By Rick Kozlowksi, The Journal
BUNKER HILL — There’s little, it seems, that Musselman High junior Blake Hartman can’t do.
Coming off a 303-yard rushing performance the week before against Woodgrove, Va., Hartman showed off his big-play ability again Friday against Morgantown.
He produced touchdowns in three different ways and it was, once again, a Blake Day as the Class AAA No. 4 Applemen (5-1) cruised to a 35-0 victory over Morgantown.
In a series that has produced close games over the years, this one stayed tight over the course of a scoreless first quarter.
Then, in a matter of seconds, Hartman and the Applemen assumed control.
On two of three Musselman offensive plays, Hartman threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Kagan Teets and then took a shovel pass from Caleb Hardy and zigged his way through traffic until he sped away from the defense for an 87-yard score, giving the Applemen a 14-0 second-quarter lead.
Then he ran for a couple of touchdowns in the second half, including a 97-yard touchdown run, that put him unofficially past the 400-yard mark in all-purpose yardage on Friday night.
The effort surprised even Hartman, who must be considered a strong candidate for the Kennedy Award as the top player in West Virginia high school football.
“That number is obviously unheard of,” Hartman said. “I didn’t think I had that much.”
He ran for 209 yards, threw for 75 and caught the 87-yard pass and added some modest return yardage, all things considered.
He moved past 1,000 yards rushing for the third year in a row.
“That’s all on my line and the wide receivers blocking on the edge,” Hartman said. “They’re the big reason why I get the long TD runs, their blocking.”
He nearly had a long touchdown run early in the game as he took a handoff and bolted up the middle, only to get caught by a virtual shoelace as he nearly broke free on his first carry, a 29-yard run.
His first two touchdown plays came about four minutes apart in the second quarter, starting with 7:17 left in the half.
On his touchdown pass, Hartman took a pitch to the right, wound up and threw deep to a well-covered Teets, who grabbed the pass over a leaping defender near the Morgantown 40-yard line and ran untouched to the end zone.
Jace Whetsell ran for 100 yards to lead the Mohigans (1-5), but Morgantown generated little offense otherwise. They finished with 145 yards of total offense.
