South suffers first-round setback to top-seeded George Washington
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CHARLESTON -- Two weeks ago, George Washington led 63-0 at halftime before going on to defeat Parkersburg South by 42 points.
In a rematch in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs, GW repeated the feat, storming out to a 63-point halftime lead in routing South 63-7 Friday night at Steve Edwards Sr. Field.
With the win, GW (11-0) advances to the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA playoffs next weekend against No. 8 Spring Mills, who defeated Jefferson. The date and time of the game will be determined Sunday morning.
GW coach Steve Edwards Jr. was happy they were able to get off to a quick start, being the heavy favorites against Parkersburg South.
"It's always good to get off to a great start," Edwards said. "You don't know how things are going to go with the bad weather and how that could affect things. And (South) didn't have anything to lose. Our kids answered the bell."
Desean Isabell and Jaden Black both scored four touchdowns for GW in the blowout, and neither played in the second half with the Patriots just 63 at the break.
Isabell threw two touchdown passes and had 143 yards through the air on seven-of-10 passing. The sophomore also had two TD's on the ground, rushing for 110 yards on just three carries.
Black ran for two touchdowns and had 84 yards on the ground on eight attempts. The sophomore also caught two TD passes (11 and 35 yards).
"It makes things tough on a defense when you have a really good running back like Jaden and a quarterback in Desean that can also run the ball. It makes you cover the whole field. We've got a lot of great athletes."
GW scored four touchdowns in the first quarter to race out to a 28-0 lead. The first offensive play of the game was a sign of things to come as the Patriots scored a touchdown just 28 seconds into the game on a wild play.
Isabell seemed to pinned in the backfield for a huge loss but somehow evaded the South defenders and raced down the left sideline for a 76-yard touchdown run and 7-0 lead with 11:32 left in the quarter.
Edwards indicated the long touchdown run by Isabell gave GW the jolt they needed, while at the same time, might have somewhat demoralized Parkersburg South.
"That play by Desean was big," Edwards said. "He's such a good athlete and players make plays. When you beat a team like we did a couple weeks ago over Parkersburg South, a play like that takes your confidence a way a little bit."
The three other GW touchdowns in the first quarter came on a Black 11-yard run and Isabell threw two TD passes (10-yarder to Henry Davis, and a 43-yarder to Black).
The second quarter was also dominated by GW, as they scored four more offensive touchdowns and added a defensive TD to lead 63-0 at halftime. GW had 450 total yards compared to just 16 for South.
Isabell scored on a one-yard run and threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Black, who also tallied a two-yard TD run. Tavion Woods earned a one-yard touchdown run, and Jericho Henry returned a fumble 58-yards for another score.
Parkersburg South scored the only touchdown in the second half, a seven-yard TD pass from Logen Arnold to Ledger Corwin with 35 seconds left in the game.
It was a disappointing end to the season for Parkersburg South (1-10), but coach Larry Thompson was happy his team was able to make the playoffs.
"It is kind of bittersweet," Thompson said. "We were glad that we made it and was still one of 16 teams in our field practicing. I was blessed to give our seniors one more week and the underclassmen the post season experience, but we got to raise the bar."
George Washington 63, Parkersburg South 7
P (1-10) 0 0 0 7 -- 7
G (11-0) 28 35 0 0 -- 63
GW - Isabell 76 run (Smith kick), 11:32 1st
GW - Black 11 run (pass failed), 6:56 1st
GW - Davis 10 pass from Isabell (Smith kick), 3:47 1st
GW - Black 43 pass from Isabell (Valentine run), 1:18 1st
GW - Black 35 pass from Isabell (Smith kick), 8:54 2nd
GW - Isabell 1 run (Smith kick), 7:43 2nd
GW - Black 2 run (Smith kick), 5:20 2nd
GW - Woods 1 run (Smith kick), 3:10 2nd
GW - Henry 52 fumble return (Smith kick) 1:14 2nd
PS - Corwin 7 pass from Arnold (Bartley kick), .35 4th
Individual stats
RUSHING: Parkersburg South: Worstell 9-28, Jackson 9-12. GW: Isabell 3-110, Black 8-84, Woods 4-62. PASSING: Parkersburg South: Arnold 12-20-0, 58. GW: Isabell 7-10-0, 143. RECEIVING: Parkersburg South: Johnson 4-36, Thompson 1-14, Corwin 5-10. GW: Black 2-88.