Williamstown wide receiver Cooper Martin hits Rinken Joy 20 yards in double coverage in the second quarter of a 47-21 win between the No. 4 Yellow Jackets and No. 13 Moorefield in the Class AA opener Saturday afternoon. Successfully received a touchdown. play off. (Photo courtesy of Nikki Allen)
WILLIAMSTOWN — Danner Hooper’s blocked punt was recovered by teammate Jenner Burge in the end zone early Saturday afternoon as No. 4 Williamstown faces No. 13 Moorefield in its Class AA playoff opener. The host Yellow Jackets trailed by 33 points. They had no halftime advantage and won 47-21.
Williamstown, which has reached the postseason for the 25th consecutive time, ended all four possessions in the first half as head coach Chris Beck’s team faces No. 5 Wheeling Central for a spot next week. Reached the zone. The state semifinals are on the line.
“I’m really glad we got off to a good start.” Coach Beck acknowledged that the reserves allowed TD runs of 70 and 78 yards to the Yellow Jackets’ Diego Taylor, as well as a 2-yard scoring burst from Dalton Ault. “Big plays by our special teams.
“Danner is a really good player and made a lot of plays for us. And he played great there. We got off to a good start. Our offensive play I’m really happy with it. The field has gotten really choppy and smooth. Let’s see if it picks up next week and what happens. It’s always good to go out and set the tone.”
The 4-7 Yellow Jackets, led by head man Matt Altobello, opened with a 12-yard completion from Silas Kampf to Ben Watts, who was 5 of 10 from the 74 stripe. Will Sites had a 2-yard tackle for loss on Riley Piras, forcing a third-and-11, and on third down, the visitors were forced to punt on an incomplete pass.
“I knew he (Kyle Molen) rolled to the right side and it was like a rugby kick, so I just tried to take it.” Mr. Hooper admitted. “I raised my arm and it hit me. As I followed it, I saw the No. 74 Jenner Barge running by.
“He’s a little faster than me, so I let him do it and I was turning around trying to block for him. It was big for the mindset to get a quick touchdown. It was good. Yo.”
WHS signal caller Linken Joy completed 7 of 9 for 86 yards and 3 touchdowns and had 6 rushes for 79 yards, including a 12-yard TD to Carson Haynes. He threw a strike, retired the starter, and went up 40-0 with six touchdowns. Lyric Perdue’s extra point put them in third with just a few minutes remaining.
“Our backups have to get a little bit better and continue to work hard in practice, but for the future, we have to continue to work hard and honestly improve. I think we’ll be okay. Yo” Joy said.
“That (punt block) got us going and we were excited about it. It really got us going and helped us out a lot. We’re going to enjoy this tonight, but… We have to start that work tomorrow.”
Moorefield got its second first down on the next series thanks to Oliver Kreitz’s 4-yard run, but Hooper made a key tackle on Lost that helped force a punt.
Coach Beck’s program went 71 yards in 10 plays on its first drive, making it 13-0 on Cooper Billingsley’s 40-yard TD run. After Purdue’s extra point with 1:49 left in the first, the first attempt was blocked. Chase Myers.
Kampf’s 19-yard completion to Sean Reed put the Yellow Jackets into Williamstown territory, but the visitors were forced to punt.
Joy broke off a 60-yard run, then fired a shot into the end zone three plays later, where Cooper Martin made a tough grab in double coverage for a 20-yard scoring strike. The PAT failed, but Moorefield led 19-0 with 8:54 left in the first half.
Despite Cytos’ successful recovery, the Yellow Jackets fumbled on the second play of the ensuing drive. The eight-play scoring drive ended with Billingsley’s 8-yard TD run, followed by Purdue’s extra point to make it 26-0 at the 4:38 mark.
Things got even worse for MHS as punter Moren slipped and lost 11 yards, giving the host Jackets the ball in the ninth at bat. Joy hit Martin on the first play and wasted no time finding the end zone. The front corner of the end zone for a 33-0 halftime bulge.
“I thought it was great to bring in some young players and they got a lot of playing time in the second half.” Coach Beck added. “It bodes well for the future and we can start healthy and be ready for next week. We need to turn the page quickly in the playoffs.
“It’s the instinct of the beast. If you look across Double-A, the quarterfinals are going to be long. There are six or seven really, really good teams, and there’s going to be a lot of great games in the quarterfinals. Central will be significantly better. We know it’s getting better and we’re going to give it our all.”
Joy’s final touchdown pass to Haynes was set up by a bad punt snap, forcing Moren to unscramble, but he was tackled by Blake Brown for no gain.
Taylor ran 70 yards to pay dirt at 5:50 of the third, and Ault followed with a score just 41 ticks into the fourth. Kampf converted to make it 40-14.
Williamstown allowed just 77 yards rushing on 38 attempts, not counting Taylor’s two long throws, but Jackson Carr’s 13-yard touchdown run with 8:01 left put the team at 47. vs. 14.
Taylor had a game-high 145 ground yards on three attempts, and Billingsley added 81 stripes on eight totes. Haynes (3-56) and Martin (3-31) led WHS’ receiving corps, with backup signal caller Breck Allen completing 2 of 3 for 13 yards.
Wheeling Central and head coach Mike Young will be out for revenge after the Maroon Knights took a big lead in the first quarter in Week 3 before losing 36-25 at home to the Yellow Jackets.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com.
