By Rick Kozlowski
SPRING MILLS — Top-ranked Spring Mills enjoyed another run of the Mills victory Friday night.
The No. 1 Quad-A Cardinals scored plenty of points — like usual — and delivered a shutout — also like usual — in a 62-0 victory over Musselman in an Eastern Panhandle Athletic Conference contest.
Keon Mills scored three first-half touchdowns — two on pass receptions and another on a punt return — while quarterback Max Anderson tossed four first-half touchdown passes as the Cardinals rolled to their fourth victory.
Spring Mills has totaled 190 points without yielding any through four contests.
“Our defense,” Mills said, “you know coach (Buddy) Hesen is a very, very good coach. He knows what he’s doing top to bottom.
“Plus, we lost Nico (Loeber). We play for him every Friday night. Nico was a defender. He always wanted us to play at 110 percent.”
Hesen was the orchestrator of many of Martinsburg’s great defenses under coach David Walker before moving to Spring Mills to guide the Cardinals.
“He’s in that meeting room making plans; I trust Buddy,” Spring Mills head coach Marcus Law said. “He’s been doing it longer than me.”
No matter, it’s all working for the Cardinals.
Spring Mills found itself owning the school’s historic first No. 1 ranking in the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission playoff poll.
Directly behind were fellow EPAC compadres Martinsburg and Hedgesville The Bulldogs routed the Eagles Friday night.
“We had to emphasize to them, ‘We’re not anywhere; you are the hunted,” Law said. “We wanted to take care of things from the jump.”
That the Cardinals did against a program depleted by the loss of nearly 30 players in the state’s transfer portal and a collection of injuries.
Spring Mills saw a touchdown pass play on the second snap called back on offsetting penalties and wound up punting.
The next series, however, it took one play for Anderson to toss a swing pass to Mills, who turned up field for a 36-yard touchdown play.
Lawfirm-sounding Anderson-to-Anderson — Max to Xavier — connected three plays into the Cardinals’ next series for a 62-yard touchdown pass play.
The Cardinals scored thrice in the second quarter to lead 35-0 at intermission.
Mills caught a 24-yard touchdown pass over the middle and then ran a short punt 33 yards for a score. Xavier Anderson caught his second TD pass, a 49-yarder from his brother Max to wrap up the first-half scoring.
Blake Sanders, one of the players Musselman lost to the portal, ran for touchdowns of 14 and 23 yards against his former teammates, making the score 49-0. Touchdown runs by Cam Taylor and Trey Garmon wrapped up the scoring.
“The dedication we have,” Mills said about what is driving the team’s success. “We found a way to come together and not turn on each other. We’re a family.
“I think we have the best coaches in the state; we want to go on a run for us this year.”
The contest represented a kind of playoff precursor.
Spring Mills is No. 1 and Musselman 16th, meaning had the playoffs started this week, they would’ve played each other. Class AAAA has only 16 teams.
Still, being No. 1 sounded real swell to Mills.
“It’s a great feeling being No. 1,” he said, “but also dangerous, because we could lose at any point in time.”
While Law was pleased offensively with how different players have stepped up in any particular game this season, he really took notice of the crowd seated behind him.
The youngest of four high schools in Berkeley County, it’s only into its second decade and has struggled to catch on at times in an area of the county growing with newcomers.
The coach said the attendance is building.
“We want to put something on the field the community can be proud of,” Law said.
Nearing the halfway point of the season, the Cardinals sure are.
