LINDSIDE — James Monroe head coach John Mustian was speechless after Saturday’s game against Trinity. It wasn’t just the fact the Mavericks had won their first playoff game in five years but how they won it — with a defensive effort unlike one he’s seen before.
No. 7 James Monroe held the 10th-seeded visitors from Morgantown to minus-38 yards rushing and just 30 yards of total offense in a 32-0 win Saturday in Lindside.
“Wow, really?” Mustain said when told what his defense did postgame. “They’ve been our rock so to speak this entire season. There’s been a lot of times this season where our offense really couldn’t get things going and they’ve done a heckuva job all season. Our linebackers are really starting to figure it out, our defensive backs have really been playing a lot better lately but yeah, they’ve been our glue all season.”
Part of the struggles on offense Mustain eluded arose from a carousel at quarterback. Before the year the veteran head coach, fresh off a three-year hiatus, explained he thought he had at least four players that could play the position and he’s tested that theory out with Eli Allen, Cooper Ridgeway and Layton Dowdy all seeing time behind center.
Saturday night Mustain rolled with the hot hand in Dowdy and it paid off as the freshman carried the ball 21 times for 82 yards and a score. He also completed 4 of 8 passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns for an offense that seemingly moved the ball at will when it wasn’t bogged down by penalties.
Most of the damage came on the ground for the Mavericks as they piled up 280 yards rushing, establishing the run early.
It started with Cooper Ridgeway breaking free for a 26-yard scoring run less than three minutes into the game but penalties – there were nine total in the first quarter – disallowed any type of rhythm on either side. When the Mavericks finally gathered some momentum, they rolled.
A nine-play, 67-yard drive ended in Dowdy connecting with senior Cameron Thomas on a 15-yard scoring strike that staked the hosts to a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter. After forcing a Trinity fumble four plays later, the duo was true again as a four-play, 16-yard scoring drive saw the the rookie and the vet connect once more from five yards out.
“He has handled it well,” Mustain said. “Of course he’s just a freshman. There’s some times early on in the season where we really started moving in his direction. He was getting a little bit shell shocked but you know he’s doing so much better when he’s in the pocket reading what’s going on. We do some passing where we roll out but most of our passing has tended to be from the pocket here lately and there was one instance tonight where he stepped up, went left and came back right and hit Eli (Allen) and that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for out of a quarterback as far as pocket play. He’s improved a lot so I think the future is pretty bright for him.”
While the Mavericks were finding their groove on offense the same couldn’t be said for the visitors. Ten first-half rushing attempts resulted in a loss of 15 yards with four completions for 23 yards being the lone positive on the Trinity sideline. Two fumbles – one on the James Monroe 30 and one on their own 16 – didn’t help the cause.
“It wasn’t as much execution as it was a maturity thing for us,” Trinity head coach Chris Simpson said. “We’re a young team and we’re an undersized team. We knew that coming in. Nothing from the Mavericks, they’re an awesome football team, they played great up front with their front five. When they faced us with their defense they played strong on the line and took away a lot of our normal opportunities. We were outplayed tonight but that’s a great football team we played tonight.”
After a scoreless third quarter the hosts delivered the knockout blow early in the fourth. A 47-yard run by Grant Lively moved the ball to the Trinity 10 and Dowdy did the rest, powering in from three yards out just two plays later.
Trinity’s efforts to avoid the shutout were squashed with Cooper Ridgeway and Braydie Carr both securing interceptions in the quarter. Granger Gore’s 10-yard rush with 2:32 left in the game capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that accounted for the game’s final points.
The playoff win is the first for the Mavericks since 2016 when they made a run to the Class AA semifinals. It’s also the first for Mustain since that point as he retired from coaching following the team’s 2017 season, returning to the sidelines this season.
“Anytime, I don’t care who you’re playing or whether you’re home or away, it’s a big thrill to know you’re going to get to go another week,” Mustain said. “And you know when you look through what these kids went through last year, only getting to play four games, it’s nice that they get to do a little something to possibly make up for that. So I’m just happy as I can be for them.”
By TYLER JACKSON, LOOTPRESS
