MORGANTOWN — The MoHawk Bowl hit the lacrosse field on Monday night by way of a WVSLA state semifinal match as Morgantown hosted cross-town rival University High at Pony Lewis Field.
MHS (15-0) grabbed a lead early and never looked back as they used fluid offense and physical defense to down the visitors 15-4 and remain undefeated on the season. MHS head coach Jeremy Bennett praised his team’s effort to stick to the game plan to execute for the entire 48 minutes.
“I thought we played a complete game tonight,” Bennett said after the victory. “We rode them well, we cleared well, we played offense and defense well. That’s what you have to do against a team like (University).”
The Mohigans set the tone early as junior Wyatt Kozel opened the scoring with a well-worked solo effort just 90 seconds into the game. Senior Niko Monroy doubled the lead five minutes later and the hosts carried a 2-0 lead into the second quarter.
Kozel added his second goal quickly after UHS held the ball well on offense to start the second frame. MHS stole possession and broke out on the counter to extend the lead to 3-0.
Two more goals came for MHS within sixteen seconds of each other to extend the MHS lead to 5-0 midway through the second quarter.
“We prepared for the unexpected for sure,” Bennett said of his team’s approach. “We thought they would make some good adjustments from earlier in the season somehow and we just prepared hard for it in practice.”
“(Jeremy) Bennett is a heck of a coach,” UHS coach Brian Houk said. “They control the ball so well, they’re relentless in the ride, and they are great on the ground. What can we do when they control the ball so much? They make you pay every single time for your mistakes.”
The Hawks finally broke through the Mohigan defense at the 5:46 mark of the second quarter when Colin Carey fired home after stealing the ball in the final third. However, two more goals for MHS before the half saw the hosts with a 7-1 advantage at the break.
The Hawks would be the ones to fire home for the opening goal of the third quarter, but the Mohigans responded once again, scoring four unanswered goals by the end of the frame to lead 11-2.
Momentum carried into the fourth for MHS as they cruised to a 15-4 victory to advance to the state championship against George Washington at Davis & Elkins College on Saturday.
“We have to prepare and practice right going into the game this weekend,” Bennett said. “It feels like we have a short week to prepare despite having four whole days so we just have to lock in and make sure we are ready.”
The Hawks finish the season 7-6 and will bring back a large group of experienced players next season, something Brian Houk is excited about.
“I’m really proud of our guys, we had a lot of unanswered questions after losing a big group of seniors last year,” Houk said, reflecting on the season. “It’s a great group of kids who are willing to be coached. A big group of juniors so I’m excited about that and I think the ceiling has yet to be reached for this group.”
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