PARSONS - The deck was stacked against Madonna Saturday at Class of 1984 Stadium. The Blue Dons had to travel three hours to Parsons, W.Va. where the No. 1 seed in West Virginia Class A, Tucker County, was lying in wait. Add in that standout running back and linebacker Nick Ossman would see limited action due to an injury and it was a recipe for potential disaster.
All that, plus two overtimes, wasn't enough to derail Madonna as the No. 4 seed Blue Dons topped the Mountain Lions, 20-14, in double overtime to advance to the West Virginia Class A finals.
Tucker County had the first possession of the second overtime and faced a third and eight from the 18. Quarterback Derek Nestor dropped back to pass and was crushed from behind by a blitzing Eliott Nero, who forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Josh Martin to end Tucker County's opportunity.
Three Ross Comis runs of 9, 10, and 1 yards and Madonna had its ticket punched to Wheeling Island Stadium where they will meet 13-0 Wahama at 7 p.m. next Saturday for the state title.
The Blue Dons started the night's scoring thanks to a Tucker County miscue. Forced to punt, Tucker's snap flew over the head of the punter, setting up Madonna at the Mountain Lions' 22-yard line.
Nero punched in from 2 yards out to complete the short drive and Matthew Green put the PAT through for the 7-0 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter.
Fact Box
No. 4 Madonna 20,
No. 1 Tucker County 14 2OT
Madonna 7 0 7 0 0 6 -20
Tucker County0 7 0 7 0 0 - 14
M: Eliott Nero 2 run (Matthew Green kick)
T: Austin Zirk 1 run (Michael Callaway kick)
M: Ross Comis 4 run (Green kick)
T: Derek Nestor 1 run (Callaway kick)
M: Comis 1 run
Rushing: Madonna 47-168 (Comis 27-102; Nero 18-66; Nick Ossman 2-0). Tucker 37-60 (Zirk 11-15; Zach Armstrong 4-12; Nestor 19-45; Tyler Snyder 1-10; Team 2-(-22)).
Passing: Madonna 11-22-138 (all by Comis). Tucker 7-25-105-x (Nestor 7-24-105-x; Zirk 0-1-0).
Receiving: Madonna 11-138 (Marcello Biondillo 3-62; Nathan Guio 1-5; Nero 4-36; Will Bowser 2-16; Gabriel Hypes 1-16). Tucker 7-105 (Nathaniel Goldstein 3-37; Snyder 2-17; Armstrong 1-35; Zirk 1-16).
First Downs: Madonna 13, Tucker 7
Penalties: Madonna 6-45, Tucker 7-64.
Fumbles: Madonna 2-2, Tucker 2-2.
Class AAA
Quarterfinal Round
No. 1 Cabell Midland 28, No. 8 Spring Valley 26
No. 5 Morgantown 35, No. 4 Huntington 14
No. 2 Martinsburg 50, No. 10 Musselman 7
No. 3 George Washington 41, No. 11 Lewis County 14
Semifinal Round
No. 1 Cabell Midland 35, No. 5 Morgantown 28
No. 2 Martinsburg 63, No. 3 George Washington 14
Super Six State Championship
No. 1 Cabell Midland (13-0) vs. No. 2 Martinsburg (12-1), noon Saturday, Dec. 1
Class AA
Quarterfinal Round
No. 1 Wayne 47, No. 9 Nicholas County 0
No. 4 Robert C. Byrd 34, No. 5 Bluefield 20
No. 3 Bridgeport 28, No. 6 Frankfort 0
No. 2 Keyser 53, No. 7 Scott 8
Semifinal Round
No. 1 Wayne 18, No. 4 Robert C. Byrd 0
No. 2 Keyser 42, No. 3 Bridgeport 14
Super Six State Championship
No. 1 Wayne (13-0) vs,. No. 2 Keyser (12-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30
Class A
Quarterfinal Round
No. 4 Madonna 29, No. 4 St. Marys 14
No. 1 Tucker County 48, No. 8 Clay-Battelle 14
No. 2 Magnolia 19, No. 7 East Hardy 14
No. 3 Wahama 21, No. 6 Greenbrier East 12
Semifinal Round
No. 4 Madonna 20, No. 1 Tucker County 14, 2 OTs
No. 3 Wahama10, No. 2 Magnolia 7
Super Six State Championship
No. 3 Wahama (13-0) vs. No. 4 Madonna (12-1), 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1
Nero carried the load for a struggling Blue Dons' offense in the first half with eight carries for 43 yards rushing and four grabs for 34 yards.
Tucker tied things up at the 9:55 mark of the second quarter. Austin Zirk scored from 1-yard out. A 35-yard screen pass from Nestor to Zach Armstrong put the ball at the 1. The extra point was true and the game was tied at seven.
That score held at halftime thanks to the Tucker defense forcing a pair of turnovers on downs in the red zone.
Comis, who struggled in the first half, came out strong in the second half with a tackle for loss on the first play and stepped up with a pair of scores after intermission as well as some key completions and defense plays.
He led the Blue Dons on a drive that culminated with his own 4-yard rushing TD with 1:58 left in the third quarter. Garrett Hypes and Marcello Biondillo had key receptions of 16 and 22 yards, respectively, on the drive.
A fourth down conversion helped the Mountain Lions tie the score with 5:10 left in the game. Nestor hit Tyler Snyder for a 16-yard completion down to the 4 on fourth and five. Two plays later, Nestor pushed in on a QB sneak and the point after tied the game at 14.
The Blue Dons had a shot to end things in regulation after a Nero punt return gave them the ball in Tucker territory with 32 seconds remaining. A trio of Comis runs put the ball at the 3 with 5.2 seconds left, setting Green up for a 19-yard field goal attempt. The kick failed and Tucker took a knee with 2.2 left to send the game to overtime.
In the first overtime, Madonna was stopped on fourth and goal from the 1 and the Mountain Lions failed on a 37-yard field goal try to set up Nero, Martin, and Comis' series of heroics.
Defense spurred the Blue Dons to the victory as Tucker managed only 165 yards of offense 60 on the ground and 105 through the air.
Offensively, Comis had 120 yards on the ground on 32 carries with two touchdowns. 21 of those carries for 99 yards came after the first half including both TDs. He also completed 11 of 21 throws for 136 yards on the day.
