Ash Has Hand In 5 TDs as Big Reds Blast Beckley, 43-14

BECKLEY - Junior quarterback Alex Ash had a hand in five touchdowns to lead the Big Reds to a 43-14 win over the Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles here Friday night.

Ash threw for three scores and ran for two more while Allan Wasonga ran for 205 yards as the PHS defense pitched its second straight second half shutout defense and helped the team improve to 3-2 overall while keeping the Eagles winless in four tries.

Scoring on runs of seven and one yard, Ash gave the Big Reds a lead they never relinquished. Overall he completed nine of 13 passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns - two to Jeremy Bell and one to Kevin Minehart.

Although he did not reach the end zone (he was tackled once on the two yard line after a 49 yard run), Wasonga reached the 200 yard mark for the seventh time in his PHS career and became the fifth leading rusher all-time in PHS history.

Chad Collins, another junior, scored once on a 49 yard run, finished with 78 yards rushing on just eight carries and had an interception on defense.

Overall, the Big Reds piled up 467 yards in total offense (they came into the contest averaging over 404 yards per game) with 306 of it coming on the ground and 161 through the air. Bell caught three passes for 50 yards while Corey Ohse had two for 56 yards. Ohse was the leading tackler on defense with eight stops.

Beckley had 314 yards in offense - 178 rushing and 136 passing. Jesse Earp scored both touchdowns for the Eagles and was the leading rusher and receiver. Earp had 10 carries for 58 yards and caught six passes for 84 yards.

PHS led 28-14 at the half, tacked on two more scores in the third quarter and let reserves finish the contest.

But at the start of the contest the Big Reds found themselves behind 7-0 as they had to punt away their first possession and Beckley immediately drove 86 yards on 10 plays to score as Earp went over the right side from two yards away on a fourth down play with 5:29 left in the first quarter. Beckley had a first and goal at the eight but big stops by Ohse, Matt Santer, Michael Talbott and Robert Kelley left the home team still two yards away and facing fourth down. After a timeout, the Eagles reached the end zone on a dive by Earp.

The Big Reds responded by going 61 yards on eight plays to tie the game on a run by Ash with 2:04 left in the first period. A 39 yard pass from Ash to Ohse was the big play on that drive.

Then came a break in the Big Reds favor as Jeff Lantz drilled his kickoff directly off the chest of Beckley's Tyler Thurman and Ohse fell on the ball at the Beckley 41 yard line. A 21 yard reception by Bell on which he took the ball away from Earp helped move the ball into scoring position and on fourth and goal from the one, Ash sneaked over behind the blocking of Wes O'Brien and John Carter. The extra point kick by Lantz made it 14-7 with 10:49 on the second quarter clock.

Beckley lost its quarterback, J.C. Pennington, on the next series. It was believed he suffered broken ribs on a tackle by Frank Settle and Minehart.

After forcing a Beckley punt, PHS showed its big play capabilities by getting a touchdown on a 77 yard drive that took just two plays. A 28 yard run up the middle by Wasonga was followed by Collins' 49 yard burst up the middle for a touchdown. Collins showed his speed as he pulled away from defenders after getting past the line of scrimmage. That score came with 7:10 left in the first half.

The Big Reds turned the ball over on a fumble at their own 38 and after a three yard run, the Eagles showed their big play ability as Andrew Johnson threw a pass in the flat to Earp, who cut back, shook over three would-be tacklers and went 59 yards for the touchdown with 3:43 on the clock.

But big plays have become a steady part of the PHS offense and the Big Reds responded again by going 83 yards in just seven plays (five of them covering 10 yards or more). The touchdown came when Ash found Bell in the end zone from 14 yards out with 51.8 seconds left in the half.

The second half saw PHS score touchdowns on its first two possessions.

A fumble recovery by Kelley on the PHS 11 yard line stopped Beckley's early scoring threat in the third quarter and on the ensuing play Wasonga bounced off would-be tacklers and broke to the outside for a 49 yard run. Two plays later he broke through a pair of tacklers and raced 32 more yards to the 18 yard line. After a three yard pickup by Wasonga, Ash went to the air and found a wide-open Bell in the end zone as the Beckley defense had concentrated its efforts on stopping what they believed would be another Wasonga carry. That TD with 5:45 left in the third period made it 35-14 after the PAT kick.

The PHS defense got the ball back by forcing a punt with Minehart returning the kick eight yards to the Parkersburg 45. Wasonga picked up four and then broke through the middle for 49 yards, being brought down at the two yard line. The senior halfback tried twice to get the touchdown but on third down Ash rolled left and found a wide open Minehart in the end zone for a two yard TD reception. On the extra point a low snap forced Ash to pick the ball up, take off to his right and then lateral to Lantz, who ran as far to his right as he could, nearly reaching the sideline before passing the ball into the end zone to Bell, who caught the ball off the grass tops for a two-point conversion to make it 43-14 with 1:14 left in the third quarter.

After a Collins interception on the second play of the fourth quarter, the PHS second offensive unit came on and finished out the victory.

Santer, Settle, Josh Lewis and Carl Boyles were among the other defensive leaders for the Big Reds.

01:14 PHS - Minehart, Kevin 2 yd pass from Ash, Alex (Bell, Jeremy pass from Lantz, Jeff)

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FUMBLES: Parkersburg High-Wasonga, Allan 2-1; Collins, Chad 1-0; Santer, Matt 1-0.