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Class A: Fayetteville 27, Wheeling Central 20
No. 3 Fayetteville got 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries from Jordan Dempsey to defeat No. 6 Wheeling Central 27-20 Saturday and advance to a Class A semifinal matchup next weekend at No. 2 St. Marys.
The win allowed the Pirates to remain unbeaten at 12-0, while it ended the Maroon Knights' season at 9-2.
Wheeling Central took a 14-7 lead on the strength of touchdown passes covering 41 and 48 yards from Isaac Rine to John Burkhalter, but the Pirates knotted the game at 14-14 on a Dalton Dempsey 17-yard scoring pass from Will Fenton and the subsequent Dalton Dempsey PAT kick as the second quarter wound down.
Fayetteville notched two consecutive scores – both on runs by Jordan Dempsey – to assume a 27-14 lead early in the fourth period. Wheeling Central got a final six-pointer on a 4-yard pass from Rine to Michael Niggemeyer with 1:45 to play, but the Pirates held on for the triumph.
Dalton Dempsey had two interceptions and Marcus Lively had seven solo stops for the Fayetteville defense.
Dawson Wear rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries for Central.
AAA: Martinsburg 34,
George Washington 0
Mikey Jackson and backup quarterback Grant Harman each ran for a pair of touchdowns and No. 1 seed Martinsburg weathered the change in conditions better Saturday afternoon to earn a 34-0 win over George Washington in the Class AAA quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs (12-0) will host Morgantown (10-2) in next weekend's semifinal round.
Jackson ran for 172 yards and Dewayne Grantham added 127 yards on the ground for Martinsburg, which got an early 14-0 lead and held it as a front tore through Cobourn Field, lowering temperatures from 64 at kickoff to 42 by game's end with winds at 25 mph and gusting along with rain.
Harman entered the game in the first half when starter Tyson Bagent, who has been battling a stomach virus, needed occasional breaks.
Bagent was 1 of 8 passing for 22 yards. His counterpart, GW's Grant Wells, like Bagent a 2,000-yard passer in the regular season, wound up 6 of 26 for 61 yards in the trying weather conditions.
Jonathan McClung led the ground game for the Patriots (8-4) with 68 yards on 14 carries. GW had a seven-game win streak snapped.
AA: Fairmont Senior 30, Weir 15
A 24-point third quarter helped the No. 5 Fairmont Senior Polar Bears (9-2) defeat the No. 13 Weir Red Riders (8-4) 30-15 in the Class AA quarterfinals Saturday at East-West Stadium in Fairmont.
Fairmont Senior quarterback Jake Abbott ran the ball 13 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns while completing 5-of-11 passes for 75 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
FSHS's Bryson Gilbert was on the receiving end of that touchdown pass, a 20-yard strike in the third quarter. Gilbert also scored his second defensive touchdown in as many weeks on a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Weir quarterback Donavan Spencer ran the ball 16 times for 119 yards for Weir while completing 5-of-14 passes for 36 yards and two interceptions.
Domenick Murphy ran for two Weir touchdowns, both of which came in the fourth quarter.
The Polar Bears will now move on to take on the No. 1 Bridgeport Indians at Wayne Jamison Field in the Class AA semifinals for the second year in a row.