MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown High School football team began its 2023 season under the lights at Pony Lewis Field with a shutout victory, 65-0, over the visiting South Charleston Black Eagles on Friday night.
MHS enjoyed touchdowns by six different players and took the ball into the end zone on offense, defense, and special teams.
The Mohigans racked up 317 total yards of offense on the night, including 261 rushing yards on just 17 attempts. 13 players carried the ball for Morgantown, but none of them had more than two attempts.
“Our kids came out and did what we asked them to do tonight,” MHS head coach Sean Biser said after the game. “We executed the things that we’ve been working on but haven’t been able to run in a live game yet, and we liked what we saw. I was proud of the way we played hard and when it was time for the first string to come out, our other group went in and did their job also.”
Senior running back Marcus Ullom opened the scoring for MHS less than two minutes into the contest on a six-yard touchdown run with 10:17 to go in the first quarter, and from then on the floodgates were open.
MHS would score three more times in the first quarter alone, twice more on the ground as A.J. Thomas and Bobby Powell each scored in the opening 12 minutes. Powell ran 46 yards untouched up the right sideline and into the endzone with 3:05 remaining in the quarter to extend his team’s lead to 30-0. That came shortly after a nine-yard pass from senior quarterback Maddox Bowers to Ullom just two minutes earlier.
Much of the same story was written in the second frame, as it only took five seconds for the Mohigans to find the endzone once the quarter began. Bowers scampered home from five yards out for another MHS touchdown. The senior went 6-for-6 through the air for 56 yards and the touchdown to Ullom. He ran for the one score as well.
“We went out and executed on all levels of the game and will be happy with that,” Bowers said. “Being able to score a touchdown on offense, defense, and special teams doesn’t happen very often and special teams is something we’ve really emphasized in camp. It’s nice to see it come to be on the field but we know we have to keep working hard also.”
MHS entered the locker room with a 65-0 lead at the break, and it was mutually agreed by both coaches to shorten the third and fourth quarters to eight minutes each with a continuous running clock.
The hosts would continue to gain yards with their second string in the second half but didn’t add any points to the halftime score, taking the opening game of the season 65-0.
“Being able to have this many players and weapons is what we’ve been working on here,” Biser said. “Seeing our system work and begin to really show what we are is something we are proud of and want to continue to build on.”
MHS will now turn its attention to an early-season test on the road next week at Bridgeport. The Mohigans defeated the Indians last season 10-6 in Morgantown in a tough defensive battle and Bridgeport will be looking for its revenge as both teams aim to put an impressive victory in the win column in just week two of the season.
“We better tighten up our chin straps for next week,” Biser said. “They’re physical, they play at a low pad level, they run their offense to a T, defensively they’re good and they will be good on special teams. When you’re playing Bridgeport it has to be won in the trenches, every game has to be won in the trenches really, and we will have to be ready to come and play next week.”
Box Score
Morgantown 30 35 0 0 – 65
South Charleston 0 0 0 0 – 0
SCORING SUMMARY
1Q
MHS Marcus Ullom 6-yd run (Ullom run)
MHS AJ Thomas 2-yd run (Stire kick)
MHS Ullom 9-yd pass from Bowers (Ullom run)
MHS Bobby Powell 46-yd run (Stire kick)
2Q
MHS Maddox Bowers 5-yd run (Stire kick)
MHS Bobby Powell 50-yd punt return (Bailey kick)
MHS Jacob Kier 39-yd run (Bailey kick)
MHS Fumble Recovery (Bailey kick)
MHS Andrew Phares 13-yd pass from Bowers (Bailey kick)
Individual stats:
RUSHING — MHS: Ullom 1-6 TD; Nutter 1-0; Thomas 2-9 TD; Powell 2-55 TD; Bowers 1-5 TD; Kier 1-39 TD; Anderson 1-30; Haney 2-37; Andis 1-20; Hawkins 2-17; Thompson 1-5; Lawhun 1-21; Monroe 1-8. SC: Baskin 9-22; Green 4-9; Wilson 1-(-1); Pendleton 1-7.
PASSING — MHS: Bowers 6-6 56-2 TD. SC: Wilson 5-15 3.
RECEIVING — MHS: Ullom 2-15 TD; Deprospero 1-10; Phares 2-20 TD; Thomas 1-11. SC: McConihay 1-(-4); Seagraves 2-3; Pendelton 2-4.
