HURRICANE, W.Va. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Friday eveningÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Class AAAA top-four clash between No. 1 Martinsburg and No. 4 Hurricane showed parallels to a classic ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œRockyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ movie in the first half.
Both sides traded punches and momentum swings throughout the opening half, presenting a potential instant classic.
However, the faint melody of SurvivorÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œEye of the TigerÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ quickly faded away as the top-ranked Bulldogs delivered the knockout punch by scoring 44 unanswered points en route to a 44-17 victory over Hurricane at Jim McGehee Field at Redskins Stadium.
The win wouldÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve pushed Martinsburg to a 10-0 regular season, which wouldÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been its eighth undefeated campaign since 2010. However, the WVSSAC announced Friday night it has required the Bulldogs to forfeit one game due to the participation of an ineligible player.
Martinsburg finishes its regular season at 9-1.
The Bulldogs finished the contest with 612 yards of offense, including 464 rushing yards, with 162 coming from quarterback Koi Fagan.
Hurricane poured in 212 yards of offense in the first half. However, the Redskins were held in check in the second half as they only posted 67 yards.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe finally got our legs under us,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Martinsburg coach Dave Walker said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHurricane is a good football team. They came out explosive. We havenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t really seen anyone like that all year. It was a matter of us adjusting a little bit and our guys playing better. Hats off to (Hurricane), because they got a great team.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The Bulldogs quickly found themselves with their backs against the wall in the first half.
Hurricane raced out to an early 17-0 lead late in the first half before Martinsburg shifted the momentum.
The response from the Bulldogs left Walker with a smile on his face.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œ(Our guys) have a lot of heart,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Walker said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œOur last game was a close one, and they made a comeback. Koi Fagan is a good football player. You wonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t see anybody better than him. HeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s one of the best ones IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been around, and IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve been around some good ones.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
HurricaneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s regular season ends with the Redskins finishing 7-3.
The Redskins have now lost three of their last four against the Bulldogs.
Hurricane recorded 279 yards of offense, with 212 coming in the first half.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou want to score every time,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Hurricane coach Donnie Mays said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou can visibly see what the issue was (referencing quarterback Noah VellaithambiÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s ankle injury). Noah came out and played his butt off in the first half. He put us in a situation to have a good game. HeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s clearly banged up. They limited us in what we can do with him. We will get him healthy and into rehab. HeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s doing fine and played the game. ThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not the issue.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œMartinsburg is a really good football team, but I think we are too. If we are healthy, we can play with those guys.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The RedskinsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ 67 yards in the second half was a drop-off as the Bulldogs defense was more active defensively and disrupted HurricaneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s attack.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThey didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t do anything differently,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Mays said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThey did exactly what they would do. We just didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t protect the ball when we ran it. We were struggling a little bit with the ankle. IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m not putting that on Noah. That kid is a competitor. He came out here tonight and busted his butt. HeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s shown why heÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s one of the top players in West Virginia because heÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not going to back down from everything.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe did everything he could this week to get him here. IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve had kids before, with similar injuries, and theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re out four to five weeks. He came out and tried. Proud of him and the team. (Martinsburg is) a good football team, and we cannot play from behind against a team like that.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The Redskins offense was juiced and ramped up to begin its opening series after their defense got Martinsburg off the field.
Hurricane marched down the field in five plays and capped off its drive on a 3-yard tote by running back Kylan Grace.
The Redskins defense stood tall on the Bulldogs following that drive, forcing Martinsburg to go three-and-out.
Hurricane made Martinsburg pay with great field position as Vellaithambi threw a dart to KnoÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™sean Hampton for the 56-yard strike, making it 14-0 with 7:50 left in the opening quarter.
Vellaithambi finished the contest going 12 for 25 in the air for 222 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Redskins forced one more Martinsburg quick drive as the Bulldogs only posted one first down on their first three drives.
Hurricane marched down the field and was stopped inside the red zone. However, a 25-yard field goal by Seth Casto extended the RedskinsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ lead to 17-0.
The Bulldogs offense finally got into a groove on its fourth drive and finished as Fagan found his way into the end zone from 3 yards out.
The tide flipped in favor of Martinsburg following HurricaneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s first punt of the evening.
That allowed the Bulldogs another shot at getting into the end zone. Fagan made the Redskins defense pay again as he found the end zone again, this time from a yard out, lifting Martinsburg within 17-14.
HurricaneÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s next two offensive possessions saw an interception and a turnover on downs late in the second quarter.
Martinsburg played methodical and marched down the field, which ended in the red zone. Kicker Seth Collins drilled a 24-yard field goal as time expired to lock the game at 17 as the game headed to halftime.
The Bulldogs scored on all four of their drives in the second half. Fagan was intertwined with half the scores as he ran in a 6-yard score, which gave Martinsburg the lead for good.
Fagan finished the game with 310 yards of offense, including 162 on the ground.
Then, two drives later, he connected with Kyree Bunny for a 28-yard score.
The other two Martinsburg second-half touchdowns came from the legs of Brian Dick and Nick Busky, who each recorded scoring touchdowns from 2 yards out.
Dick finished with 15 carries for 126 yards, including 106 yards coming in the second half.
Hurricane had no counterpunches to what the Bulldogs were doing in the second half.
The Martinsburg defense played a large part in that as the Bulldogs sacked Vellaithambi four times, including three in the first half.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThey were being persistent,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Walker said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s no magic trick. It was them getting off the ball faster and settling in.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Martinsburg 44, Hurricane 17
Martinsburg 7 10 21 6 44
Hurricane 17 0 0 0 17
First quarter
H ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Grace 3 run (kick good) 9:20
H ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” K. Hampton 56 pass from Vellaithambi (kick good) 7:50
H ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Casto 25 field goal 4:30
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Fagan 4 run (kick good) 1:00
Second quarter
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Fagan 1 run (kick good) 7:39
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Collins 24 field goal 0:00
Third quarter
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Fagan 6 run (kick good) 7:23
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Dick 2 run (kick good) 3:28
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Bunny 28 pass from Fagan (kick good) 1:11
Fourth quarter
M ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Busky 2 run (kick good) 7:01
Team Statistics
Martinsburg Hurricane
First Downs 34 13
Rushes-yards 52-464 22-47
Passing yards 148 222
Passing 14-19-1 12-25-1
Total yards 612 269
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 17-128 7-52
Punts-average 3-32.3 5-36.8
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Martinsburg: Fagan 19-162, Dick 15-126, Cofield 5-74, Busky 9-62, Todd 2-17, Miller 1-13, Doswell 1-10. Hurricane: Grace 9-47, S. Hampton 7-24, Gregory 2-(-7), Vellaithambi 4-(-17).
PASSING ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Martinsburg: Fagan 14-19-148-1. Hurricane 12-25-222-1.
RECEIVING ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Martinsburg: Bunny 9-94, Todd 1-31, Dick 2-16, Dirting 2-7. Hurricane: Dues 3-60, J. Smith 2-60, K. Hampton 1-56, Burnette 3-31 S. Hampton 2-8, Legros 1-7.
