MORGANTOWN — There is now a two-faced quarterback at Morgantown High, and ladies and gentlemen, you need to get ready for Maddox Twigg.
The Mohigans rolled past Buckhannon-Upshur 49-6 on Friday at Pony Lewis Field, with both Twigg and Alex Himes doing the bulk of the damage.
They are now the dual quarterbacks for the Mohigans (4-1), with Twigg just getting medically cleared after getting injured during a preseason scrimmage, so he made his high school debut against the Buccaneers (0-5).
First, we begin with the facts. Twigg — his nickname has got to become “Oak” — is 6-foot-2, 195 pounds and is just a freshman.
“He definitely doesn’t look like a freshman,” MHS head coach Sean Biser said. “He’s very talented and he’s got a high ceiling.”
The kid is just 14 years old and doesn’t turn 15 until late November.
“I get told all the time I don’t look like a freshman,” Twigg said. “People think I got reclassified or started school late. They don’t believe I’m 14.”
Buccaneers’ defenders likely had their doubts, as they seemingly had Twigg bottled up a few times, only to watch the freshman slip and escape and get down field.
“I kind of have this side-eye thing, where I use my peripheral vision and sell my eyes looking one way and then I go the other way,” he said.
Not to get lost in the excitement of a newcomer, Himes was phenomenal. He completed all three passes he threw for 105 yards and two touchdowns and also added a 48-yard TD run on the game’s first play.
“It was actually our plan at the beginning of the year to play both guys,” Biser said. “Then, Maddox got hurt and then Alex got hurt, but was able to come back.
“We’ve had to work Maddox in slowly. He wasn’t medically cleared until last week, but our plan moving forward is to continue to play both of them. We’re very fortunate to have two quality guys at quarterback.”
In his debut, Twigg completed 3 of 6 for 13 yards and added 64 yards rushing on seven carries and scored on a 2-yard run that gave the Mohigans a 28-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“I’d say that was my favorite moment,” Twigg said. “I got up, and all of my teammates were around me ready to celebrate. That was a pretty cool feeling.”
Twigg’s other moments showed off his ability to scramble. His passes were clean and crisp, but Twigg’s confidence in his legs is just something you don’t see from a high-school athlete who is still two years away from getting a driver’s license.
“He’s still learning the system, but he does open up our offense a little bit,” Biser said. “People think we’re about the Wing-T, but we’re more about being a power-spread type of offense now.”
Twigg’s family moved to Morgantown from Frankfort this summer, because of his father’s work. Biser, having spent 16 years coaching at nearby Keyser, knew the family.
“I’ve known Maddox since he was a little kid,” Biser said. “I definitely knew what we were getting when he first enrolled at Morgantown High. I knew the potential he had.”
MHS running back A.J. Thomas added 82 yards and two scores on nine carries, while also catching two passes for another 26 yards.
The Mohigans, who travel to Wheeling Park next week, finished with 450 yards of offense. Wheeling Park suddenly has one more Morgantown High quarterback to worry about.
“The goal now is to just keep working and keep getting better,” Twigg said. “We’ve got a big game coming up against a better opponent, so I’ll just keep getting prepared and we’ll see what happens.”
Box score
Buckhannon-Upshur 0 0 6 0—6
Morgantown 21 28 0 0—49
SCORING SUMMARY
MHS—Alex Himes 48 run (Aidan Stire kick)
MHS—A.J. Thomas 1 run (Stire kick)
MHS—Brady Savage 18 pass from Himes (Stire kick)
MHS—Twigg 2 run (Stire kick)
MHS—Thomas 16 run (Stire kick)
MHS—Carsin Lawhun 1 run (Stire kick)
MHS—Zaiiden Lockett 65 pass from Himes (Stire kick)
B-U—Dawson Tenney 11 run (kick failed)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Morgantown—Thomas 9-82 2 TD, Himes 1-48 TD, Twigg 7-64 TD, Isaiah Thompson 2-15, Noah Bourgeois 2-33, Owen Monroe 2-13, Zachary Estep 1-15, Braiden Snyder 2-24, Matthew Hennige 1-2, Team 8-(-8). Buckhannon-Upshur—Tenney 6-26 TD, Alex Wamsley 4-0, Chance Morgan 1-4, Wyatt Morris 4-(-5).
PASSING: Morgantown—Himes 3-3 105 2TD, Twigg 3-6 13. Buckhannon-Upshur—Tenney 6-15-1 60, Aiden Snyder 2-3-1 11.
RECEIVING: Morgantown—Lockett 1-65 TD, Carter Cooper 2-9, Savage 1-18 TD, Thomas 2-26. Buckhannon-Upshur—Kellan Wolverton 5-27, Colton Wendling 3-44.
