WILLIAMSTOWN — Williamstown’s offensive efficiency was off the charts during Saturday’s Class A football playoff opener against Greenbrier West.
The sixth-seeded Yellowjackets scored on six of a possible seven possessions to start the game and defeated the 11th-seeded Cavaliers, 48-20.
Williamstown at 9-2 next makes a trip to No. 3 seed East Hardy (10-1) for a quarterfinal matchup. Time and date are yet to be determined.
“I thought we did a great job on offense controlling the line of scrimmage against a pretty physical Greenbrier West team,” Williamstown coach Chris Beck said. “It’s like an old cliche — you control the line of scrimmage and good things happen.We were fortunate to be able to do that afternoon. I was proud of the effort we had up front.
“Of course, you have Nos. 3 and 7 back there. Anytime yet get hats on some guys, they make things happen.”
The backfield duo coach Beck referred to — Williamstown running back Rickie Allen and quarterback Max Molessa — accounted for a majority of the 420 rushing yards turned in by the Yellowjackets. Allen finished with 209 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns, while Molessa finished with 195 yards on 23 carries and a pair of TDs as well.
At this time a year ago, Williamstown players were observers of the state playoffs because of the COVID color map. Molessa was anxious for the opportunity this year.
“Our guys were very excited for the opportunity — for most everybody in the locker room, this was their first playoff game, so it was really big with everyone’s mindset,” Molessa said.
Greenbrier West gave Williamstown fits right off the bat — driving 80 yards in 11 plays after the opening kickoff and capping off the series with a 3-yard touchdown run from Ty Nickell. The two-point conversion failed and the Cavaliers led 6-0 with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter.
Williamstown’s offense didn’t flinch and scored 34 unanswered points. The only series which did not result in a touchdown was cut short by the clock reading zeroes at the end of the first half.
The scoring string began with Allen’s touchdown runs of 4 and 6 yards and Molessa’s 6-yard score as Williamstown took a 21-6 lead into intermission. The Yellowjackets tacked on two additional touchdowns without Greenbrier West’s offense running a play from scrimmage.
After Louis Goodnow scored from 4 yards on a reverse, Molessa picked up a loose ball on the ensuing kickoff. Four plays and 30 yards later, Jed Lane crashed into the end zone from a yard out as Williamstown extended the lead to 34-6 at the 6:45 mark of the third quarter.
“Our offensive success was due to the mindset of our offensive line dominating up front, and Rickie and I running as hard as we possibly could,” Molessa said.
A quarterback sneak from Cole Vandall from the Williamstown 1 ended the Cavalier drought and cut into the deficit at 34-12. But the Yellowjackets were unfazed and responded with Molessa’s keeper for a 7-yard score which all but secured a Williamstown win at 41-12 with 1:15 still showing on the third quarter clock.
Greenbrier West’s defense finally solved Williamstown’s offense and held on a fourth attempt from the Cavalier 17.
The Cavaliers’ good fortune didn’t last long. Like an outfielder responding in the clutch, Goodnow intercepted a pass in the Yellowjacket secondary and returned the pick to the Cavalier 5.Two plays later, Rex Anderson plowed in for a touchdown from 4 yards out.
Greenbrier West’s Josh Jones was responsible for the final points of the game, carrying the ball 19 yards on the final three plays — including a 1-yard TD run.
Williamstown finished with 489 yards of total offense compared to 341 for Greenbrier West. If the Yellowjackets are to win and advance in the quarterfinals, Beck feels improvement with their defense needs to occur.
“With East Hardy, we know we have some work to do on the back end,” Beck said. “East Hardy is pretty balanced. Their passing game scares me. They also do a really good job running the ball.”
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com
Class A State Football Playoffs
Opening Round
No. 6 Williamstown 48, No. 11 Greenbrier West 20
GW 6 0 6 8 — 20
WHS 7 14 20 7 — 48
Scoring Summary
GW: Ty Nickell 3 run (pass failed), 6:45, 1st quarter
WHS: Rickie Allen 4 run (Isaac Joy kick), 4:15, 1st quarter
WHS: Allen 6 run (Joy kick), 7:41, 2nd quarter
WHS: Max Molessa 6 run (Joy kick), 2:21, 2nd quarter
WHS: Louis Goodnow 4 run (kick failed), 8:26, 3rd quarter
WHS: Jed Lane 1 run (Joy kick), 6:45, 3rd quarter
GW: Cole Vandall 1 run (pass failed), 3:36, 3rd quarter
WHS: Molessa 10 run (Joy kick), 1:15, 3rd quarter
WHS: Rex Anderson 4 run (Isaac kick), 6:32, 4th quarter
GW: Josh Jones 1 run (Tucker Lilly run), 0:33.5, 4th quarter
Team stats
GW WHS
First downs 19 23
Rushes-yards 36-184 53-420
Passing yards 157 69
Total yards 341 489
Passing 12-24-1 8-13-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-9 7-58
Individual stats
Rushing: GW: Cole Vandall 8-50, Ty Nickell 12-52, Kadin Parker 4-5, Marcus Adkins 1-15, Josh Jones 6-21, Tucker Lilly 3-5, Chris Davis 1-24, Isaac Agee 1-12; WHS: Max Molsessa 23-195, Rickie Allen 23209, Jed Lane 3-7, Louis Goodnow 1-4, Lynken Joy 1-1, Rex Anderson 1-4, Cooper Billingsley 1-1. Passing: GW: Vandall 9-20-1, 132 yards; Parker 1-1-0 7 yards; Lilly 2-3-0, 18 yards; WHS:Molessa 8-13-0, 69 yards. Receiving: GW: Jayden Robinson 1-1, Lilly 1-11, Parker 2-19, Chase McClung 6-68; WHS: Allen 1-1, Goodnow 2-14, Kent Wigal 4-44, Lynken Joy 1-10.
Next game: Class A quarterfinal either Friday or Saturday, No. 6 Williamstown at No. 3 East Hardy. Time TBA
