PARKERSBURG - For the second time in three years, the Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Football Classic resulted in a shutout.
On Friday night at Parkersburg's Stadium Field, host West Virginia used a pair of defensive touchdowns to blank Ohio, 14-0, in the 18th annual charity game.
A defensive slugfest throughout, the Buckeyes held a final advantage in total yards by a slim margin of 138-133. Both scores for the West Virginia squad of PHS head coach Don Reeves came in the first quarter on defensive touchdowns.
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BACF band plays at half time of annual Ohio-WVa football game
"I thought both teams would be good defensively," Reeves said. "I was a little unsure of us offensively because in four days it's hard to get the offense where you want it to be."
It appeared the Ohio squad of Waterford head coach Chad Ross would dent the scoreboard first on the Buckeyes' second possession of the game. Although a 44-yard trick play pass from Belpre's Erik Waderker to Waterford's Chad Offenberger set up a first-and-goal at the 3, disaster struck on the ensuing snap. Fort Frye running back Colten Skinner tried to go off tackle and make a cutback, but it was ruled he fumbled the football. Jordan Mixer of St. Marys picked it up and raced 93 yards untouched to paydirt. Ravenswood's John Scritchfield booted the extra point and with 4:55 left in the first quarter the hosts led for good.
Two possessions after that it was more of the same for the Buckeyes. With the first quarter nearly complete, a handoff to Skinner turned into another fumble when he had the ball knocked out of his hand. One hop later, Calhoun County's Bronson Clark was in the right place at the right time and bolted 44 yards for the final six-pointer of the game as Scritchfield's PAT made it 14-0.
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Photos by Jeff Baughan
Ohio's Corey Fickiesen, left, is hit by West Virginia’s Chad Small as he attempts to scramble in the first half of the annual BACF game at Stadium Field.
"The play was going backside and I was just kind of watching for a reversal and the ball popped out and it one-hopped right into my arms," Clark said. "I'd have had to put my hands behind my back not to catch it."
Mixer, who also had one of the hosts' two interceptions (Wirt County's Dylan Wager had the other) was named the W.Va. MVP. Corey Fickiesen of Frontier, who picked off a pair of Lane Knost (Williamstown) passes while rushing for a team-high 46 yards on seven totes, was selected as the Ohio MVP.
"I read the wheel route and that was my ninth interception of my senior season and that's a pretty good ending," Mixer said of picking off an errant Fickiesen pass.
Fact Box
18th annual Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis
Football Classic at
Parkersburg's Stadium Field
West Virginia 14, Ohio 0
Ohio 0 0 0 0 - 0
W.Va. 14 0 0 0 - 14
W.Va. - Jordan Mixer (St. Marys) 93 fumble return (John Scritchfield, Ravenswood, kick) 4:55, 1st
W.Va. - Bronson Clark (Calhoun) 44 fumble return (Scritchfield kick) 38.0, 1st
Team stats
Ohio: First downs: 7; Rushes-yards: 32-54; Passing yards: 84; Total yards: 138; Passing: 9-21-2; Punts-average: 5-33.4; Fumbles-lost: 7-3; Penalties-yards: 11-80
W.Va.: First downs: 7; Rushes-yards: 27-99; Passing yards: 34; Total yards: 133; Passing: 5-19-2; Punts-average: 5-37.4; Fumbles-lost: 2-1; Penalties-yards: 8-63
Individual stats
Ohio: Rushing: Erik Waderker (Belpre) 6-(-4), Jake Brunoni (Frontier) 5-16, Corey Fickiesen (Frontier) 7-46, Ted Vynalek (Morgan) 6-(-1), Colten Skinner (Fort Frye) 5-4, Levi Porter (Waterford) 2-0, Team 1-(-7); Passing: Skinner 0-1-0, 0 yards; Waderker 1-1-0, 44 yards; Vynalek 6-10-1, 31 yards; Fickiesen 2-9-1, 9 yards; Receiving: Jerrod Kinney (Beallsville) 1-5, Waderker 3-12, Skinner 2-2, Chad Offenberger (Waterford) 1-44, Brunoni 1-2, Porter 1-19
W.Va.: Rushing: Lane Knost (Williamstown) 4-14, Cole Starcher (Ravenswood) 4-8, Jeff Kidder (P. South) 14-62, Chad Small (Ravenswood) 4-15, Storm Matheny (Ripley) 1-0; Passing: Small 0-1-0, 0 yards; Hunter Barton (Williamstown) 0-1-0, 0 yards; Starcher 1-6-0, 11 yards; Knost 4-11-2, 23 yards; Receiving: Tyler Bennett (Calhoun) 1-6, Starcher 1-3, Dylan Wager (Wirt) 3-25
Interceptions: Ohio - Fickiesen (2); W.Va. - Wager, Mixer
Team MVPs: Ohio - Fickiesen; W.Va. - Mixer
Note: W.Va. leads the overall series 12-6
"It was cool. The kids you played against all year, you turn around and make good friends here. I had fun playing with them and it was just a fun week."
Ohio had several other chances to score.
Late in the first quarter with the ball first-and-10 at the W.Va. 30, Ohio turned over the ball on downs. Late in the third, with the ball again on the W.Va. 30, Morgan's Ted Vynalek hit Waterford's Levi Porter for a 19-yard gain. But the first-and-goal chance from the 11 was thwarted on fourth down by Wager's pick.
Midway through the fourth, Monroe Central's Brock Jones recovered a fumble on a botched punt return by the hosts, but a first-and-goal at the 6 after a Fickiesen 23-yard keeper on fourth-and-6 from the 29 ended on fourth down when Nick Casto of St. Marys recovered a fumble.
Ravenswood's Chad Small, who had a second quarter fake punt run of 9 yards for a first down, toted the pigskin on the final two plays of the game. Parkersburg South's Jeff Kidder had game-highs of 14 carries for 62 yards while Wager had three catches for 25 yards.
W.Va. has now won six of the last seven games, leads the all-time series 12-6 and moved to 6-3 all-time in contets played at Stadium Field. Ohio's last victory was 24-0 in 2009.
