MORGANTOWN — Morgantown football head coach Sean Biser and his club left Pony Lewis Field with a 21-7 victory over visiting Connellsville, Pa. Friday night to improve to 3-1 on the 2024 season, but he admitted that the Mohigans were their “own worst enemy” at times.
“We will take the win, but it shouldn’t be making this hard on ourselves out there,” he said. “We have a few things to clean up but we are happy to get the win. I thought our defense played light out tonight, specifically in the second half. We had our moments offensively but we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot with mistakes and penalties like we did tonight.”
The Mohigans had multiple drives that were killed by mental errors, mostly false start penalties, and started early with their first drive stalling, resulting in a punt.
The MHS defense responded with a stop at midfield to get the ball back but then fumbled it away to the Falcons on the Mohigans’ side of the field at the 30-yard line.
Connellsville found some room with junior running back Jayden Mickens early on, but as Biser alluded to, the MHS defense constantly dug in and pressured the CHS backfield, including multiple stops on fourth down to take possession back with the game tied.
“Our defense made some plays, and I thought they picked up their intensity in the second half,” Biser said. “Keeping pressure on the quarterback all night was essential for us, and I thought our defensive line did a great job of making him uncomfortable.”
The contest remained scoreless midway through the second quarter until the Mohigans capped a three-minute drive with a one-yard score by senior back AJ Thomas, his first of three on the night.
MHS forced another three-and-out by the Falcons offense, but penalties plagued the drive again, and the hosts were forced to punt, a kick that senior specialist and WVU kicking commit Aidan Stire sent 67 yards the opposite way to the eight-yard line.
The Mohigans managed to gain possession back with less than 30 seconds until the break, and quarterback Alex Himes found his receiver Carter Cooper for a 30 yard chunk pass to give Stire a chance at a 45-yard field goal, but his attempt sailed just to the right of the goal posts.
MHS started with the ball on offense to open the second half, and Thomas didn’t take long to make his presence felt again as he rumbled for 40 yards for his second touchdown of the night.
The Mohigans took a 14-0 lead into the final quarter, and added to the advantage with 6:53 left in the game as Thomas scampered home from nine yards to tally his third score of the contest.
“(AJ) can do it all for us,” Biser said. “He makes plays running the ball, catching the ball, even returning. He always looks for things to improve on and certainly does some things he knows he shouldn’t, but the kid is a difference maker for us and we know if he has the ball there’s a chance he will score.”
Thomas finished the night with 114 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns.
The Falcons avoided the shutout with 3:12 to go in the game as Matthews punched home from three yards out.
MHS earned a pair of first downs on the ensuing drive and earned a 21-7 victory over the visiting Connellsville Falcons.
The Mohiagms improve to 3-1 and will return to Pony Lewis Field next week for Homecoming as the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers visit for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.
BOX SCORE
Connellsville 0 0 0 7 – 7
Morgantown 0 7 7 7 – 21
SCORING SUMMARY
MHS – AJ Thomas 1 run (Aidan Stire kick)
MHS – AJ Thomas 40 run (Aidan Stire kick)
MHS – AJ Thomas 9 run (Aidan Stire kick)
CHS – Matthews 3 run (Derek Routzahn kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Morgantown – Thomas 17-114 3 TD, Wells 5-78, Lawhun 1-20, Himes 5-17, Thompson 5-27, Snyder 1-7, Hawkins 1-7. Connellsville – Mickens 18-52, Matthews 4-9 TD, Hall 2-14.
PASSING: Morgantown – Himes 7-8 100. Connellsville – Matthews 9-23 125 INT
RECEIVING: Morgantown – Cooper 4-67, Lawhun 1-2, Blunt 2-31. Connellsville – Keller 5-61, Farrell 1-16, G Farrell 1-5, Mickens 1-35, Thomas 1-8
