Back-to-Back!!!!!!!!!!

Historic 11th State Championship

Achieved With 22-15 Triumph

The history book will have to be rewritten.

Parkersburg's Big Reds achieved an historic first by defeating St. Albans 22-15 before a crowd of 7,000 at Wheeling Island Stadium to claim the 2007 Class AAA football championship.

The title was the 11th in school history, tying Ceredo-Kenova for the most state football championships in the history of West Virginia high school football. It also marked the first time a PHS football team had won back-to-back state titles in the 103 year history of the school.

Andy Thomas was named Most Valuable Player for PHS after passing for two touchdowns against the stubborn Red Dragons. Matt Lindamood had the other TD for the Big Reds, who finished 13-1 and not only won 27 of their last 28 games but the 20 seniors ended careers which saw them go undefeated at home.

The 2007 Big Red team finished the season as the second highest scoring team in school history with its total of 522 points, just three points shy of the all-time record of 525 points scored by the 2000 team. This year's 37.3 point per game average ranks fifth on the all-time list.

The Big Reds fell behind 8-0 early after a Red Dragon scoring drive on the game's first possession and a blocked punt safety on the first play of the second quarter. But they came back to tie the game on an 11-play, 58-yard scoring drive just before the half that was capped by Thomas' 20 yard scoring pass to Wes Ankrom and Thomas' two-point conversion completion to Stephen Roush.

PHS then put together two scoring drives in the third quarter to go ahead 22-8. Lindamood finished a nine-play, 66-yard drive with a one yard run with 6:51 on the clock and Thomas found Roush for a five yard scoring pass with 38 seconds left in the quarter to cap an eight-play, 39-yard drive. Tyler Warner added both extra point kicks.

St. Albans made a game of it by putting together a 72-yard drive to score on a nine yard pass from T.J. Feazelle to Derek Bodie with 7:17 left in the contest but the PHS defense stiffened on the next St. Albans possession, taking over after a fourth down fumble on the Big Reds' 26 yard line with 40 seconds remaining.

Thomas wound up with five completions in eight attempts for 51 yards while also rushing for 31 yards on 11 carries. Lindamood wound up his sensational career with 89 yards rushing on 22 attempts.  

After winning the coin toss, St. Albans elected to go on offense right away and the move appeared to be a good one despite Warner putting the opening kickoff into the end zone. The Dragons of coach Derek Christian mixed the run and the pass on a 12-play drive that took 5:06 off the clock. The touchdown came on a five yard run over right guard by Gabe King. On the extra point, a bad snap caused Tyler Hizer to kick the ball off the ground and the attempt was well short.

PHS went three-and-out on its first possession as the Red Dragons appeared determined to stop the run. Although St. Albans picked up a first down on a pass interference penalty and got another on three straight runs by Markus Guy, who finished with 116 yards on 29 attempts, the Dragons quickly went the other direction after getting a holding penalty and lost nine more yards on a quarterback sack by Big Reds' Joey Shafer and Travis Bunner.

The Big Reds took over on their own 32 but were again stuffed by the determined Dragons with only three net yards on three plays and Warner went in to punt. St. Albans' Gary Fleck broke through virtually untouched to block the kick and nearly recovered it in the end zone for what would have been a touchdown. But the officials ruled that by the time he gained full possession his feet were already out of the back of the end zone. So St. Albans settled for a safety on the first play of the second quarter which upped their margin to 8-0.

St. Albans was unable to capitalize on the ensuing free kick as Warner's 51 yard kick got PHS out of the hole and the defense responded with a three-and-out effort.

With just 5:13 remaining before halftime, PHS decided it was time to do something about that goose egg on the scoreboard. Starting from their own 42 the Big Reds moved the ball up field with a series of short runs and a clutch third down pass for 10 yards to Roush. As the clock ticked under a minute and the ball on the 20 yard line, Thomas found Wes Ankrom in the right flat for a completion and touchdown. Needing two points to tie, PHS again went to the air with Thomas finding Roush in the back of the end zone.

As they have done so many times this season, the Big Reds began the second half by putting together a scoring drive to take the lead for good. Starting from their own 34, the Big Reds mixed the running of Lindamood and Thomas to push into St. Albans territory. An 11 yard run by Lindamood with a facemask penalty tacked on at the end, gave PHS a first down at the 29. A six yard pickup by Thomas was followed by a seven yard run over the left side by Lindamood for a first down at the 16.  A procedure penalty against PHS moved the ball back to the 21 but Lindamood carried three straight times to reach the end zone for the 38th time this season. His final carry over the left side was a stand up effort with 6:51 on the clock. Warner's kick made it 15-8.

