MORGANTOWN — Truth be told, Sean Biser is hesitant to really say what he has in running back Brodrick Washington.
“You know, he came into camp this summer and he was behind a little bit,” Biser said Friday night after the Mohigans finished off their preseason with a scrimmage against Preston High. “We kind of had him behind some other guys and he’s had to work his way up. He’s just now beginning to get comfortable. He’s really just now starting to show what he can do.”
Washington showed plenty against the Knights at Pony Lewis Field, scoring on an 82-yard run on the first play of the scrimmage.
“Everything just kind of set up the way it was supposed to,” Washington said. “I got through the line and our pulling guard Nathan (Hagan) made a crushing block and I just kept running. I was pretty tired after that play.”
The junior running back was in a back-up role for MHS last season, but still flashed potential.
“He actually was our best buck-sweep runner last year,” Biser said. “He wasn’t our best running back, but he really knew how to set up the buck sweep and make the right reads on that play.
“We’re asking him to do a little more now, so he’s still coming along and working hard.”
Washington’s other two scores were also on one-play drives.
He scored on a 28-yard run after the Mohigans’ defense came up with an interception and then added a 25-yard TD reception from Sabastian Dalton after a shanked punt.
“I’m playing with a lot more confidence this year,” Washington said. “Camp has been good for me, because we got a lot of reps in and coach Biser has really worked with me.
“I never had to worry about catching a pass before, but that’s something we’re working on now. It’s a lot different from last year.”
MHS scored five times in the first half, but three of the scores came after both teams began to make mass substitutions.
Washington’s 82- and 28-yard scoring runs were the only scores given up by the PHS first-string defense, which also forced two turnovers on downs and forced a fumble.
Preston’s first-string offense struggled, though. The Knights picked up just one first down and were forced to punt four times in the first half.
“I mean, it was only 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, but I still wasn’t very happy with what I saw,” PHS first-year head coach Mark Deep said. “I was disappointed, because we were having too many breakdowns and too many mistakes.
“That includes us as coaches, too. We were terrible tonight. We’ve all got to get better.”
Deep said the Knights held out some key players.
“We were shuffling a lot of guys around, which is never good,” he said. “We’ve had some injuries, but I was hoping to see some other guys get in there and do some things. We’re trying to get guys ready to play good (Class) AAA football, so you need to build some depth, but we had a lot of miscues out there tonight.”
Biser said the Mohigans may be in that same boat, because of the turnovers and penalties.
“It’s kind of like many things in life, there’s the good and the bad,” he said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a few times and we didn’t line up the right way a few times, but we also had a lot of good things happen, too.”
MHS quarterback Maddox Bowers threw for two touchdowns and completed 6 of 8 passes for 138 yards and Washington racked up 122 yards on the ground on his five attempts.
Both schools begin the regular season next Friday. MHS will host South Charleston, while the Knights will travel to Hampshire.
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