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On to the Island!: Parkersburg South rips Hurricane, advances to Class AAA title game

Parkersburg South’s Gage Wright carries the ball while Hurricane’s Khalil Ramey (17) and Nathanial McCay (60) look to slow him down during the No. 1 Patriots’ 58-27 Class AAA semifinal victory on Saturday at the Erickson All-Sports Facility in Parkersburg. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG — Barely a glitch throughout the regular season and postseason, Parkersburg South’s offense received a major boost from its brethren on the defensive side of the ball during Saturday afternoon’s Class AAA state semifinal game with fourth-ranked Hurricane.

After falling behind for the first time in the state playoffs, top-ranked South prevented Hurricane from scoring on six consecutive drives over a two-quarter span, including twice on turnovers. The top-ranked Patriots took advantage on the scoreboard and created a comfort zone with six second half touchdowns.

South (11-1) finished off the Redskins, 58-27, and advanced to next Saturday’s state championship game against No. 2 Huntington. Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Wheeling Island.

“I feel like sometimes our defense has been overlooked the last couple weeks,” South coach Nate Tanner said. “Everybody talks about our offense. We tell our kids, especially in the playoffs, in these big games you have to be able to run the football and be able to stop the run. There’s a reason why Hurricane made it this far, but I’m super proud of our guys stepping up and playing really stingy defense today.”

For only the second in 12 games, Hurricane running back Jeremiah Riffle failed to reach the century mark.

South held the senior in check to a tune of 77 yards on 21 carries. Mondrell Dean also received his share of looks out of the Hurricane backfield and finished with 49 yards on 13 rushes.

Hurricane quarterback Noah Vellaithambi couldn’t connect with his receivers on a consistent basis and ended the game completing 14-of-30 passes for 120 yards and one interception by South defensive back Cyrus Traugh.

Hurricane’s up-tempo attack mimicked the style South prefers, so the Patriot defense was acclimated for what they faced.

“We put a lot of pressure every time they passed and we stuffed their run,” South linebacker Dylan Fleak said. “The situations they were in, we knew whether it would be a pass or run, so we really keyed on that. We just executed at a very high level tonight. It helps very much so that we practice against their type of pace. It makes us ready for anything.

“The postseason has been a heck of a ride. This wins means everything, but the job is not done. “

South weathered an early storm as Hurricane scored on back-to-back possessions to take a 13-7 lead late in the first quarter. Riffle’s 19-yard TD run and quarterback Noah Vellaithambi’s 1-yard dive in the first quarter were the final points the Patriots allowed for a span of two quarters. The next six Redskin drives included four punts and a South fumble recovery.

South quarterback Robert Shockey connected with Triston Walker for a 45-yard TD pass a 14 mere seconds into the second quarter and erased the first deficit South experienced playing its third playoff game. Gage Wright’s first of three TDs and placekicker Miciah Jones’ 31-yard field goal gave the Patriots a 24-13 lead at intermission.

South sent the Patriots fans into a frenzy when Wright returned the second half opening kickoff 78 yards for a TD. The junior later added a 90-yard TD run as part of his 130 yards rushing on 13 carries.

“We scrimmaged them so we knew what we were up against — it was a matter of execution and taking care of the ball,” Hurricane coach Donnie Mays said. “I don’t think we were in sync in the first half.”

Wright’s backfield mate, junior quarterback Robert Shockey and his elusiveness to keep plays alive, proved pivotal between his three TD runs and being able to complete 18-of-29 passes for 223 yards another two TDs. The presence of Traugh at wide receiver and numerous other weapons to target made Shockey’s job that much easier.

“Two of the best quarterbacks in the state are getting to ready to face off next weekend,” Mays said. “There’s no doubt that is going to be a heck of a matchup.”

Traugh hauled in seven receptions for 154 yards and one TD.

“With how athletic everyone on the team is, if we are not executing at a high level we make up for it with how raw we are,” Shockey said. “We do some crazy stuff out there. Cyrus does crazy stuff. Gage, he does to. Triston, he makes some crazy catches.”

Shockey as a starting defensive back credited film study and execution as reasons why South kept Hurricane’s offense from busting out for four quarters.

“Honestly, we just watched a lot of film,” Shockey said. “We knew what formations they were going to line up in and what they were going to run. So before the ball was even snapped, we had a good idea what they were going to do. That helps a lot with our defense.”

A pair of fourth quarter rushing downs, one apiece from Shockey and Wright, along with Traugh’s 27-yard TD reception increased the South margin to 58-21 and kicked in a running clock with 5:31 remaining in regulation.

Since taking over the South football program four years ago, coach Tanner has faced Huntington just once — a 30-21 win during the 2019 regular season. This marks his first trip to Wheeling Island. During his first season with the Patriots, South lost to Martinsburg in the semifinal round.

“The last minute of that fourth quarter, I took a glance up at the clock and it was like the last four years flashed before my eyes,” Tanner said. “I remember the first day my family got here — the first day of school and we had our first team meeting. We talked about goals and what needed to happen to get where we are today. It’s just really cool to see that come to fruition.

“I like to think we knew exactly what we needed to do to get to this point. It’s so, so hard to get that to be executed and fall into place. I’m talking offseason, in-season. Is everybody buying in, from the kids to the parents to the community to the school. I think you are seeing it come full circle today. We’re going to Wheeling next week.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsndsentinel.com

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