The PHS defense then followed that momentum by stopping St. Albans on three straight plays to force a punt. Josh Jenkins ran down a Red Dragon receiver for a two yard loss after a completion and Anthony Thorpe had a big hit for force an incomplete pass on third down.

From their own 20, St. Albans suffered a poor punt with PHS taking over on the Red Dragons' 39 yard line. That was followed by a PHS scoring drive that featured a seven yard run by Tyler Humphrey and a big third down 12 yard pass to Shafer. On third down at the five, Thomas faked a handoff up the middle, rolled to his right and found Roush in the end zone for the touchdown with 38 seconds left in the third quarter. Warner's kick made it 22-8.

With desperation on their faces, the Red Dragons rallied to put together a long drive that took 13 plays but also ate 5:15 off the clock. The touchdown came on a fourth-and-six situation from the PHS nine yard line on a pass from Feazelle to Bodie.

St. Albans elected to kick it away on the kickoff and Lindamood returned it to the Big Red 34. On the first play from scrimmage Thomas faked a pitch and cut back to his left, going 16 yards before being brought down. The Big Reds were forced to punt four plays later but Thomas' "pooch" kick went to the 25 yard line with only 4:57 left in the contest. 

The Dragons picked up three first downs and drove into PHS territory at the 28 yard line only to face a fourth and three with 48 seconds remaining. Feazelle tried an option play, kept the ball but was hit by Matt Littleton after only a two yard gain and Shafer recovered to secure the victory and the championship.

Unofficially on defense, Thomas was in on 12 tackles and had one pass broken up while Josh Jenkins and Jason Phillips were each in on 10 tackles (including one for a loss). 

                            Scoring Summary (Final)

                    St. Albans (12-2) vs. Parkersburg (13-1)

Date: Dec 01, 2007  Site: Wheeling              Stadium: Wheeling Island

Attendance: 7000

Score by Quarters          1  2  3  4   Score

St. Albans..........      6  2  0  7  - 15

Parkersburg.........  0  8 14  0  - 22

 Scoring Summary:

1st 06:54 SA - King, Gabriel 2 yd run (Hizer, Tyler kick failed)

                                                  12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 5:06, SA 6 - PHS 0

2nd 11:47 SA - Fleck, Gary safety; Punt blocked out of end zone

                                                                                                   SA 8 - PHS 0

    00:52 PHS - Ankrom, Wes 20 yd pass from Thomas, Andy (Roush, Stephen pass from Thomas, Andy)

                                                  11 plays, 58 yards, TOP 4:21, SA 8 - PHS 8

3rd 06:51 PHS - Lindamood, Matt 1 yd run (Warner, Tyler kick)

                                                  9 plays, 66 yards, TOP 5:03, SA 8 - PHS 15

    00:38 PHS - Roush, Stephen 5 yd pass from Thomas, Andy (Warner, Tyler kick)

                                                  8 plays, 39 yards, TOP 4:34, SA 8 - PHS 22

4th 07:17 SA - Bodie, Derek 9 yd pass from Feazelle, T.J. (Hizer, Tyler kick)

                                                  13 plays, 72 yards, TOP 5:15, SA 15 - PHS 22

  Total elapsed time: 2:22

MVP: Parkersburg: Andy Thomas; St. Albans: Markus Guy

                     Team Statistics (Final)

