Published: November 29, 2008 11:45 pm      

Magnolia gets title shot with 13-7 win over Mavs

NEW MARTINSVILLE — Everything James Monroe could do, the Magnolia Blue Eagles could do just a little bit better. That led to the home team atoning for last year’s 13-7 playoff loss to the Mavericks with a 13-7 win in Saturday’s Class AA semifinal game, played in brilliant sunshine on a cool day alongside the Ohio River.

Stingray Bates, a junior running back for Magnolia, ran for 128 yards on 36 carries as the Blue Eagles (10-3) put together 330 total yards.

James Monroe (9-4) ended with 112 yards. Senior running back Taylor Robertson accounted for 51 rushing and 41 on two pass receptions. His most electrifying play was a 100-yard return of a fourth-quarter interception, weaving away from a series of potential tacklers, to account for the final touchdown of the game.

Blue Eagles coach Mark Batton said, “This week we ran a lot of the unbalanced set and they didn’t adjust to it a lot. We just kept running at them.”

Once the Mavericks started to get pressure on the quarterback, Batton called for play-action draw plays to halfback Dillon Jackson. Three of them gained 44 yards in the first half.

Robertson said about Magnolia, “They’re very well coached. They don’t make many mistakes. They just come out and execute their game plan.”

Magnolia had only four possessions in that half, and its last produced the only score prior to intermission. Relying primarily on well-executed runs by Jackson and Bates, the Blue Eagles drove 94 yards in 12 plays.

Bates got loose around left end for a 17-yard touchdown with two minutes left in the second quarter.

“That was crucial,” Batton said. “Stingray made a nice play; he bounced it to the outside and he got in.”

He said he wasn’t planning to hand Bates the ball 36 times. “We take what they give us,” he said. “Stingray’s really come along in the last seven games. He’s just run the ball so hard, he’s seeing the field so well and making nice cuts.”

The other score came late in the third period when Magnolia sophomore quarterback Justin Fox heaved a ball down the sideline to Brandon Sprouse, who capped the 29-yard play by dragging his feet against the pylon at the front corner of the end zone.

Fox, already known around the state for his passing ability, ended 6-for-19 for 71 yards. He was intercepted by Nick Kisiel and Tanner Beasley in the first half and twice by Robertson in the second half.

At the midpoint of the fourth quarter, Batton called time and sent his field-goal unit onto the field and Fox lined up for an apparent kick. Instead of snapping to the holder, the ball went to Fox, who sprinted to the right and threw to the goal line.

Robertson was not fooled, and began his winding journey the length of the field. Logan Ray’s extra-point kick produced the game’s final score with 7:11 left.

Robertson’s senior season ended with seven interceptions, run back for 176 yards — despite a high ankle sprain limiting him until late in the season.

“I got some great blocks on the return from my teammates, like I always do,” Robertson said. “That was a team play right there.”

“It was huge,” James Monroe linebacker Lee Triplett said. “It gave us some energy, for one thing. ... I expected it, to be honest. It got everybody excited; it got our heads back focused to where we should have been in the first place.”

Batton said, “I wasn’t thinking very well. I should never have put them (the Magnolia players) in a position to lose the game. But we won. We’re going to the island (Wheeling Island Stadium, site of the state championship). That’s all that matters. Let’s forget about it.”

A couple of minutes later, he remarked about his defense’s effort, “That should have been a shutout, if I don’t do something stupid. That’s a shutout right there.”

James Monroe coach Don Jackson said, “They’ve got a very balanced team and a lot of team speed. ... They were very quick, on both sides of the ball.

“We played pretty good pass defense this time. They got us pretty good in the running game. ... We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times, but I thought overall we played pretty good and the kids never quit.

“Our defense has played pretty well since about the fourth game of the season. They played well (today). They contained a good quarterback (Fox) there, and a good receiver (Sprouse).”

The home crowd’s cheers had barely died away as Jackson addressed James Monroe’s future, standing in the mud at midfield. “Most of these boys are going to be back. We only lose five or six seniors,” he said. “Things look good for them, down the road.”

Magnolia will meet Grafton in a rematch of their regular-season finale next Friday night for the Class AA championship.

— E-mail:

tbone@bdtonline.com



Magnolia 13, James Monroe 7

At Alumni Field, New Martinsville

JM (9-4) 0 0 0 7 — 7

M (10-3) 0 7 6 0 — 13

Second Quarter

M: Stingray Bates 17 run (Justin Fox kick), 1:52

Third Quarter

M: Brandon Sprouse 29 pass from Fox (kick failed), 4:21

Fourth Quarter

JM: Taylor Robertson 100 interception return (Logan Ray kick), 7:11

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — JM: Taylor Robertson 14-51, Nick Kisiel 4-3, John Ballengee 5-(-44), Lee Triplett 1-2, Jake Williams 1-37, Tanner Beasley 1-(-2). M: Stingray Bates 36-128, Dillon Jackson 11-73, Derek Frunner 1-11, Justin Fox 4-47.

PASSING — JM: Ballengee 5-11-65-0-1, Robertson 0-1-0-0-0, Andrew Evans 0-1-0-0-0. M: Fox 6-19-71-1-4.

RECEIVING — JM: Kisiel 1-11, Braxton Thompson 2-13, Robertson 2-41, Ray 1-1. M: Cameron Benson 1-10, Bates 1-(-1), Jason Utt 3-33, Brandon Sprouse 1-29.