WILLIAMSTOWN — The Williamstown Yellow Jackets have been a dominant force throughout the regular season and show no signs of slowing down. Williamstown defeated Doddridge County 49-6 in the first round final last week. This week, the #3 Yellow Jackets host #11 East Hardy, who are fresh off a 38-30 upset victory over #6 St. Mary’s. The Cougars proved no match for Williamstown, with the Yellow Jackets winning 48-15 in the final.
East Hardy got the ball and started the game. On the second play from scrimmage, William Sites strip-sacked quarterback Damian Dillinger and managed to recover a fumble shortly after. The turnover brought the Yellow Jackets to the Cougar 30-yard line.
All Williamstown needed was three plays to strike first. Lewis Goodno had the advantage on the run, taking 25 yards to home. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 6-0.
The Yellow Jackets forced a punt and further extended their lead. Maxwell Moressa capped off the drive with a 1-yard run for six points. Goodnow’s 47-yard reversal set up the score. Williamstown again failed to convert a two-point try, making the score 12-0.
Moressa scored again with an 8-yard rushing touchdown early in the second. He also converted, giving the Yellow Jackets a 20-0 lead.
Part 2 with about 5 minutes left. Goodnow cut in front of his receiver, pointed the ball high and intercepted it. He returned the pick 42 yards, giving Williamstown excellent field position.
Linken Joy scored on the ensuing drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. Molessa ran in the conversion to make the score 28-0.
During the next kickoff, the ball nearly rolled out of bounds, but the Cougars stood around the ball and did not pick it up. Saitos made a heads-up play and fell on the ball, giving the Yellow Jackets consecutive possessions.
On the first play of that drive, Moressa found Goodnow for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Considering he had two overtime downs between scores, the time spent between this touchdown and the last one is only 6 seconds. Briley Jones kicked the extra point off the uprights to give Williamstown a 35-0 lead.
Turnovers were a big factor for the Yellow Jackets throughout the game, but especially in the first half. Williamstown held off turnovers and scored 21 points before halftime.
The Jackets got the ball to start the second half, but they couldn’t do anything with the ball.
East Hardy then put together its best drive of the game to date, scoring on a 24-yard pass from Dillinger to Levi Price. This touchdown made the score 35-7.
Williamstown responded less than two minutes later with a 34-yard pass from Moressa to Goodnow. Jones scored his second extra point, making the score 42-7.
On the play after throwing the touchdown, Moressa caught an interception just six seconds into the game. The play resulted in a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Rex Anderson, giving Williamstown a final total of 48 points.
Goodnow made his second interception of the game on a jump ball in the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Cougars scored their second touchdown of the game with 4:36 left in the fourth. Brayden Gregory ran up the middle for a 2-yard score. Gregory found Dayton Dubb’s pass during the conversion for a 2-point attempt.
The Yellowjackets advance to the final four and will take on the Mountain Lions in Tucker County.
Williamstown outscored East Hardy 347-219, but 127 of the Cougars’ yards came on the final two drives of the game, when the Yellowjackets had already made several substitutions. Ta.
Goodnow had an impressive performance for the Yellow Jackets with 72 yards on the ground and one rushing touchdown, four receptions for 97 yards, two receiving touchdowns and two interceptions. He commented on what it’s like to be able to contribute so much on both sides of the ball: “That’s really cool. Not everyone does that, but I’m just making plays because the team put me in a good position.”
he continued, “We started fast. We knew that’s what we had to do. It was another week where we needed to come here and improve.”
Williamstown head coach Chris Beck said after the win. “Defensively I thought we were ready to play with momentum. Our players played very hard and forced turnovers early so that set the tone. Offensively, we were sloppy at times. I feel like we didn’t make a lot of cuts today. The field was a little slippery, but overall we’re in good shape. Yesterday’s rain I thought the defense was the game today. Our first unit was really good all day. Offensively, we had to adjust and make enough plays to win. is completed.”
Upon advancing to the final four, Beck said: “It’s always great to practice on Thanksgiving Day. We’re lucky and blessed to be able to do this for the third year in a row. In fact, barring COVID, it’s always great to practice on Thanksgiving Day. I think it’s the first time since 2017. It’s always a good week of practice for us, it’s an exciting week and we’re really looking forward to it.”
Contact Aaron Lee at alee@newsandsentinel.com.