                                                    SA      PHS

               FIRST DOWNS...................       16       14

                 Rushing.....................       10        9

                 Passing.....................        5        4

                 Penalty.....................        1        1

               NET YARDS RUSHING.............      165      127

                 Rushing Attempts............       43       36

                 Average Per Rush............      3.8      3.5

                 Yards Gained Rushing........      176      136

                 Yards Lost Rushing..........       11        9

               NET YARDS PASSING.............       78       50

                 Completions-Attempts-Int....   9-15-0    5-8-0

                 Average Per Attempt.........      5.2      6.2

                 Average Per Completion......      8.7     10.0

               TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      243      177

                 Total offense plays.........       58       44

                 Average Gain Per Play.......      4.2      4.0

               Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      1-1      0-0

               Penalties: Number-Yards.......     6-67     3-25

               PUNTS-YARDS...................    4-116    4-102

                 Average Yards Per Punt......     29.0     25.5

                 Net Yards Per Punt..........     28.8     16.2

                 Inside 20...................        1        0

                 50+ Yards...................        0        0

                 Touchbacks..................        0        0

                 Fair catch..................        0        0

               KICKOFFS-YARDS................    3-134    5-260

                 Average Yards Per Kickoff...     44.7     52.0

                 Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     27.3     33.2

                 Touchbacks..................        0        2

               Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.   2-37-0    2-1-0

                 Average Per Return..........     18.5      0.5

               Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD   3-54-0   3-52-0

                 Average Per Return..........     18.0     17.3

               Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..    0-0-0    0-0-0

               Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0

               Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0

               Possession Time...............    24:22    23:38

                 1st Quarter.................     8:17     3:43

                 2nd Quarter.................     4:48     7:12

                 3rd Quarter.................     2:17     9:43

                 4th Quarter.................     9:00     3:00

               Third-Down Conversions........   2 of 9  5 of 10

               Fourth-Down Conversions.......   2 of 5   1 of 1

               Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      1-2      3-3

               Sacks By: Number-Yards........      0-0      1-9

               PAT Kicks.....................      1-2      2-2

               Field Goals...................      0-0      0-0  

                                 Individual Statistics (Final)

St. Albans                                                         Parkersburg

Rushing     No Gain Loss  Net TD Lg  Avg   Rushing             No Gain Loss  Net TD Lg  Avg

Guy, Markus     29  118    2  116  0 12  4.0       Lindamood, Matt  22   92    3   89  1 12  4.0

King, Gabriel     9   36    0   36  1  7  4.0           Thomas, Andy     12    37    6   31  0 16  2.6

Francis, Al       2   14    0   14  0  8  7.0            Humphrey, Tyler   1     7    0    7  0  7  7.0

Feazelle, T.J.    3    8    9   -1  0  6 -0.3             Shafer, Joey          1     0    0    0  0  0  0.0

Totals...         43  176   11  165  1 12  3.8           Totals...            36  136    9  127  1 16  3.5

Passing    Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack   Passing         Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack

Feazelle, T.J.   15-9-0     78  1   14    1             Thomas, Andy       8-5-0     50  2   20    0

Totals...         15-9-0     78  1   14    1               Totals...               8-5-0     50  2   20    0

Receiving        No.  Yds   TD Long            Receiving        No.  Yds   TD Long

Bodie, Derek       4   29    1   13                   Roush, Stephen     2   15    1   10

Hodges, Zack      2   21    0   14                 Ankrom, Wes        1   20    1   20

Roy, Chaz          2   20    0   11                    Shafer, Joey       1   11    0   11

King, Gabriel      1    8    0    8                     Smith, Kyle        1    4    0    4

Totals...            9   78    1   14                        Totals...          5   50    2   20

Punting  No.  Yds   Avg Long In20   TB Punting          No.  Yds   Avg Long In20   TB

Hizer, Tyler       3   84  28.0   38    1    0     Warner, Tyler      2   81  40.5   48    0    0

Feazelle, T.J.     1   32  32.0   32    0    0     TM                     1    0   0.0    0    0    0

Totals...          4  116  29.0   38    1    0     Thomas, Andy       1   21  21.0   21    0    0

                                                                Totals...               4  102  25.5   48    0    0

                     Punts   Kickoffs  Intercept                                  Punts   Kickoffs  Intercept

All Returns  No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg  All Returns   No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg

Fleck, Gary        1  37  0  0   0  0  0   0  0               Roush, Stephen   2   1  1  0   0  0  0   0  0

Workman, Duran   0   0  0  3  54 22  0   0  0          Wenzel, Derek     0   0  0  1  18 18  0   0  0

Totals..          1  37  0  3  54 22  0   0  0                  Lindamood, Matt  0   0  0  2  34 19  0   0  0

                                                                           Totals...                2   1  1  3  52 19  0   0  0

 Kickoffs       No.  Yds  TB  OB   Avg               Kickoffs         No.  Yds  TB  OB   Avg

Hizer, Tyler       3  134   0   0  44.7                    Warner, Tyler      5  260   2   0  52.0

   FUMBLES: St. Albans-Feazelle, T.J. 1-1. Parkersburg-None.

    ---   

    St. Albans Defensive Statistics

    Player           Solo  Ast  Tot  TFL/Yds  FF FR-Yd Intc BrUp Blkd Sack/Yds QH

    Bodie, Robert        8    1  8.5     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Hodges, Zack        4    2  5.0     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Bruce, Josh           4    1  4.5  1.0/2    .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Young, Chris          2    5  4.5  1.0/1    .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Jarrett, Shane         3    2  4.0  2.0/4    .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Francis, Al            3    .  3.0     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Williams, David     1    2  2.0     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Linville, Sam          1    1  1.5     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Fleck, Gary            1    .  1.0     .     .   .     .      .    1      .     .

    Roy, Chaz              1    .  1.0     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

   Hartman, Evan        .    1  0.5     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .

    Amick, Evan          .    1  0.5     .     .   .     .      .    .      .     .