WHEELING ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” FridayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Class AAAA state football quarterfinal game between Wheeling Park and Huntington was like Thanksgiving Day ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” getting more and more as the day goes on.
Instead of food, the Patriots and Highlanders got multiple servings of touchdowns at Wheeling Island Stadium on a cold, snowy and chilly Friday evening.
The sixth-seeded Highlanders (11-1) left Wheeling satisfied with a full stomach as they exploded for a 51-point effort, defeating the fifth-seeded Patriots, 51-39.
The two teams combined for 949 yards of offense.
HuntingtonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s 51 points are the most road playoff points by the Highlanders since 2003, when they defeated Nitro 55-28.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI felt like we did good during the week in practice,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Huntington coach Billy Seals said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œGive credit to Wheeling Park. Their outside zone scheme was fabulous. (Patriots back Brennan Wack) is really good. We didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t fit in well on defense in the first half. We got discombobulated. That doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t happen to us.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThey ran up a ton of yards and points on us. We sat them down during halftime, then they made plays in the second half. Guys we needed to step up did.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Wack, a junior running back, posted 336 rushing yards and five touchdowns for the Patriots.
Wack recorded 245 of those in the first half but was held in check, by comparison, in the second half.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s crazy is that we didnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t change anything,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Seals said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe just played better. We got off blocks better. We werenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t doing that in the first half and our linebackers werenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t making plays in space. We had some sophomores out on the field, and sometimes games like this get big for them.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI was proud of our guys. When we went down 27-24 at the half, our guys were still encouraged. We came back out there and played much better.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Wheeling ParkÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s season comes to a close at 8-4.
The Patriots lost their starting quarterback and running back before the season and ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œexceeded expectations,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ according to coach Chris Daugherty.
WackÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s explosive performance Friday broke two Wheeling Park records.
His 336 yards pushed him over the schoolsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ high-water mark for single-season yards, and his 245 in the opening half were the most by a Patriot. Both records were previously held by Boogie Johnson.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe can pop a run and can also run past kids,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Daugherty said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe can also run over you. He does a good job of when to run through you and when to around you. A lot of kids cannot do that. Some kids can run around but cannot run through you and vice versa. Some canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t do both. He knows when to stick his foot in the ground and get three yards.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
HuntingtonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Keegan Sack got the ball rolling on the HighlandersÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ opening drive with a 57-yard run down to the Park 4-yard line. He scored on the following play.
Wheeling ParkÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s first possession of the game was similar to the Highlanders ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” feeding one player.
Wack carried the ball 10 times on the PatriotsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ first drive, which ended with him scoring from a yard out with 6:59 left in the first quarter.
The point-after attempt missed after the Patriots were assessed three straight false start penalties.
The Highlanders answered with a 7-yard Zah Jackson touchdown. Wack countered, taking the first play on the ensuing drive 66 yards to the house to close the gap.
Wheeling ParkÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s then Owen Dobryznski-Hines took a long snap in punt formation and ran 34 yards for a first down.
Wack scored a few plays later on a 30-yard tote, giving Wheeling Park its first lead of the game, 20-14, with 8:23 left in the opening half.
Huntington responded with another scoring play of its own as Sack found the end zone once more from a yard out.
Wack tallied again for his fourth touchdown of the opening half. This time, he did it from a yard out.
He kept the drive alive with a fake punt run of his own, going for 24 yards.
Huntington went into the half down three, 27-24, following a 25-yard field goal by Jordan Price.
Park picked up right where it left off to begin the second half as Bordas connected with a wide-open Hines for the 66-yard touchdown, extending the Patriots advantage.
A blocked point-after attempt froze the score at 33-24.
Huntington crawled back into the game on a Sack 13-yard run that cut the HighlandersÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ deficit to two.
On the first play of ParkÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s next drive, HuntingtonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s defense stripped the ball away and Antonyo Paschall returned the loose ball 33 yards to give the Highlanders the lead.
Nineteen points were scored in 37 seconds.
Wheeling Park marched into HuntingtonÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s side of the field on the next drive, but a turnover on downs with 7:10 left in the third gave the ball back to the Highlanders.
Sack found the end zone one more time again from a yard out, extending the Huntington lead to 11, 44-33.
Sack totaled 27 carries for 185 yards and four scores in the victory.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a tough, physical runner,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Seals said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œHe opened his knee wide open earlier in the game. He said, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥˜Bandage it up. IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™m not leaving this game.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ ... Our offense did a great job mixing things up between Keegan and Zah.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Wack got the Patriots right back into the game on a 40-yard touchdown, and following a two-point try, the score was 44-39 with 1:55 left in the third.
Highlander quarterback Avonte Crawford put the nail in the coffin for Huntington with 8:55 remaining as he did the Highlander version of the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œTush PushÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ and scored from a yard away.
Crawford finished the game going 12 for 15 through the air for 228 yards.
Huntington 51, Wheeling Park 39
Huntington;14;10;20;7;--;51
Wheeling Park;13;14;12;0;--;39
First quarter
H -- Sack 4 run (kick good) 11:41
W -- Wack 1 run (kick failed) 6:59
H -- Jackson 7 run (kick good) 2:38
W -- Wack 66 run (kick good) 2:23
Second quarter
W -- Wack 30 run (kick good) 8:23
H -- Sack 1 run (kick good) 6:58
W -- Wack 2 run (kick good) 1:41
H -- Price 25 field goal 0:07
Third quarter
W -- Hines 66 pass from Bordas (kick failed) 9:55
H -- Sack 13 run (kick good) 9:39
H -- Paschall 33 fumble return (2 pt failed) 9:23
H -- Sack 1 run (kick good) 4:12
W -- Wack 40 run (2 pt failed) 1:55
Fourth quarter
H -- Crawford 1 run (kick good) 8:55
Team Statistics
;;;Huntington;Wheeling Park
First Downs;;;22;20
Rushes-yards;;;40-242;40-374
Passing yards;;;228;105
Passing;;;12-15-0;8-19-0
Total yards;;;470;479
Fumbles-lost;;;1-0;1-1
Penalties-yards;;;6-60;7-65
Punts-average;;;2-29.5;1-51
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Huntington: Sack 27-185, Jackson 11-53, Crawford 2-4. Wheeling Park: Wack 38-336, Hines 1-34, Hodge 1-4.
PASSING -- Huntington: Crawford 12-15-0-228. Wheeling Park: Bordas 8-19-0-105.
RECEIVING -- Huntington: Tubbs 5-113, Wilson 3-70, Chandler 1-34, Jackson 2-12, Sack 1-(-1). Wheeling Park: Hines 1-66, Wiley 2-18, Wack 3-12, Maynard 2-9.
