By Sean McNamara, For Lootpress
RACHEL – In a battle of two of Class AA’s best, the Fairmont Senior Polar Bears defeated the North Marion Huskies, 20-19, in overtime Friday in Rachel at Woodcutters Stadium.
Coming into the game, North Marion held the top spot in the Class AA WVSSAC playoff rankings while the Polar Bears held the 11th spot.
The win was Fairmont Senior’s 19th consecutive victory in the rivalry, with the last Husky win coming in 2003 in overtime in Rachel. Fairmont Senior came into the game off of two consecutive losses to Class AAA opponents and has not lost a regular-season game to a Class AA foe since 2016.
After battling to a 13-13 tie after regulation, the Huskies (5-1) scored on their first play of the extra session as Aaron Hoffman raced for a 20-yard touchdown run and, after a failed two-point conversion, North Marion held a 19-13 lead.
As the Polar Bears (4-2) took over, quarterback Brody Whitehair was intercepted by NMHS defensive back Landon Frey causing a celebration from the home team, but a pass interference flag extended the game, making way for Germaine Lewis to score on the ground from 10-yard out, sending Nate Flower on to knock through the PAT and secure the victory.
“For all the mistakes we made, turnovers and penalties, we still gave ourselves a chance,” FSHS coach Nick Bartic said. “I’m really proud of our guys for not quitting. You have to credit North Marion for a great game and one that could have gone either way.”
In the victory, Fairmont Senior did see its share of blunders with four turnovers and 15 penalties costing the team 130 total yards.
Forcing those turnovers was a North Marion defense that had recorded three consecutive shutouts, but the Polar Bears were able to make enough defensive stops and enough big plays to secure the victory.
“We were right there,” North Marion coach Daran Hays said. “They’re the champs for a reason. I saw what I needed to see from our guys tonight, and I think we’re right in the conversation.”
The leadup to overtime was a defensive battle between the two Marion County squads in front of a large crowd at Woodcutters Stadium.
Neither team recorded an offensive touchdown in the first three quarters, with a 12-yard interception return from NMHS’s Aaron Hoffman in the first quarter accounting for the only touchdown of the opening half which gave the Huskies a 7-0 after freshman Savannah Walls knocked in the PAT.
Pressure from the North Marion defensive front, led by Harley Sickles and Landon Boone, forced the rushed throw and the interception. The defensive pressure came up big again for the Huskies three drives later as Whitehair was again forced into rushing a pass, with this one coming down in the hands of NMHS lineman Aaron McKie early in the second quarter.
Fairmont Senior’s defense then came through on the next drive as junior Gavin Michael dove to intercept a pass from North Marion’s Casey Minor, setting up a 33-yard field goal from Nate Flower to make the game 7-3, Huskies, at the half.
In that opening half, the Polar Bears held the Huskies to 51 yards on 17 plays while gaining 172 yards of their own on 30 snaps.
After forcing a North Marion punt to open the second half, Flower again came through with his leg, knocking in a 29-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6, North Marion.
After forcing a North Marion punt, the Polar Bears’ offense began with the ball near midfield, but a strip-sack by Sickles on Whitehair led to a recovery by Boone in Husky territory, thwarting the threat from the opposing team.
North Marion was unable to take advantage against the stout FSHS defense, and was forced into its fifth three-and-out of the game to that point.
As the Polar Bears looked to drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter, Jayden Cheriza caught a 23-yard pass from Whitehair but was stripped on his way to the ground, making way for a Frey recovery deep in Husky territory for FSHS’s fourth turnover of the game with 6:58 left to play.
On the ensuing drive, a Husky offense that had been stifled all night found some life, putting together a long drive that took 4:55 off the clock and culminated with a 19-yard TD pass from Minor to Frey on third and long to put the Huskies up, 13-6.
In an effort to go up by nine and put the game away with just over two minutes left, the Huskies went for two but were stuffed at the goal, keeping the lead at seven.
