MORGANTOWN — The postseason is unofficially here for the Morgantown Mohigans.
Entering Friday’s road contest against Spring Mills, the Mohigans check in at No. 15 in the WVSSAC Class AAA rankings following a 49-14 setback to University in the annual Mohawk Bowl last week.
Spring Mills sits one spot behind MHS, tied with Woodrow Wilson for No. 16, the final spot, in the rankings. Morgantown has a 6.67 rating while Spring Mills has a 6.44 rating.
The winner of this game will likely be assured a spot in the playoffs. The loser will start preparing for the 2022 season.
“It’s our first round of the playoffs right now,” MHS head coach Sean Biser said. “It’s the mentality we’ve taken all week. If we want to get in, we have to win.”
The Mohigans and Cardinals have identical 4-5 records. Spring Mills, located in Berkeley County, lost to Albert Gallatin last week 15-7. Despite being a low-scoring game, AGHS dominated the time of possession as Spring Mills only ran 17 offensive plays.
The Cardinals do have big-play potential, though, as their lone score against AGHS came on an 89-yard passing play from quarterback Max Anderson to Tyrell Denson.
Bernard Newman, TJ Burger, Khayleb Robinson and Keon Mills are other receivers who can get their hands on the ball. The Cardinals’ top runners are Nukk Houston, Nathan Graham and Alex Eaton.
Biser is aware of their versatility and capability on offense. He is prepared for what could be a shootout with his Mohigans.
“They’ve got great athletes,” Biser said. “They have good receivers and they move some kids around to get the best match up against you. They have a nice power game and run some counters off it. They run nice screen plays and that can cause issues.”
Big plays also kept the Mohigans alive against University last week. In the Mohawk Bowl, Bobby Powell took an 85-yard kickoff return to the house for a touchdown and Peyton Johnson broke out for a 79-yard touchdown run.
Both scores came in the third quarter and brought Morgantown into within seven points of the Hawks. But then UHS scored 28 unanswered points to close out the victory.
Morgantown’s offense looks to get its power run game back on track against Spring Mills, but Biser said that won’t be easy.
“They run multiple fronts so that’s an issue in itself when you’re not sure what kind of defense you’re going to see,” Biser said. “We just prepare for a little bit of everything. They’ve got good athletes on their defensive front.”
Biser is in his second year with the Mohigans, just like Spring Mills head coach Josh Sims is in his second year with the Cardinals. Sims, who coached as an assistant at MHS under Matt Lacy, guided Spring Mills to six wins last year, including the school’s first-ever playoff victory. The team found out their second round playoff game was canceled due to COVID-19 while on the bus across the state to face Cabell Midland.
Spring Mills was formed in 2013 to attract overflow students from Martinsburg and Hedgesville high schools. Biser was coaching at Keyser at the time and scrimmaged the Cardinals on several occasions while also competing with them in 7-on-7 camps.
In his 16 years at Keyser, Biser only missed the playoffs twice. Morgantown has not won a playoff game since 2016. A win Friday allows the Mohigans to get that chance again.
“That’s what we play football for,” Biser said. “It’s the competition. Our kids have to recognize that. We can stand on a soapbox and give them all the pregame speeches we want, but at the end of the day, they have to know what they’re playing for and what’s at stake.”
It could be one of the biggest games in the football careers of 15 MHS seniors. This group helped in the transition from Matt Lacy to Biser and laid the framework for a stronger future for the Mohigans.
“They’ve done a great job,” Biser said. “They’ve bought in to what we’re doing and they hold each other accountable. From the weight room to the practice field, they’re helping to make the change we need to turn this into a successful program.
“We coach to win but we also coach to affect the lives of these young men. We hope they had a great experience and we hope they can carry the lessons they’ve learned through football into the rest of their lives. They’ve done a great job for us.”
And they hope it’s not done yet.
By MATTHEW PEASLEE
TWEET @dompostsports
