Big Reds Abuse Bulldogs, 34-6;

MVP Matt Lindamood Scores 3 TDs

Parkersburg's Big Red football team may have saved the best until the end as they dominated the Martinsburg Bulldogs 34-6 to cap a 14-0 perfect season and win the Class AAA football championship at Wheeling Island Stadium.

In winning their 10th state title in the 101 year history of the school, the Big Reds became only the second team in school annals to go 14-0 - the previous coming in 1999. The championship was the third in the last eight years for PHS.

The number one ranked PHS team bruised and abused the state's second ranked team, rolling up a championship game record 352 yards rushing while holding the high-powered Bulldogs to just 77 yards on the ground and 113 through the air to hand them their first loss since the third week of the season.

Matt Lindamood, junior tailback, scored three touchdowns while senior captain Charlie Taylor tallied another as the duo put on a phenomenal running display behind their dominating offensive line. Against a team which had allowed just one touchdown in three playoff games, Lindamood and Taylor combined for 293 yards with Lindamood getting 170 on 17 attempts and Taylor tacking on 123 in just 13 carries. Lindamood was voted as the game's Most Valuable Player.

Martinsburg came into the game averaging 32 points per game but was held to just one long pass TD coming early in the second half after a surprise onside kick recovery. The swarming PHS defense held a high profile running back in check for the fourth straight week. Josh Twyman, who has over 4,000 yards rushing to his credit, was limited to just 33 yards in 13 attempts to join the likes of Christian Edwards of Cabell Midland, Jeremy James of St. Albans and Derek Long of Morgantown as runners who have been unable to crack the PHS prevent unit for their usual 100-plus yards.

While the run defense was led by Joe Shafer, Mason Roberts, Josh Jenkins, Matt Littleton and Andy Thomas, the PHS secondary was tested 23 times and came up with three interceptions while allowing 11 completions. P.J. Polsley, Nathan Conley and Roberts all had picks for the Big Reds.

PHS also got a record-setting day from Tyler Warner, who led the state in field goals during the regular season. Warner kicked two three-pointers and four extra points. After booting a 32 yarder in the first quarter, the lanky junior boomed a 50 yard field goal in the final period to better the previous championship game record of 44 yards by Patrick Shadle of Morgantown.

The Big Reds won the opening ceremonial coin toss with former PHS athlete and athletic director and currently retiring WVSSAC Executive Secretary Mike Hayden doing the honors. PHS deferred to the second half, put their defense on the field and the rest - as they will now say - is history.

Martinsburg's first try with the football ended with three plays and a punt as PHS took over on their own 25 after a 50 yard kick. It took just four plays for the Big Reds to reach the end zone on a spectacular run the first time Lindamood touched the ball. Breaking through the line, shaking out of a leg tackle and getting a shielding block from Polsley, Lindamood completed a 56 yard TD jaunt that was just a taste of things to come. Warner's kick made it 7-0 with 7:27 left in the first quarter.

An interception and 40 yard runback by Polsley gave PHS the ball back three minutes later on the Martinsburg 32. Six plays later Warner kicked a 32 yard field goal to make it 10-0.

Next came a pivotal point in the game as Martinsburg picked up one first down before being faced with a fourth-and-five on its own 46 yard line. Coach Dave Walker decided to go for all the marbles right there and Dustin Peters' pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Zach Nolan to give the Big Reds the ball in Bulldog territory.

It didn't take PHS long to make Walker pay dearly for his coaching decision as Taylor took the ball, ran through two tacklers, shook off one defender who tried to push him out of bounds but the 225 pounder kept going up the sidelines for a touchdown. However, he was ruled out of bounds as the 19 although television replays showed he had managed to stay inbounds. It did not matter, though, as PHS scored three plays later. After gaining one yard, Taylor then ran the ball to the 13, carrying half of Martinsburg's team for the last five yards on a 10 yard run. He then threw the clearing block for Lindamood to go around left end for the touchdown with 8:09 left in the half. Warner's boot ran the score to 17-0 and the Bulldogs no longer wanted anything to do with Taylor.

PHS got the ball back on Conley's interception and 23 yard return and with 5:18 on the clock the Big Reds were about to make it a perfect four-for-four on scoring opportunities (and 13 of their last 15 possessions in the playoffs). Starting at their own 33, the Big Reds ran the ball six straight times for 24 yards to the Martinsburg 43. Then it was time for Taylor to do his thing again as he burst over the right side, shedding tacklers like water off a duck. With one man to beat at the 20 yard line, Taylor must have given Zach Newhouse an intimidating look because the Martinsburg defender simply waved at him as he went by, preferring not to try to stop the runaway train called Charlie Taylor. The kick made it 24-0 and PHS had put up 208 yards rushing on just 19 carries.

The second half began with Martinsburg pulling a trick play out that work, using a quick kick onside attempt that was recovered at the PHS 37 yard line. After two plays netted just four yards, quarterback Peters dropped back and found Xavier Peters across the middle. As the PHS defender fell down, the Bulldog receiver sped straight to the goal line with just 44 seconds gone in the quarter. However, the extra point was wide right and Martinsburg had succeeded only in causing PHS to turn it up a notch.

The Big Reds drove 73 yards in just five plays to score again (5-for-5 in possessions for points) with Taylor going for 20 yards on the first play, keeping his balance with one hand while refusing to go down. Lindamood then pulled out his patented spin move twice before shaking off a tackler on a 38 yard run. Taylor ran for four more yards and Andy Thomas for seven to the four to set up Lindamood's third TD of the day and 27th of the season. Lindamood's TD was really a team effort as the offensive line of Nolan, Jenkins, Chris James, Cody Hopkins, Tom Farrah, Sean Chichester and Kyle Smith succeeded in eventually driving the pile of would-be tacklers all the way into the end zone with 8:51 left in the third quarter, making the score 31-6 after the PAT.

Although that answering touchdown had to be a crusher to Martinsburg, the Bulldogs did put together their best drive of the day after that. Collecting three first downs and moving from their 29 to the PHS 25, the Bulldogs found themselves with a fourth-and-one situation and tried their star runner Twyman, who was promptly met by a Shafer, Taylor and Co. for no gain.

The rest of the game was just a formality as the fourth quarter saw a big quarterback sack by Justin Adkins and an interception by Roberts sandwiched around Warner's 50 yard field goal.

The loss was the fourth for Martinsburg in the state finals in the last six years. In addition to Twyman's 33 yards rushing, the Bulldogs got 25 yards in six carries from Marcus Scott (who came into the game with 996 yards and averaging 11 yards per carry). Peters was the leading receiver with three catches for 50 yards for Martinsburg, which had just three underclassmen starting compared to a junior-dominated Big Red team.

Scoring

Martinsburg (12-2)      0       0       6       0      -       6

Parkersburg (14-0)     10     14      7       3      -      34

^{Scoring Plays}

P – Matt Lindamood 56 run (Tyler Warner kick) 7:27 1^st

P – Warner 32 field goal, 1:01 lst

P – Lindamood 13 run (Warner kick) 8:09 2^nd

P – Charlie Taylor 43 run (Warner kick) 2:17 2^nd

M – Xavier Peters 33 pass from Dustin Peters (kick failed) 11:16 3^rd

P – Lindamood 4 run (Warner kick) 8:51 3^rd

P – Warner 50 field goal, 3:21 4^th

Individual Statistics