Photos and Story By Sean McNamara
MORGANTOWN – In a Class AAA contest at Pony Lewis Field in Morgantown between two teams battling for postseason positioning, the Morgantown Mohigans raced past the John Marshall Monarchs, 47-7, on Friday to improve to 5-3 on the season.
The two squads entered Friday’s game with identical 4-3 records, with both teams’ losses all coming against opponents currently in the Class AAA playoff field. Morgantown came into the contest at No. 15 in the WVSSAC Class AAA playoff rankings with the Monarchs holdings the No. 19 spot.
Through the first quarter and a half of play, the Mohigans and Monarchs were tied at 7-7 before Morgantown went on a run that gave them the lopsided victory.
A 31-yard touchdown pass from Morgantown’s Maddox Bowers to Jacob Keir and a 5-yard TD run by John Marshall’s Klypsan Wallace knotted the teams up at seven late into the second quarter before the floodgates opened and the Mohigans ran away with the game.
The Morgantown defense set the tone all evening in front of its home crowd, holding the Monarchs (4-4) to 141 total yards in the game with 88 yards rushing and 53 passing.
“Everybody just did their job and came out and executed like we did all week in practice,” defensive back Keonn Mallett said. “Everyone just gave it 100 percent all night and we just outplayed them.”
The Mohigans forced four turnovers in the game with Andrew Phares intercepting a pass from JM quarterback Jacob Coffield and Bobby Powell, Brodrick Washington and Jake Anderson all recovering fumbles.
“We just played as a team,” senior Dakoma Neal said. “We had a great week of preparation for the game. Everybody played as a unit. If somebody went down, somebody else stepped up.”
That top-to-bottom effort that Neal spoke of carried over to the offensive side of the ball, as well, with six different Mohigans scoring offensive touchdowns as part of an offense that racked up 396 total yards in the win.
In addition to Keir’s TD reception, Caleb Nutter ran for a 7-yard score, Washington ran for a 4-yard score, Powell returned a fumble 37 yards for a TD, AJ Thomas scored on an 18-yard run, Powell scored on a 79-yard run and Anderson scored on a 13-yard run as the Mohigans totaled 312 yards on 39 carries.
“We run a lot of kids on and off offensively at the wide receiver spots and at the running back spots,” MHS coach Sean Biser said. “I’ve always said that’s a strength we have here. If you want to get the ball in your hands and you’re an athlete, this is the place to be because you’re going to have a chance to touch the football.”
“We’ve got great kids on this team, a lot of athletes and people who can produce for the team,” Neal added. “If somebody is hurt, everybody else is stepping up and doing what they can do to help the team get a win.”
Leading that rushing attack was Thomas, who compiled a game-high 122 yards on nine carries.
Bowers completed 5-of-9 passes for 84 yards and a score with Powell catching a game-high three passes for 24 yards while Keir and Phares accounted for 31 and 29 yards, respective, on one reception each.
Coffield completed 9-of-20 passes for 53 yards while rushing for 30 yards in the loss for John Marshall. In addition to Coffield, JD Wells ran eight times for 36 yards while Dimario White ran for 25 yards while catching three passes for 11 yards.
Next up for John Marshall will be a home game Friday against Linsly.
For the Mohigans, the Mohawk Bowl at Pony Lewis Field awaits, and Biser knows that for his team to win it has to improve on what it showed against the Monarchs.
“We have to be better than we were tonight,” Biser said. “This effort won’t get it done next week. We have to come out and have a great week of practice.”
The game, not only for playoff positioning but also for tradition, is something that seniors Neal and Mallett both know is of the utmost importance and is something they’re looking forward to.
“It means a lot to bring the trophy back to where it belongs,” Neal said. “Last year we had a rough battle with them and it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. This year we need to try and make it a different story.”
“We need to bring that trophy back here to where it belongs,” Mallett said. “This is a big tradition. It means a lot. We want to do it for the town.”
MORGANTOWN 47, JOHN MARSHALL 7
Team Statistics
MHS;JM
First Downs; 16;6
Rushing Yards; 312;88
Passing Yards;84;53
Total Yards;396;141
Passing;5-9-0;9-22-1
Fumbles; 1;3
Fumbles Lost; 1;3
Penalties; 5-35;11-79
Individual Statistics
Rushing: MHS: AJ Thomas 9-122 1 TD, Bobby Powell 3-81 1 TD, Caleb Nutter 8-27 1 TD, Jake Anderson 3-26 1 TD, Alex Fink 1-21, Andrew Anobile 1-12, Matthew Lindsey 2-12, Michael Savasta 2-11, Brodrick Washington 5-8 1 TD, Marcus Ullom 3-4, TEAM 2-(-12). Totals 39-312. JM: JD Wells 8-36, Jacob Coffield 9-30, Dimario White 3-25 1 TD, Klypsan Wallace 5-4, Ashton Collett 1-19, Jace Bartsch 1-11, TEAM 3-(-37). Totals 30-88.
Passing: MHS: Maddox Bowers 5-9-0 84 yards 1 TD. JM: Jacob Coffield 9-20-1 53 yards, Brennan Sobutka 0-2-0.
Receiving: MHS: Bobby Powell 3-24, Jacob Keir 1-31 1 TD, Andrew Phares 1-29. JM: Braden Sobutka 2-32, Dimario White 3-11, Ashton Collett 3-5, Klypsan Wallace 1-5.
MHS;;7;18;8;14;;47
JM;;0;7;0;0;;7
First Quarter
MHS – Jacob Keir 31-yard pass from Maddox Bowers (Aiden Stire kick)
Second Quarter
JM – Klypsan Wallace 5-yard run (Conor Fitzpatrick kick)
MHS – Caleb Nutter 7-yard run (kick blocked)
MHS – Brodrick Washington 4-yard run (run failed)
MHS – Bobby Powell 37-yard fumble return (pass failed)
Third Quarter
MHS – AJ Thomas 18-yard run (Washington run)
Fourth Quarter
MHS – Powell 79-yard run (Stire kick)
MHS – Jake Anderson 13-yard run (Stire kick)
