MORGANTOWN — Spring Mills ran its offense like a well-oiled machine Friday night as the Cardinals scored a touchdown on every possession en route to a 49-14 win over University at Mylan Pharmaceutical Field.
Spring Mills (7-1) quarterback Max Anderson accounted for five touchdowns as he ran for 116 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 138 yards and another score.
“It’s plain and simple, Max means the world to this team,” SM coach Marcus Law said. “He’s a kid that does the extra stuff, he’s our number-one guy in film study. This is a kid who does the small things when no one’s looking.”
Anderson also made a 46-yard catch on a fake punt in the fourth quarter. That kept SM’s sixth and final drive alive as the Cardinals scored on all six of their offensive possessions. The seventh touchdown was an 89-yard kickoff return by Zachary Bender at the start of the second half.
“We had no answer for (Anderson) and we couldn’t get off the field,” UHS coach John Kelley said. “No matter where they started from, they were going to drive and score and we couldn’t get our offense back on the field.”
Spring Mills dominated the time of possession throughout the game as the Cardinals gained twice as many first downs (22-11) and ran 20 more plays (63-42) than their hosts. University (3-4) ran just six plays in the first quarter as its offense to get into a rhythm. The Hawks went down 14-0 at the start of the second quarter before finally picking up a first down.
UHS quarterback Luke Hudson threw a pair of touchdown passes in the frame, both to receiver Ethan Jackson, from 34 and 13 yards out. However, Spring Mills kept scoring and led 28-14 at halftime.
The Cardinals took the opening kickoff of the second half back for a touchdown to lead 35-14 and simply dominated the entire second half.
“The further you fall behind, the more desperate you are to throw and do things,” Kelley said.
“They’re very good, sometimes you’ve just got to acknowledge that you’re opponent was much better than you.”
Spring Mills backup quarterback Rylan Swartz completed two passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Running back Alex Eaton ran for 47 yards and scored a 52-yard touchdown on a screen pass in the second quarter.
“I’m not going to criticize my team as much as I’ll say (Spring Mills) is really good,” Kelley said. “The bottom line is they’re an excellent football team, they’re certainly a top-five team.”
Hudson finished 10 of 22 for 107 and a pair of scores. Melique Lewis ran for 70 yards on 13 carries for the Hawks. Jackson finished with 77 yards on six receptions.
University will travel across the county line to take on the Preston Knights next week while Spring Mills is set for a local clash in the eastern panhandle against Martinsburg.
SM 6 22 14 7 — 49
UHS 0 14 0 0 — 14
Scoring Summary
SM – Anderson run 4 (kick blocked)
SM – Anderson run 2 (Bender pass from Anderson)
UHS – Jackson pass 34 from Hudson (Coleman kick)
SM – Eaton pass 52 from Anderson (Reyes kick)
UHS – Jackson pass 13 from Hudson (Coleman kick)
SM – Anderson run 5 (Reyes kick)
SM – Bender kickoff return 89 (Reyes kick)
SM – Anderson run 2 (Reyes kick)
SM – X. Anderson pass 30 from Swartz (Reyes kick)
Individual Stats
RUSHING – Spring Mills: 46-211-4td (Brown 1-10; Butts 9-35; Anderson 19-116-4td; Eaton 14-47; Graham 1-2; Swartz 1-1; King 1-0). University: 20-69 (K. Lewis 1-(-10); M. Lewis 13-70; Hudson 4-7; Kehler 2-5).
PASSING – Spring Mills: 13-17 214-2td (Anderson 11-15 138-td; Swartz 2-2 76-td). University: 10-22 107-2td (all Hudson).
RECEIVING- Spring Mils: 13-211-2td (X. Anderson 3-51-td; Bokwe 3-37; Eaton 1-52-td; Bender 3-23; Ramey 1-4; Mills 1-1; Anderson 1-46). University: 10-107-2td (K. Lewis 2-6; Jackson 6-77-2td; M. Lewis 2-24).
