HEDGESVILLE — Morgantown left Hedgesville seeing double Friday night in a 49-21 win for the Mohigans.
At the start of both halves, Morgantown had returns for touchdowns, only to have them called back by penalties.
No matter, because both times the Mohigans scored quickly from the line of scrimmage.
Keonn Mallett bolted on a 40-yard run for a touchdown one play after Caleb Nutter dashed 52 yards on a drive that took 35 seconds when a punt return score was nullfied.
Jake Anderson returned the second-half kickoff 70 yards to the end zone, but a penalty put the ball at the Hedgesville 18-yard line, where Morgantown promptly scored on first down
When the Mohigans doubled the score by managing a second TD in the third quarter, it pretty much spelled doom for the Eagles.
There was no coming back this time for Hedgesville.
The Mohigans added a touchdown for good measure in the fourth quarter and claimed a 28-point victory in a contest between undefeated teams coming in.
Morgantown entered play as the third-ranked team in Class AAA by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities and Hedgesville double that at sixth.
“I think our kids executed on offense the way we’re supposed to,” Morgantown coach Sean Biser said. “We made some mistakes by putting the ball on the ground.
“The second half, we played a much, much better game.”
Hedgesville struck just as quickly after Morgantown took its 7-0 lead as the Eagles needed only two plays to knot the game, scoring on Tanner Matthew’s 54-yard pass reception from quarterback Jaxson Ruest.
The game wasn’t tied very long as Nutter pushed over from the 2 only a minute-and-half later.
The net series, Marcus Ullom ran 60 yards for a touchdown.
Morgantown built a 28-7 lead in the second quarter as Nutter ran 64 yards for a touchdown, but Hedgesville closed to within 28-21 at halftime.
Matthew scored a 10-yard touchdown reception as he ran a slant to the end zone.
After a Morgantown fumble, Ruest found a littel hole, and he squeezed in from inside the 1.
That was the last of Hedgesville’s scoring.
“We’re young,” Hedgesville coach Matt Faircloth said, “and these kids don’t know what they’re capable of. They hung in there, but they spent so much energy getting back into it.”
The Mohigans added two more touchdowns after the initial score in the second half.
Nutter finished the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run
“I was pleased we recovered,” Biser said. “That’s what I want to see.”
As if one trip to the Eastern Panhandle wasn’t enough, Morgantown returns a second straight time to face Musselman, where the Mohigans hope to double their pleasure.
By RICK KOZLOWSKI
