MARTINSBURG – Through the first half of Saturday’s Class AAAA semifinal playoff game between No. 3 Martinsburg and No. 7 University, the Hawks went toe to toe with the two-time defending champion Bulldogs.
In the second half, though, University was no match for Martinsburg, as the Bulldogs (11-2) dominated on both sides of the ball in the final two quarters en route to a 44-13 victory, earning a spot in next week’s Class AAAA state championship game.
“We were right there with them, going with one of the premier programs in the state, if not the program in the state,” University coach Eric Snyder said. “We’re toe to toe with them, probably could have even came out to be a little closer there, where we had some opportunities.
“The adversity that the kids overcame this season, alone, with the injuries that we had – to be able to come out here and still fight in the state semifinals, there’s nothing they should be disappointed in whatsoever.”
Despite both teams putting together long drives on their first offensive possessions, neither was able to put any points on the board through most of the first quarter. That changed on Martinsburg’s second offensive possession of the game, as it went 62 yards in 11 plays, finding pay dirt with 1:01 remaining in the first quarter when Brian Dick connected with Boston Todd on an 8-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone for the 7-0 lead.
The Hawks (9-4) responded with a long drive that resulted in a 34-yard field goal by Brady Goodenow to cut the lead to 7-3 with 11:08 left in the second quarter. University then held the Bulldogs out of the end zone and got the ball back with a little momentum.
However, on the third play of the ensuing drive, Jack Byrer’s pass was intercepted by Ty Ricketts, setting Martinsburg up at the Hawks’ 37-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Todd took the handoff and went all the way for the touchdown, helping push the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-3 with 6:12 on the second-quarter clock.
Not to be outdone, University scored on its next possession in just three plays, as Byrer found Glenn Brown on a perfectly placed pass over the defender for a 38-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 14-13 with 5:27 remaining in the first half.
The Hawks forced a turnover on Martinsburg’s next drive, with Hayden George intercepting Dick’s pass and giving them the ball at their own 20. A 36-yard pass from Byrer, who threw for 214 yards and a touchdown, to K.K. Lewis put University in Bulldog territory, and then three Martinsburg penalties helped put the Hawks first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. The Bulldogs, though, held University out of the end zone, and it settled for a Goodenow 22-yard field goal to make the score 14-13 with a minute to go in the first half.
That was plenty of time for Martinsburg to get on the scoreboard again, and it found the end zone with 13 seconds remaining in the half when Dick, who had a combined four touchdowns, scored on a 2-yard toss, giving the Bulldogs a 21-13 lead at the half.
“Scoring right before the half was big for us, I thought,” Martinsburg coach David Walker said.
Martinsburg took over in the second half, beginning with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Dick to Todd with 9:27 to go in the third quarter that extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 28-13. After a long drive by the Hawks, in which they had a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, resulted in no points, Martinsburg scored on its ensuing drive, as Dick, who ran for 136 yards and passed for 106 yards, found Mason Walley on a 25-yard touchdown pass, pushing the lead to 35-13 with 31 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
“At halftime, you’ve got to give kudos to Martinsburg – they came out with some nice adjustments right there. They bunched us up on certain sides and were able to provide the run attack to that side, you know, things that are a nuisance to man-to-man coverage,” Snyder said. “Our kids tried to battle through that adversity for a little while.
“We kind of got a little bit of bad play after bad play, maybe a missed tackle you can’t afford with those guys,” he added. “We tried to change a couple things there in the second half to catch up where they were.”
Walley got the first of his two second-half interceptions on University’s next drive, and the Bulldogs went right back to work, scoring on Kevin Myers’ 59-yard run to make it 41-13 with 11:51 remaining in the game. After Walley’s second interception, this one coming in the fourth quarter, Martinsburg moved down the field and got a 35-yard field goal from Cody Paige to extend the lead to 44-13.
Walker was much happier with the Bulldogs’ defense in the second half, as it pitched a shutout in the final two quarters.
“We got our eyes out of the backfield and started doing what we practiced,” he said. “In the first half, we got lost a little bit and took our eyes off receivers and let some guys get open. In the second half, I thought we were a little more disciplined.”
— Story by Eric Jones
