Linsly ballcarrier Malaki Washington (28) gets tackled up high by Parkersburg South’s Brody Nesselrotte and from below by Derek Sandy (2) during Friday’s high school football game at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

PARKERSBURG – The old school of thought that records can be deceiving reared its ugly head as Parkersburg South hosted a Linsly outfit which had only two wins to its credit.

The Cadets played the likes of St. Clairsville, Steubenville and Barnesville and those opponents only made them tougher and more resilient. The effect showed Friday night at Erickson All-Sports Facility as Parkersburg South suffered a 31-14 setback.

Linsly produced 481 yards of total offense and allowed just one defensive touchdown.

“Linsly played at a high level,” South coach Larry Thompson said after his ballclub fell to 2-6 with two home games remaining in the regular season. “They punched us in the mouth and we just couldn’t recover.”

Linsly’s ground game proved that running downhill actually exists. The Cadets rushed for 315 yards, including a team-high 128 yards on 22 carries by Malaki Washington. Washington’s 6-yard touchdown run with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter marked his final carry of the game and put Linsly in front 24-7.

Parkersburg South’s Taj Joyce (5) gets tackled by a Linsly defender during Friday’s high school football game at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Malaki has run hard all year, and now he is starting to see it a little better,” Linsly coach BJ DePew said. “He is becoming more confident in his ability to just run downhill and not bounce all the time.

“South had a lot of beef up front, and we were concerned because of the way they run their front. It took away all of our double teams. So we had down block and single block a lot and we did a really good job following that script.”

On their very next possession, Linsly laid the hammer down on the first play from scrimmage. Running back George Mamakos, who rushed for 75 yards on seven carries, tossed the ball back to quarterback Braden Wade and found receiver Chris Upton beyond the last line of South’s defense for a 53-yard touchdown reception to complete the flea-flicker and extend the gap to 31-7 with 2:39 still remaining before the fourth quarter.

Wade finished the game completing 7-of-8 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

“Braden is an excellent passer, and he has been throwing the ball a lot for the last couple of years,” said DePew. “We had to shift to a little more of a run-oriented based, play action based offense. I give him so much credit for having the maturity to do that and having the maturity to do that and recognize. He’s still making huge plays.”

Parkersburg South ballcarrier Asas Yost (2) finds an opening against the Linsly defense during Friday’s high school football game at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Sandwiched around a pair of South three-and-outs to open the game, Linsly covered 86 yards in 13 plays and chewed 7 ½ minutes off the clock. Lucca Troullous completed the drive off the sweep for 13 yards into the end zone – the first of his two touchdowns.

On the Cadets’ second drive of the night, South created its own offense when Taj Joyce picked up a loose ball and had a posse of teammates follow him 39 yards into the end zone and 7-7 tie at the 11:04 mark of the second quarter.

“That upset us because our defense was playing really well the whole game,” DePew said. “South had a nice drive there in the fourth quarter, but yes, that fumble for a touchdown upset us because we knew our defense hadn’t yielded a point. I think it strengthened us.”

A 21-year field goal from Joaquin Zarug and Troullos 4-yard TD reception in the final seconds of the first half sent Linsley into the locker room leading 17-7.

Pass interference penalties were at times South’s best offense as they moved the chains four times because of those flags. Otherwise, the Patriots were limited to 140 yards of total offense.

With Linsly defender Darryn McCormick (54) approaching, Parkersburg South’s Taj Joyce (5) throws a pass off the end around during Friday’s high school football game at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Patriot quarterback Kinzyn Lutchmansingh completed 17-of-25 passes for 113 yards. Joyce caught nine passes for 73 yards.

“We have to improve playing with heart – we keep pushing these kids and they will keep showing up,” Thompson said. “Losing is a part of every sport, so it’s one of those situations where I am going to really see who has high character, high integrity.

“Tonight, we just outmatched up front. I don’t think anybody is as strong as us, but I think we got beat up tonight.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Linsly’s Felix Werr pulls Parkersburg South ballcarrier Asa Yost (20) down to the ground during Friday’s high school football game Friday at Erickson All-Sports Facility. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)