“We tell our guys all the time, ‘we practice goal line and red zone a lot because that wins games,’ Bartic said. “Right there is an example of it.”
As the Huskies kicked off to the Polar Bears, Dylan Ours bobbled the kickoff initially, but picked it up and raced 41 yards to the Husky 49-yard line, giving Fairmont Senior great field position with a chance to tie the game late.
“We have a lot of grit,” Hays said. “We have to make plays down the stretch. Kickoff team, which is my part, we kind of let one split us there. The right call there is probably to squib it, but we’re fortunate to get a guy kicking it down the field.
We’ve been doing a great job of covering them.”
Fairmont Senior wasted little time, scoring in one minute with Whitehair connecting on passes to Lewis, Trey Longwell and Cheriza, the last of which was an 8-yard strike to Cheriza that tied the game at 13 after a Flower PAT with 59 seconds to play.
“It’s not about the last play. It’s about the next play,” Bartic said. “We were able to do just enough and learn just enough to put that last drive together and run a successful two-minute drill.”
In the overtime period, the Huskies’ score and failed two-point conversion made way for the Lewis run and Flower kick to seal it.
While the defensive effort and clutch plays from both teams kept the game tight throughout, the Polar Bears’ advantage on special teams, particularly in the kicking game with Flower, were paramount in the final score.
Fairmont Senior outgained North Marion 365-171 in total yards, holding a Husky team that was averaging 329 yards per game to just over half of its season average.
The defensive play from Ours, Michael Kruzel and Brayln Michael helped the Polar Bears limit the Huskies to just five plays of 10 or more yards. Minor led the way with 70 rushing yards on 19 carries while completing 7-of-17 passes for 56 yards a touchdown and an interception.
Against a NMHS squad that was allowing just 116 yards of offense per game, the Polar Bears more than tripled that figure, led by Lewis’ 100 rushing yards, Whitehair’s 197 passing yards and Cheriza’s 99 receiving yards.
Next up for FSHS is a game against Morgantown on the road next week, while North Marion will host Elkins.
FAIRMONT SENIOR 20, NORTH MARION 19
Team Statistics
FS;NM
First Downs;13;12
Rushing Yards; 168;105
Passing Yards; 197;56
Total Yards; 365;171
Passing; 13-22-2;7-17-1
Fumbles;5;4
Fumbles Lost;2;0
Penalties;15-130;4-40
Individual Statistics
Rushing: FS: Germaine Lewis 19-100 1 TD, Dylan Ours 11-60, Brody Whitehair 4-9, TEAM 2-(-1). Totals: 36-168. NM: Casey Minor 19-70, Aaron Hoffman 9-55, Gavan Lemley 7-6, Parker Kincell 2-2, TEAM 2-(-18) Totals: 40-105.
Passing: FS: Brody Whitehair 13-22-2 197 yards 1 TD. NM: Casey Minor 7-17-1 56 yards 1 TD.
Receiving: FS: Jayden Cheriza 5-99 1 TD, Dylan Ours 5-53, Trey Longwell 2-26, Germaine Lewis 1-19. NM: Landon Frey 3-36 1 TD, Parker Kincell 3-19, Cody Clevenger 1-1.
Fairmont Senior;; 0;3;3;7;7—20
North Marion;;7;0;0;6;6 – 19
First Quarter
NM – Aaron Hoffman 12-yard interception return (Savannah Walls kick)
Second Quarter
FS: Nate Flower 33-yard field goal
Third Quarter
FS: Nate Flower 29-yard field goal
Fourth Quarter
NM – Landon Frey 19-yard pass from Casey Minor (run failed)
FS – Jayden Cheriza 8-yard pass from Brody Whitehair (Flower kick)
OT
NM – Aaron Hoffman 20-yard run (run failed)
FS: Germaine Lewis 10-yard run (Flower kick)