MORGANTOWN - Defense has been the staple of Parkersburg South this season.
Not the case Friday night during a Class AAA quarterfinal playoff game at Pony Lewis Field.
Fifth-ranked Morgantown turned its second meeting of the season with 13th-ranked South into a track meet and defeated the Patriots, 45-22.
Morgantown, which produced 467 yards on the ground, improves to 10-2 and will meet the winner of today's quarterfinal game between Huntington and Martinsburg. Date and time will be determined on Sunday.
South ends the season at 7-5 after surrendering the most points in a game this season. The previous high was 28 when the Patriots lost to Morgantown at the Erickson All-Sports Facility on Sept. 9.
Parkersburg South didn't exactly get off on the right footing. A botched punt and a fumble in Morgantown territory left the Patriots trailing 12-0 with two minutes remaining in the first period.
Fact Box
Class AAA quarterfinal
At Pony Lewis Field, Morgantown
Morgantown 45, Parkersburg South 22
South (7-5) 0 7 7 8 - 22
Morgantown (10-2) 12 7 20 6 - 45
M: Chazzy Thomas 30 run (kick failed), 9:48, 1st
M: Alex Weidman 3 run (pass failed), 2:05, 1st
S: Jake Douglas 17 pass from Tyler Bolen (Isaac Boles kick), 5:11, 2nd
M: Mark Johnson 36 run (Ruan Venter kick), 2:46, 2nd
M: Kevin Minehart 11 pass from Johnson (Venter kick), 8:01, 3rd
S: Jordan Quiocho 69 run (Boles kick), 7:44, 3rd
M: Tim Prince 27 run (kick failed), 4:48, 3rd
M: Thomas 56 run (Venter kick), 1:21, 3rd
M: Weidman 53 run (run failed), 8:32, 4th
S: Jesse Fickiesen 3 run (Douglas run), 5:43, 4th
Team statistics
South: Rushes-yards: 34-209. Passing yards: 89. Total yards: 298. Passing: 9-16-0. Punts: 2-33.5. Fumbles-lost: 2-1. Penalties: 6-65
Morgantown: Rushes-yards: 52-467. Passing yards: 70. Total yards: 537. Passing: 8-12-0. Punts: 1-27.0. Fumbles-lost: 2-0. Penalties: 8-85.
Individual leaders
South: Rushing: Jordan Quiocho 9-109, Logan Cox 5-36, Jesse Fickiesen 8-32, Jake Douglas 7-24, Tyler Bolen 4-7, Braxton Johnson 1-1. Passing: Tyler Bolen 9-15-0, 89 yards. Receiving: Braxton Johnson 3-34, Jake Douglas 2-27, Logan Cox 2-15, Jesse Fickiesen 1-15, Jordan Quiocho 1-1.
Morgantown: Rushing: Chazzy Thomas 13-186, Jalan Thomas 7-35, Tim Prince 10-88, Mark Johnson 8-44, Alex Weidman 5-64, Logan Hatch 4-26. Passing: Mark Johnson 7-11-0, 62 yards. Receiving: Kevin Minehart 4-28, Blaine Stewart 3-34.
South went 3-and-out on the game's opening possession. On 4th-and 6 from the South 29, punter Braxton Johnson had trouble with the high snap and was forced to run, which resulted in only a 1-yard gain.
Morgantown was left with a short field and on the very next play, Chazzy Thomas took the handoff from quarterback Mark Johnson and followed his blockers on the right side of the line for a 30-yard touchdown run.
Logan Cox blocked the extra-point attempt and the Mohigans had themselves a 6-0 lead at the 9:48 mark.
On South's next offensive series, the Patriots converted one first down when quarterback Tyler Bolen rolled out and found Braxton Johnson open for a 15-yard gain. On second-and-8 from their own 49, Cox got the call and collected 15 yards on the ground before getting stripped of the ball. Morgantown's Adam Kovac recovered the fumble at his own 29.
The Mohigans took advantage of the turnover and covered 71 yards in 14 plays. They had chewed nearly six minutes off the clock when Alex Weidman scored on a 3-yard run with 2:05 still remaining in the first quarter. The pass on the two-point conversion failed and South trailed 12-0.
South finally put together a sustained drive midway in the second quarter. The Patriots reached the red zone and on 3rd-and-goal from the Morgantown 17, Bolen hit Jake Douglas with a screen pass. Douglas appeared to be stopped short of the goal line, but a second and third effort resulted in a touchdown. Isaac Boles' point after cut the deficit at 12-7 with 5:11 remaining before halftime.
Morgantown answered right back. The Mohigans converted two first downs leading up to Johnson's keeper on the option which led to a 36-yard touchdown run. Placekicker Ruan Venter added the PAT to increase the gap to 19-7.
In the second half, Morgantown scored the first four times it touched the ball. Johnson hooked up with Kevin Minehart in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard TD pass at the 8:01 mark of the third quarter.
Running back Jordan Quiocho gave South new life on the very next play from scrimmage with a 69-yard touchdown run.
The Mohigans essentially put the game away when Tim Prince scored from 27 yards out and Thomas hit paydirt for the second time this time from 54 yards. With less than two minutes still remaining in the third period, the advantage had elevated to 39-14.
Weidman broke free up the middle for a 53-yard TD run midway in the fourth quarter.
South's final touchdown of the 2011 season came at the 5:43 mark of the fourth quarter when Jesse Fickiesen carried the ball in from 4 yards.
Quiocho led the Patriots with 109 yards on nine carries.
For Morgantown, Thomas just missed the 200-yard mark after gaining 186 yards on just 13 rushes. Prince added 88 yards on the ground.
