HEDGESVILLE — Akir Johnson put up some video-game numbers Friday night, as No. 7 Morgantown High raced past Hedgesville 45-7.
The MHS senior defensive tackle put up five quarterback sacks to tie a school record.
“Yeah, I couldn’t really believe it,” said Johnson, a mountain of a young man listed at 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds. “I really didn’t know how many I had, and when someone told me, I thought that had to be a record.”
Johnson was told it actually tied the record.
“I was begging coach (Sean Biser) to let me get back into the game so I could go get one more,” Johnson said. “He told me I was done.”
So were the Eagles (2-6), who have dropped six in a row.
“I was mostly bull rushing,” Johnson said. “I would push and pull, rip and tear, but mostly just bull rushing. The guy blocking me wasn’t ready for it.”
The Mohigans (6-3) got off to a slow start, according to Biser, but quickly began to pull away in the second quarter.
“We had a touchdown early that was called back,” Biser said. “We had some illegal procedures. Stuff like that can frustrate you early.
“The kids eventually got locked in and were able to take control and then pulled away in the second half.”
Biser said both MHS quarterbacks Alex Himes and Maddox Twigg looked good and running back A.J. Thomas played well.
Aidan Stire kicked two field goals and also caught a two-point conversion pass.
None of them had a night quite like Johnson, who followed up his big game with a recruiting visit to Glenville State on Saturday.
“Akir was pretty good,” Biser said. “Five sacks in one game from a defensive tackle, you don’t see that a lot.
“We also had three interceptions, so overall the defense looked pretty good for us.”
MHS will be on a two-game winning streak heading into next week’s Mohawk Bowl against University High.
The Mohigans would secure a home playoff game in the first round of the state playoffs with a win.
“I would say (Friday night) was one of our better defensive performances of the year,” said Johnson, whose previous high for sacks in a game was two. “The entire defense was making plays. We did have a shutout earlier in the year, but our defense was better this time.”
