numbers and I’m sure they’ll do it again because they really help us.
“We also have a great band and loyal followers. There’s not really any other games in the area so we can maybe pick up a lot of people who just want to come out and see good football.”
Cabell Midland went 5-0 in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and has played in the 2019 and 2018 Class AAA state championship games in Wheeling, losing to Martinsburg both times.
The Knights have made the playoffs 12 years in a row, which is when head coach Luke Salmons took over the program. Salmons was a three-sport standout at Ravenswood High School and played football for Marshall from 1999-2004 where he was team captain. He got his coaching start with a high school in Kentucky and became Cabell Midland’s winningest coach in the 2019 season.
“Since he’s taken over, they’re a perennial top 3 or 4 team every year,” Kelley said. “They play for championships almost every year. They really are one of the top programs in the state because everybody buys in to what they’re building. They get over 100 kids out every year who want to be a part of that. It’s a great program because they have a great culture surrounding the program. I give Coach Salmons a lot of credit for what he’s done there.”
Last week, Cabell Midland knocked off defending state champion South Charleston, 49-12.
“Any time you win in the playoffs, it’s good,” Salmons told the Huntington Herald-Dispatch. “This win was great and I’m proud of our kids. We’ve got a good team and this is a special group. They are ready to play the next one.”
The Knights’ signature running game was on full display against South Charleston totaling 473 yards on the ground. Four different rushers tallied 50 yards or more — Chandler Smith led the way with 191 yards on just nine carries with two touchdowns. Mason Moran and Jackson Fetty are also strong rushers and quarterback Ryan Wolfe has a run-first mentality, scrambling for three touchdown runs.
“The run game was awesome,” Salmons told the Herald-Dispatch. “That’s who Midland is.”
Kelley is fully aware of what the Knights can do on offense, saying “they just grind on you all game.” But the Hawks have a defense ready to answer the call. University swarmed Woodrow Wilson last week and the Flying Eagles had minus-9 yards on 26 rushes. The Hawks forced five turnovers.
Defensive coordinator Eric Snyder has developed a nice game plan, Kelley said, that pits one of the state’s best defenses against one of the state’s best offenses.
“We’re trying to get our scout team to line up and do what they do,” Kelley said. “It’s tough because we can’t simulate exactly what they do because they’re just so big and physical. The people they have are the best we’re going to go up against. We can get good enough to get to where we can get our game plan in. Coach Snyder has a nice game plan based on what they’ve done in previous games. We just have to go out and execute it.”
University had to play from behind briefly against Woodrow Wilson as the Flying Eagles went up 7-0 early on a 33-yard passing play. The Hawks quickly answered with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Luke Hudson to Elija Jackson.
Hudson finished with 193 passing yards completing 15 of 19 attempts. Jackson caught another touchdown pass in the second quarter and finished with five catches for 111 yards. Collin McBee continued to lead the Hawks rushing attack with 16 carries for 100 yards and three touchdowns.
“It woke us up,” Kelley said of the first touchdown by the Flying Eagles. “Woodrow came to play. Once we realized that we got down to it and asserted our dominance a little bit. We had 21 points in a minute-and-a-half span and that just blew it open. We have to be ready to go from the start this week.
“This is going to be a much tougher team and that’s the way it’s supposed to be in the playoffs, they get tougher each week.”
University and Cabell Midland have only faced off twice before: 1994 and 2002. Both matchups were in the playoffs. Both were University victories.
By MATTHEW PEASLEE
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