Williamstown rolls past Doddridge County
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WILLIAMSTOWN — Aiden Corbett and Gunner Henrie had tackles for loss on the first two plays of the game for Class A defending state champion Williamstown here Saturday afternoon as the No. 3 Yellowjackets used a strong defensive performance during a 49-6 victory against No. 14 Doddridge County.
Lynken Joy had 15 carries for 153 yards and two short touchdown runs.
Max Molessa went for 164 stripes on a baker's dozen totes, all in the first half. He had two touchdown runs and a pair of scoring strikes to Danner Hooper and Cooper Martin.
"We played good upfront and the backers are getting better," admitted Corbett, who also opened the second half with a TFL.
"They are coming up quick. It makes it easy when everybody is doing their job and doing what they are supposed to do, everything works out."
Following a DCHS three-and-out along with a negative 10-yard punt, WHS set up shop at the Bulldog 29 after the game's initial series.
Fullback Rex Anderson, who had 99 yards on six attempts, took the first-down carry for 22 yards. Although Brycen Eidel had a TFL on Joy, the 'Jackets eventually scored on fourth-and-goal from the 7 when Landon Dodrill took a pitch and then flipped it to Louis Goodnow on a reverse. Goodnow strolled into the end zone untouched and the Bulldogs trailed for good, 8-0, at the 7:55 mark after Joy's two-point conversion run.
Williamstown, which improved to 11-0 and will take on No. 11 East Hardy in the quarterfinals, led 43-6 at intermission.
Head coach Chris Beck's Yellowjackets finished the game with 496 ground yards on 55 attempts. WHS amassed 355 of those yards on 31 rushes in the first half.
"Defensively I thought our effort was great," admitted Beck, whose club was playing a "home" playoff game for the first time in two years. "I thought coach (Brian) Adams and staff did a good job getting our kids ready. They played hard and physical, and upfront we are getting better every week with Hooper and (Jensen) Burge and these guys.
"I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage and did a really good job of limiting what they wanted to do. We're just excited to be 1-0 and the goal is to be 1-0 next week. I love these Saturday games. It's a great atmosphere. It's a different atmosphere. I love being at home and I thought our fans came out and really supported us, and I think our guys really fed off that energy."
The Yellowjackets only had to go 34 yards on their next drive to find paydirt, which coach Beck's squad did on all six possessions in the first half. Joy had a 29-yard run and Molessa finished it off with a 1-yard plunge. Molessa's two-point pass was snared by Bulldog Landon Thomas, but the visitors trailed 14-0 just 96 seconds later.
The hosts increased their lead to 22-0 just before the end of the first quarter thanks to an 11-play, 88-yard scoring drive. Molessa connected with his tight end Hooper for a 43-yard gain, but it was negated by an illegal motion. Nonetheless, Molessa ended up breaking loose for a 55-yard touchdown jaunt as Joy added the run for two.
"It was a blessing to just be here playing football," admitted Molessa, who was 9 of 12 for 67 yards. "I mean there's only so many games I get to play. Same with the other seniors as well as the whole team.
"It was just a blessing to be out here and we're going to cherish it, but we have to get better. We got a long way to go and we're not satisfied. Aiden set the one early as well as the whole D-line. Our line definitely helped us out setting the tone early and being physical."
Molessa's connected with Hooper for an 11-yard TD toss, which made it 29-0 at 9:48 of the second following Brylee Jones' PAT. Joy added a 4-yard TD burst 4:04 later before the Bulldogs, who were beat 55-0 at WHS on Oct. 27, found the end zone.
Aiden James hauled in a slant pass from Brysen Dixon and housed it from 72 yards out. The conversion run by Ethan Cross was unsuccessful.
The 'Jackets were able to answer following another 88-yard scoring march thanks to Joy's 1-yard touchdown run.
Molessa's touchdown pass of 12 yards to Cooper Martin, who was able to haul it in with his hands just above the grass in the end zone, set the final score just 21 ticks into the third quarter. Jones' extra point was blocked by Ty McCloud.
"I want to give credit to our senior class," said Bulldog boss Bobby Burnside, whose squad finished 6-5 and was dealing with a number of key injuries. "He played a h-llacious schedule this year and they gave us good leadership. We were very inexperienced at the beginning of the year and we had a lot of young players, but throughout the season they gamed it. They got the wins they needed to get to give us this opportunity.
"They had great attitudes and we had players with more injuries than I've ever had in one season was this year. I just want to give my hats off to them. I am every excited about the future. I think the future is bright with a good offseason and all that good stuff. It's an honor to be the head coach at Doddridge County and I'm proud they were able to make it to the postseason for the seventh year in a row."
One player who hasn't been able to compete for Williamstown this year is senior Colt Hesson, who was first team all-state at defensive back in 2022 but suffered a season-ending knee injury.
"It feels great. It may be something little, but it means a lot," Hesson said of having the chance to take three victory formation snaps.
He added of finally having a true home playoff game again "it feels a lot, much better. Everybody in the community is coming and it's great to have the fans yelling and being loud."
Dixon finished 6 of 19 for 120 yards. Brandon Hileman had three receptions for 35 yards.
"This team, the 38 guys we got and the six coaches we got, we're only guaranteed to be together one more game," coach Beck added. "It's up to us to keep extending that.
"That's kind of been the message in the playoffs is you only have so many more opportunities to play with this team. This team will never play together again so we want to keep extending that and that includes next weekend."
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com