MOUNDSVILLE — Bobby Powell showed off just how versatile No. 11 Morgantown is on Friday.
So did A.J. Thomas, Jacob Keir and even kicker Aiden Stire, for that matter.
They all played interesting roles, as the Mohigans romped John Marshall 48-0 at Monarchs Stadium.
“The versatility all comes from coach (Sean) Biser,” Powell said. “He’s always preaching to us it’s about being able to do more than one thing. You have more fun that way.”
The Mohigans (6-2) certainly had plenty of it, running out to a 34-0 halftime lead in a game that was hardly a challenge.
Yet it wasn’t a statistical domination as the scoreboard would tell you, not that it matters to Biser.
“Yeah, I don’t care about the stats,” he said. “I care about the final score and how we are executing. I thought outside of one possession, we executed pretty well. We got a little lax on one drive and we communicated that to our guys.”
The Mohigans scored seven touchdowns four different ways.
Powell had a 3-yard scoring run in the third quarter, but also returned an interception 95 yards for another touchdown late in the second quarter.
“It was a broken play and the ball was just kind of thrown up for grabs,” Powell said. “I just kind of stepped in front of the receiver and took off. It’s rare someone is going to catch me if I’ve got open field like that.”
No one did and Powell was all alone by the time he was 20 yards from the end zone.
Keir picked up a punt that had been blocked by teammate Jaylon Hill and returned it for an 18-yard TD. He also caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Alex Himes.
Thomas had a 7-yard run that gave MHS a 27-0 lead and then caught a pass out in the flat and nearly took it the distance, but still gained 55 yards on the play.
“We’ve kind of always been that way, versatile,” Powell said of himself and Thomas. “It’s like if one of us is having a bad day, the other picks up the slack. If we’re both having a good game, then it’s hard to stop.”
For kicks — no pun intended — Stire even showed some potential to his game.
The MHS junior kicker has shown a strong leg all season. Against John Marshall (1-8), he also got an opportunity to run the ball on a two-point conversion attempt. He came up short, but kickers running the football is just one more unexpected wrinkle the Mohigans can throw at you.
“He’s actually a very good athlete,” Biser said of Stire. “Kickers are athletes, too, but he’s a lot more athletic than regular kickers. You never really know what he’s going to do. Sometimes he may be a little too confident.”
MHS quarterback Maddox Bowers had a strong game, completing 5 of 6 attempts for 158 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown to Andrew Phares.
The MHS defense pitched its second shutout of the season, bouncing back from last week’s tough 38-34 loss against Parkersburg South.
John Marshall was held to just 185 total yards. JM quarterback Kayden Knapp completed 12 of 24 attempts for 124 yards.
Box score
Morgantown 14 20 14 0—48
John Marshall 0 0 0 0—0
SCORING SUMMARY
MHS—Caleb Nutter 1 run (Marcus Ullom run)
MHS—Jacob Keir 18 punt return (run failed)
MHS—Andrew Phares 28 pass from Maddox Bowers (kick failed)
MHS—AJ Thomas 7 run (Aiden Stire kick)
MHS—Bobby Powell 95 interception return (Stire kick)
MHS—Powell 3 run (Stire kick)
MHS—Keir 26 pass from Alex Himes (Stire kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Morgantown—Thomas 5-37 TD, Powell 4-23 TD, Nutter 2-9 TD, Remington Hawkins 8-32, Isaiah Thompson 3-16, Rhys Wells 1-36, Himes 2-(-6), Team 1-(-1). John Martshall—Maverick Lemasters 20-55, Mason Markonich 2-1, Kayden Knapp 3-5, Brady Deem 1-4, Carter Adkins 1-2, Dimario White 1-(-4).
PASSING:Morgantown—Bowers 5-6 158 TD, Himes 2-2 40 TD. John Marshall—Knapp 12-24-1 124.
RECEIVING: Morgantown—Phares 3-55 TD Keir 2-40 TD, Thomas 1-55, Jacob Anderson 1-48. John Marshall—Hayden Gaiser 5-75, Kaden Bungard 3-26, Xavier Wells 3-11, Mason Hagedorn 1-12.
