Blake scores five TDs in season debut for Morgantown High
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MORGANTOWN - Lyric Blake sang a sweet song Friday night.
It was titled, "I Just Scored Five Touchdowns."
Making his season debut after sitting out last week with a foot injury, the transfer from Doddridge County rushed 25 times for 160 yards and scored five times, as Morgantown High took down Jefferson, 42-0, inside Pony Lewis Field.
"I thought it was pretty cool. I definitely loved the environment," Blake said. "It's definitely different going from a (Class) AA school to a AAAA school. I loved how everyone was so into it."
The Mohigans (2-0) needed every bit of Blake's offense. MHS star quarterback Maddox Twigg stood on the sidelines in his jersey and shorts after suffering a hamstring injury in last week's victory against Parkersburg.
MHS head coach Sean Biser did not comment on how much time it would take to get Twigg - last season's J.R. House Award winner - back into the lineup, but Biser sees plenty of potential in the 180-pound Blake.
"He's done a great job for us," Biser said. "He got dinged up a little bit, but he's back at it now. He's athletic and can run. We actually had him starting at receiver, because he catches the ball really well. He gives us some options and he runs hard."
As for the name, Blake's father was a guitar player in a rock band during his high school days and the name Lyric just seemed like a natural fit.
"I get asked about the name a lot," Blake said. "The thing about it is I tried to play guitar when I was younger and I really stunk at it. I couldn't get into playing music at all. I stuck to football."
Not a bad choice. His scoring runs - from 1, 3, 4 and two from 8-yards out - all came from power running, but he also showed the ability to make defenders miss in the open field on his 32-yard run that helped set up the Mohigans' first score of the game.
"I had one game last year with five touchdowns in one quarter, but it wasn't against competition like this," Blake said. "Having better guys around me, I feel like it's helped me be better. I feel like I've improved a lot."
Without Twigg in the game, it was a sluggish start for both schools in the first quarter. Morgantown lost a fumbled handoff and a fumbled punt in the early going, but the Mohigans' defense was up to the challenge.
Jefferson (0-2) was held to just 174 total yards, including just 34 yards rushing. Morgantown High's defensive front held the Cougars to 1.4 yards per carry.
The Cougars did get 140 yards through the air, with Harrison Garrett throwing for 77 yards on 11 of 21 passing and Young Holmes came off the bench to add 54 yards passing.
Morgantown's secondary also came up with three interceptions, with linebacker Collin Andis coming up with two of them.
"Our front played really well and our linebackers played really strong," Biser said. "Our kids were really hitting and played physical. Collin Andis had a great game. I could go down the line on all of our guys on defense. They played really well tonight."
In his first career varsity start, Chantz Lenhart was efficient filling in for Twigg. He connected with Tanzer George for a 15-yard scoring pass to give the Mohigans a 7-0 lead with 10:34 remaining in the second quarter. He finished 5 of 7 passing for 50 yards. MHS finished with 269 total yards.
"We're looking for certain guys to be able to do certain things, and if you can't do that, you can't be our quarterback," Biser said. "Chantz does everything we need him to do. We haven't had to change our game plan."
After the scoring toss to George, it was Blake who took over the game. He added two touchdowns in the second quarter to give the Mohigans a 21-0 halftime lead and then added three more in the third quarter to blow the game open.
"We've been starting slow on offense, even in our scrimmages," Blake said. "It seems like once we get one good play, we just keep adding on and adding on. Our line just keeps pushing. They're pretty good. Once our line gets going, we get going right behind them."
Box score
Jeff 0 0 0 0 - 0
MHS 0 21 21 0 - 42
SCORING SUMMARY
MHS-Tanzer George 15 pass from Chantz Lenhart (Aidan Petsko kick)
MHS-Lyric Blake 3 run (Petsko kick)
MHS-Blake 8 run (Petsko kick)
MHS-Blake 1 run (Petsko kick)
MHS-Blake 4 run (Petsko kick)
MHS-Blake 8 run (Petsko kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Morgantown-Blake 25-160 5 TD, Lenhart 6-14, Carson Keeling 1-0, Rudy Carrillo 2-12, Derrick Turner 4-30, Nigel James 2-5, Team 1-(-2). Jefferson-Harrison Garrett 3-17, Anderson Roberts 5-13, Tyson Kern 5-3, Austin Bugbee 4-6, Young Holmes 6-(-2), Team 1-(-3).
PASSING: Morgantown-Lenhart 5-7 50 TD. Jefferson-Garrett 11-21-3 77, Holmes 3-7 54, Mason Francoline 1-4 9.
RECEIVING: Morgantown-George 3-37 TD, Carrillo 2-13. Jefferson-Jaheim Gidney 6-45, Roberts 4-59, Keith Hessler 3-26, Frank Turk 1-1, Mason Walker 1-9.