Eagles Take Care Of Keyser In Semi-Final

By Staff | Nov 26, 2008

Magnolia shocked many sports enthusiasts around the state Friday evening by upsetting the No. 1 rated Keyser Golden Tornado by a score of 23-19 on an ice-covered field at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium at Morgantown’s University High School.

The Blue Eagles, one week removed from a thrilling late-game victory over Point Pleasant in the first round, had this decision taken down to the final minutes, as well, with the defense making another crucial stop to secure the win.

The Eagles’ defense lived up to its Old Blizzard nickname throughout the game with a stone-cold line that stopped the Tornado in crucial situations, while the offense lived up to its current nickname with its air game.

The offense received the opportunity to take flight first, as Magnolia

received the opening kickoff. After a steady dosage of handoffs to Stingray Bates that moved the ball inside Keyser territory, the Blue Eagles were soon faced with a third-and-16 situation. That hurdle was overcome when Justin Fox found Cameron Benson down the field on a long pass, giving Magnolia the first chance to score.

After runs took the ball to the one yard line, it looked as though the Eagles would punch it in for a touchdown. But a penalty forced them back to the six yard line, where Fox dropped a 23-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead. The score capped off a 12-play drive that went 71 yards.

“That was crucial,” said MHS Head Coach Mark Batton. “To be able to move the ball on them and establish the run a little bit before hitting the nice pass to Cameron Benson, it put us in a nice position down there. You have to be able to establish that you can move the ball against them. That was crucial to make the most out of that first possession. It would have been nice to come out of there with seven, but three definitely made a little bit of a statement.”

The momentum quickly swung the other way on Keyser’s first possession. After a kickoff returned for a touchdown was called back, Keyser’s first play from scrimmage was a 57-yard scamper that put the Tornado in the red zone at the 18 yard line. Two plays later, Jeremy Green would take the ball off the left end and into the end zone from 15 yards out, making it 7-3.

Magnolia answered with another balanced scoring drive that went 74 yards. The main play came on a 37-yard reception from Fox to Jason Utt which set up Magnolia on the three yard line. The next play resulted in Dillon Jackson carrying it a couple of yards before a Fox sneak gave the Big Blue the lead once again at 9-7 after a failed PAT conversion.

It was then that turnovers played a factor in the game. As Keyser was driving, a fumbled snap gave Magnolia possession once again. The Eagle drive stalled and forced a punt. However, a muffed return gave Magnolia the ball back on the Keyser 28 yard line.

After moving the ball to the nine, the Eagles were faced with a third-and-eight. That’s when Fox found Utt again for a touchdown pass that gave the upset-minded Blue Eagles a two-score lead at 16-7 after Fox hit the extra point with 7:51 remaining in the half.

The defense would take over for the rest of the first half, forcing Keyser to punt twice. The Golden Tornado had one last opportunity to score before the half, but Magnolia’s stiff defense stopped them, as Zach Neff made the tackle on fourth-and-goal from the one yard line with seconds remaining.

“If they score, then they head in with all the momentum,” said Batton. “Keeping them out right there, that was an outstanding defensive stand. That was a big turning point, even though they were able to come out and score on their first series in the third quarter.”

It was easily a game-changing play as Keyser was set to receive the opening kickoff of the second half. The Tornado had a balanced offensive attack of their own to open up the half that resulted in a one-yard touchdown by Matt Wilmer that cut Magnolia’s lead to 16-13.

In an interesting call, Keyser attempted a two-point conversion that the Blue Eagles stopped on the short yardage situation.

The Blue Eagles’ offense answered with its last score of the game when Brandon Sprouse hauled in a 55-yard pass for a touchdown, breaking a tackle to spring loose in front of the Magnolia fans on the Keyser sideline. Fox nailed the extra point to put the Blue Eagles up 23-13 with a little over five minutes left in the third quarter.

Keyser attempted to answer on the next drive, but another fumble gave the Blue Eagles the ball on their own 23.

The Golden Tornado was able to score one more time early in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run by Christopher Brown. More importantly, the Golden missed an extra-point conversion kick and remained trailing 23-19.

Still, there was a lot of time left on the clock. Keyser had a few opportunities to score and went to the air, but the secondary for Magnolia was able to keep the Tornado from scoring.

As in previous plays, the Magnolia defense came up big once more in the final few minutes of the game, as Keyser faced a fourth-and-one at the 12.

Again, the Tornado attempted to gain the first down on the ground, but Sprouse and Utt were the ones to stop the quarterback and turn the ball over on downs.

“Our defense played an outstanding game. We bent a few times, but we didn’t really break,” said Batton. “When they scored, we were able to counter offensively. I’m not sure we were ready for what they were going to throw at us offensively in the first series and they very well smacked us in the mouth. Our kids responded to that and we really tightened up and became physical with them.”

The game was sealed when Bates made a first-down run on third-and-seven, allowing Magnolia to run out the clock. He finished with 63 yards rushing on 24 carries to lead the Blue Eagles. Jackson carried the ball six times for 14 yards, while Fox gained the team’s only rushing touchdown.

Fox had an impressive passing game, completing 8-17 for 170 yards and two touchdowns. Utt caught four of those passes for 62 yards and a touchdown. Sprouse had two receptions for 61 yards and a score, while Benson gave Magnolia two important first downs on his two catches for 51 yards.

With the win, Magnolia moves on to host a semi-final game against No. 12 James Monroe who pulled of an upset-win at Weir Saturday afternoon. The game sets up a rematch against the team that knocked the Eagles off in last season’s finale.

“Our boys know the Mavericks have two good backs that really gave us some problems last year,” said Batton.

“They’re running a different style of offense. They’re kind of remembering that a little bit and now they get the opportunity to face them at our place and they’re excited about that.”

The game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Magnolia’s Alumni Field. The winner will advance to the state championship on Wheeling Island to play the winner of the Grafton Bearcats or the Wayne Pioneers, who face each other Friday night.

It will be Magnolia’s first time hosting a semi-final game since 1993 when they were the No. 1 seed and 31-10 victors over the No. 12 Musselman Applemen.