MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A closer look at opening-round results in the 2023 High School football playoffs presented by Toyota:
Class AAA:
No. 8 Bridgeport 28, No. 9 George Washington 27
No. 6 Jefferson 21, No. 11 Wheeling Park 14
No. 7 Spring Mills 20, No. 10 Spring Valley 17
No. 13 Parkersburg 47, No. 4 Hurricane 23 — In the lone Class AAA upset Friday, the Big Reds (7-4) eliminated the Redskins (8-3). David Parsons accounted for five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing and he passed for 193 yards. Jason Williams rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown.
The Big Reds will travel to face the winner of Saturday’s Oak Hill/Princeton game in the quarterfinals.
No. 3 Martinsburg 55, No. 14 Parkersburg South 7 — The Bulldogs (10-0) remained the only undefeated team in Class AAA as they eliminated the 2022 state runners-up. Murphy Clement passed for five touchdowns and he ran for another score to pace MHS. The Bulldogs will host Eastern Panhandle Athletic Conference rival Jefferson in the quarterfinals.
Turner Garretson had a touchdown run for the Patriots (6-5).
No. 1 Cabell Midland 63, No. 16 Musselman 22 — (Photo gallery) — Robert Shockey accounted for five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) as the Knights (10-1) advanced to the Class AAA quarterfinals and a meeting with Bridgeport next weekend.
Future WVU linebacker Curtis Jones Jr. scored two rushing touchdowns.
Musselman (4-7) received a three-touchdown effort from quarterback Eli Fleming.
No. 2 Huntington 59, No. 15 Morgantown 13 — The Highlanders (10-1) jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Zah Jackson rushed for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Avonte Crawford passed for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Huntington will host Spring Mills in the quarterfinals.
AJ Thomas rushed for two touchdowns for the Mohigans (7-4).
Class AA:
No. 1 North Marion 35, No. 16 Lincoln 14: Casey Minor passed for 225 yards and rushed for 138, while Aaron Hoffman rushed for a pair of scores to help the top seed advance.
North Marion led 28-0 at halftime.
“I thought we played really well in the first half. It was kind of a tale of two halves and we just struggled to put it away in the second half,” said North Marion head coach Daran Hays. “To their credit, they continued to play hard and our execution just kind of depleted a little bit. But anytime you win in the postseason, you have to be happy about it. You went 1-0 for the week and there will be eight teams in Class AA that won’t be as fortunate.”
The Huskies took the field a day after former state champion head coach Gerry White died at age 72.
Lincoln quarterback AJ Bart passed for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns in defeat.
No. 5 Weir 23, No. 12 Frankfort 21
No. 2 Fairmont Senior 31, No. 15 Wayne 27
No. 14 Independence 54, No. 3 Roane County 21: (Photo gallery) — Tyler Linksweiler had a 45-yard touchdown run and the defending state champion Patriots forced six turnovers to end the Raiders’ season in a resounding road win.
“We played a real tough team tonight. They are well-coached and a great football team,” said Independence head coach John Lilly. “But our kids played well and we won the turnover battle. When you get to the playoffs, that is a big deal.”
No. 6 Winfield 57, No. 11 Lewis County 21: Tanner Loughery rushed for a 34-yard touchdown, Toby Laughery hauled in a touchdown reception and the Generals won for the ninth time in their last 10 games since dropping their season opener.
No. 10 Philip Barbour 28, No. 7 Mingo Central 21: Nate Hulver accounted for a game-winning touchdown run and the Colts overcame a 21-7 deficit to win their first playoff game in program history.
Kaden Humphreys added a passing and rushing touchdown in the victory for PBHS, which will play a quarterfinal round game at No. 2 Fairmont Senior.
Class A:
No. 2 Tucker County 46, No. 15 Midland Trail 6: Ethan Rosenau threw for 259 yards and five touchdowns to lift the unbeaten Mountain Lions to a convincing victory.
Blake Adams and Max Anderson each caught two touchdowns for Tucker, with one of Anderson’s scoring receptions covering 70 yards. Tucker’s Jared Reall rushed for 135 yards.
Thad Brown had 146 passing yards for the Patriots.
No. 4 Greenbrier West 49, No. 13 Wirt County 0: Ethan Holliday scored on a run, a reception and an interception and the Cavaliers recorded their sixth shutout this season.
Cole Vandall passed for a pair of scores and Jake Pate added two rushing TDs.
No. 5 Wahama 65, No. 12 Summers County 14: The White Falcons scored 57 unanswered points to end the game and remain undefeated.
Wahama’s Connor Lambert accounted for four touchdowns, including three rushing scores.
No. 7 Tug Valley 28, No. 10 Tyler Consolidated 26: The Panthers led by 22 points at halftime before holding off the Silver Knights to advance.
“This is the first playoff appearance for all of them,” said Tug Valley head coach Hady Ford. “To be able to go to the next round, I think the deeper we go, the hungrier we will get. We’ve just got to keep working. Each week we get better. As we told them, it doesn’t get any easier from here on. We have to keep working to get better and rise up to the competition level.”