MORGANTOWN — Four different Morgantown High rushers ran for at least 40 yards Friday and the Mohigans defense pitched a shutout, as MHS beat the defending Class AA state champions 14-0 at Pony Lewis Field.
Morgantown (4-2) ended a two-game losing streak along the way and will remain in the top 16 of the Class AAA state rankings next week. The Mohigans are No. 16 this week.
The Mohigans and Polar Bears both were playing a run-heavy style of offense, but it would be the hosts who would figure out the defense and break through.
The opening quarter saw neither team putting points on the board. MHS drove the ball all the way to Fairmont’s 1-yard line and elected to go for a 4th-and-goal rather than kick a field goal. Junior quarterback Maddox Bowers dropped back to pass, but his throw sailed out of bounds.
Both defenses proved solid early on, as no score came until 4:08 to play in the second quarter, when MHS tailback Caleb Nutter ran up the middle from 3-yards out. Nutter finished the game with 71 yards on 21 carries and although the average wasn’t great, Nutter picked up countless first downs when it really mattered for his team.
The commitment to the run game isn’t something MHS head coach Sean Biser particularly planned on, but once it got rolling he basically couldn’t say no. Along with solid play from his offensive line, the ground game was a strong key to success for the Mohigans Friday night.
“We played very well up front, we’ve been working really hard and coming up short a few times,” Biser said of the performance of his offensive line. “That’s the position that I coach and they come to work every day I thought they played well against a great team.
“I have a whole sheet full of pass plays but when we started to get going I thought ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ and we kept running it well. I thought a few pass plays got away from us throwing the ball and the run was working.”
Sophomore A.J. Thomas made his season debut for the Mohigans and did so to the tune of 66 yards on just seven carries. Five different Mohigans rushed the ball, all of them attempting at least four rushes and four players tallied over 40 yards.
“It helps keep everyone fresh when they can’t key on one guy. No one has seen AJ Thomas yet, and he comes out as a sophomore and has a great game for us,” Biser said.
Not to be overlooked in this game was the defensive effort by the Mohigans, allowing only 160 yards of total offense to the Polar Bears. Including holding all-state running back Germaine Lewis to just 46 yards on 10 carries.
Senior safety Drew Boczek come out of the defensive backfield to make multiple tackles, as well as breaking up passes on multiple attempts. He says the mentality in a run-heavy game is something you just have to adjust to as the game goes on.
“I thought overall it was a great team win and all of our guys brought the juice tonight,” Boczek said. “When a game is run-heavy like tonight, you just have to be disciplined and make sure you do your job first.”
MHS added its second touchdown late in the third quarter when Thomas broke free from 15-yards out and ran into the end zone untouched, extending the lead to 14-0 after an extra point.
MHS will travel to Parkersburg South next week in what will be a huge matchup in Class AAA. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
Morgantown 0 7 7 0 – 14
Fairmont Senior 0 0 0 0 – 0
SCORING SUMMARY
MHS – Nutter 3-yard run (Stire kick)
MHS – Thomas 15-yard run (Stire kick)
INIDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: MHS – Nutter 21-71-TD, Thomas 7-66-TD, Ullom 9-58, Powell 7-40, Washington 4-12, FSHS – Lewis 10-46, Ours 10-41, Whitehair 4-13
PASSING: MHS – Bowers 3/5-43 FSHS – Whitehair 9/18-60
RECEIVING: MHS – Washington 1-0, Powell 2-43 FSHS – Lewis 5-22, Longwell 1-17, Shazier 1-15, Ours 2- -4
