CHARLESTON – For the first time in 20 years, the Morgantown High football team captured the state championship.
The Mohigans defeated Martinsburg 28-21 in the Class AAAA state championship on Laidley Field at the University of Charleston stadium on Saturday afternoon to claim the program’s first title since 2005.
Trailing 28-21 with 10 seconds to go in the game, Martinsburg faced a 4th down in the red zone at the eight-yard line when junior quarterback Brian Dick spiked the ball, turning the ball over and ending the game as Morgantown sophomore quarterback Maddox Twigg took a knee to end the contest.
The Bulldogs did have a play called from the sideline designed for a pass to standout receiver Boston Todd, but they failed to get it going as the ball hit the ground.
Twigg finished with 316 yards and four touchdowns offensively, with 181 yards and a score through the air and 135 yards and three touchdowns on 19 rushing attempts.
It’s the first state championship for Morgantown head coach Sean Biser in his career, and the first for the program in two decades.
“This has been a long time coming, and we’ve worked so hard to make it to this point,” Biser said. “It’s not just me, but these assistant coaches, our families, everybody. It’s not just one person when it comes to this program, and to be able to get that win feels amazing.”
Martinsburg opened the game with an early mistake, as its second play from scrimmage ended in a fumble recovered by Morgantown at the Bulldogs’ 45-yard line. The Mohigans converted a 3rd-and-10, but a fourth-down run came up short at the 13.
Martinsburg responded with a steady, run-heavy drive behind Boston Todd, pushing the ball to midfield before stalling on a long-yardage situation and punting.
Pinned deep, Morgantown flipped the field instantly when Twigg found Carter Cooper for a 62-yard gain to set up the first score of the night. Two plays later, Twigg powered in from 20 yards, putting MHS ahead 6–0.
Martinsburg’s next series was marred by penalties, including consecutive false starts, forcing another punt. Morgantown closed the quarter with a 6–0 advantage, driven by 124 total yards from Maddox Twigg alone.
“I think we were more ready to play today than the first time we saw them,” Twigg said. “We didn’t start too hot last time out, and I think the difference today was just how hard we worked and dedicated ourselves to winning this game. I couldn’t do any of it without my brothers.”
The Bulldogs mixed Todd and Dick effectively on an 11-play, five-minute march that reached the goal line. After two stops, Dick broke through for a 1-yard touchdown, giving Martinsburg a 7–6 lead with 3:05 left in the half.
Twigg wasted no time answering. Starting from his own 10, he converted two third downs with his legs before firing a sideline strike to Tanzer George on 3rd-and-10. On the next snap, he hit Jayden Smalls for 32 yards to the 2, then scored his second rushing TD of the half, pushing Morgantown back in front 14–7 with 22 seconds remaining.
Martinsburg then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Morgantown capitalized immediately as Twigg connected with George for a 21-yard touchdown with three seconds left. MHS took a 21–7 lead into halftime with 15 unanswered points in the final 22 seconds.
“That was a great swing for us, it’s hard to beat a team that comes out of the locker room hot in the second half,” Twigg said.
Morgantown picked up right where it left off to begin the second half, as Cooper returned the second-half kickoff across midfield. Twigg converted two short-yardage situations on the ground, including a 14-yard burst, then briefly exited with an injury before returning to finish the drive himself. His 9-yard touchdown run (his fourth TD of the night) extended the lead to 28–7 at the 7:07 mark.
Martinsburg finally found an answer when Dick broke free for a 28-yard scoring run, cutting the deficit to 28–14 with 3:41 left in the third after a previous long run was wiped out by holding.
The Bulldogs’ defense forced a punt on Morgantown’s next series, but the Mohigans returned the favor, stopping Martinsburg on 3rd-and-6 and surviving a muffed punt that they ultimately recovered.
Morgantown carried a 28–14 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We wanted our guys to come out and keep playing how they always do,” Biser said of his message to the team entering the fourth quarter. “Play this play. Don’t worry about the next play until it comes; just keep playing this play, and don’t worry about winning. That’s what we’ve told these kids from day one. Block and tackle, baby.”
The Bulldogs cut the Morgantown lead to one score, 28-21, with 4:30 to go. With 1:52 left in the game, the Mohigans punted the ball away, giving Martinsburg just over 90 seconds to either extend or end the game.
The Bulldogs drove all the way to the red zone before the fourth-down spike by Dick that turned the ball over on downs, and Twigg took a knee to end the game.
“It feels amazing,” Twigg said. “At the start of the year, we honestly felt a little shaky coming into the season, but after the first week or so, we really knew we had a great football team, and one that could make it to this point. I’m proud to be a part of this team and can’t wait to celebrate with my brothers.”
BOX SCORE
Morgantown 28, Martinsburg 21
MART 0 7 7 7 – 21
MORG 6 15 7 0 – 28
SCORING SUMMARY
MORG – Twigg 20 run (PAT no good)
MART – Dick 1 run (Paige kick)
MORG – Twigg 2 run (2pt good/Twigg run)
MORG – George 21 pass/Twigg (Petsko kick)
MORG – Twigg 4 run (Petsko kick)
MART – Dick 28 run (Paige kick)
MART – Cofield 3 run (Paige kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Martinsburg – Dick 26-95-2TD, Myers 3-25, Mcdonald-Gibson 6-19, Todd 3-9, Cofield 3-8-TD, Ricketts 1-0. Morgantown – Twigg 19-135-3TD, Lockett 3-6, Thompson 6-(-1), Cooper 3-(-14).
PASSING: Martinsburg – Dick 13/18-177. Morgantown – Twigg 7/17-181-TD.
RECEIVING: Martinsburg – Todd 11-136, Walley 1-36, Ricketts 1-5. Morgantown – Cooper 4-99, George 3-82-TD.
