WELCH – It’s been three years since Mount View and Ritchie County met in the first round of the Class A playoffs at Anne S. Hunnicutt Stadium in Princeton.
The Golden Knights, seeded third in the 2018 playoffs, trailed the 14th-seeded Rebels, 14-13, with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter before three Elijah Barner touchdowns propelled the Golden Knights to a 34-14 victory.
The third and final touchdown, much to the dismay of the Ritchie County faithful, came with 0:01 remaining.
Saturday afternoon the same two schools will meet at Chuck Schofield Memorial Stadium with a spot in next week’s Class A semifinals on the line.
No. 4 Ritchie County rushed for 329 yards in a 46-14 victory over No. 13 Clay-Battelle. Senior running back Gus Morrison rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns and led the Rebels with 13 tackles on defense.
Morrison, who has led the state in scoring each of the last two years, has rushed for 826 yards on 92 carries and 14 touchdowns this season. He also has 45 receptions for 684 yards and 10 touchdowns while registering 73 tackles on defense to go along with six interceptions and two interceptions returned for touchdown. For the year, Morrison has accounted for 1,962 all-purpose yards and has 26 touchdowns.
Senior Brandon Riddle leads the Rebels with 900 rushing yards on 135 carries. Morrison and Riddle have each rushed for 100-yards-or-more four times this season. Junior quarterback Ethan Haught has completed 99-of-162 passes for 1,706 yards with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. Haught has rushed for 320 yards on 56 carries and eight touchdowns.
The Rebels are 10-1 on the year and have won seven straight games since falling to Doddridge County, 29-26, in double overtime on Sept. 24. They have outscored the opposition 487-200 and have scored 38-points-or-more in all 10 victories this season.
“As you continue to move forward there are going to be some excellent teams,” Mount View coach Maurice Gravely said.
Not to be outdone, the Golden Knights are also 10-1, winners of nine straight since their 22-18 loss at Tazewell, Va. on Sept. 10. Mount View is outscoring opponents 369-109, and has scored 40 points or more in six contests this season.
“It’s time to play Mount View football, and we still haven’t played Mount View football,” Gravely said. “We got to play better if we are going to get to the golden goose.”
Fifth-seeded Mount View needed two late fourth-quarter Tony Bailey touchdowns last week to beat No. 12 Sherman 18-6. The Golden Knights committed 17 penalties for 139 yards.
“Penalties killed us,” Gravely said. “Not being set, people in motion and it was the things that we reviewed in practice that was happening over and over and over.”
Going into the Sherman game, a number of Mount View players were fighting through nagging injuries as well as your common bumps and bruises. The injuries remain but now the Golden Knights will be without the services of running back/linebacker Travis Bell and offensive and defensive linemen Chris Goins, both were ejected late in the fourth quarter following an altercation with a Sherman player.
“We got to evaluate, reassess and see who we got to step up and put in their place,” Gravely said. “We are a single-A football team and it’s not like we got 60 or 70 players.”
Saturday afternoon’s winner is guaranteed to host next week’s Class A semifinals against either No. 8 Wheeling Central or No. 16 Gilmer County.
If it’s Mount View, it would be the second-ever home playoff game at Vic Nystrom Stadium for the Golden Knights and coach Gravely hopes the crowd is like the first.
“Reminded me of old times as a kid growing up going to Welch Memorial Stadium,” Gravely said. “Seeing people against the fences and up in the stands hollering and screaming. It was pretty exciting.”
