By Jim Workman
MAN — It seems that Fayetteville just can’t get past the second round.
But this year, a lot of it had to do with a powerful Man team.
The No. 2-rated Hillbillies held off a 19-point fourth quarter rally to eliminate visiting Fayetteville 37-26 at George A. Queen Memorial Field in a Class A quarterfinal playoff contest Friday night.
It marked the third straight year the Pirates made their playoff exit in the quarterfinal round.
“Man has a good football team,” Fayetteville coach Frank Spangler said. “They’re going to be tough to beat. We fizzled a little, but we never quit. I’m proud of our team. We had a good season.
“We just can’t seem to get over the hump (of the quarterfinals).”
Man (11-1) will face the winner of tonight’s Richwood vs. Wirt County quarterfinal game.
“It’s been a long time since we have gotten past the second round — at least since the mid-1980s,” Man coach Harvey Arms said. “We’re happy to be here. And we are glad that we were able to play well enough to beat Fayetteville twice this season. They have a real good team and they play hard.”
No. 7 Fayetteville ended its season at 9-3, with two of the losses coming to Man and the other to No. 3-rated and unbeaten Richwood.
The semifinal dates and times will be released by the WVSSAC office Sunday.
Both teams capitalized on turnovers to put their first points on the scoreboard.
Man struck first when defensive back Cody Owens stepped in front of a screen pass, picking it off and streaking 80 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.
“That turnover hurt us,” Spangler said. “We were driving on offense and we had it open.”
Fayetteville picked up a Man turnover in the second quarter, which sparked a quick, three-play, 59-yard drive capped by a 46-yard TD romp by Drew Weis.
Man took a 14-7 halftime lead when quarterback Ryan Crum called his own number, scrambling four yards for a TD.
Crum dominated the second half especially, scoring two TDs himself and guiding the Hillbillies on two more scoring drives to put it away.
Crum had 118 yards rushing on 12 carries, including TD runs of 30 and 1 yard.
“Their quarterback (Crum) beat us,” Spangler admitted. “We couldn’t tackle him.”
Brandon Plymale led the Hillbillies with 125 yards on 15 tries, including a 19-yard fourth-quarter score.
Weis had a game-high 151 yards on 21 attempts.
—E-mail:
jworkman@register-herald.com
Man 37, Fayetteville 26
F 0 7 0 19 — 26
M 7 7 13 10 — 37
FIRST QUARTER
M — Cody Owens 80 interception return (Derrick Earnest kick) 4:49
SECOND QUARTER
F — Drew Weis 46 run (MichaelAngelo Hernandez kick) 5:42
M — Ryan Crum 4 run (Earnest kick) 1:22 THIRD QUARTER
M — Crum 30 run (kick failed) 6:07
M— Crum 1 run (Earnest kick) 0:13
FOURTH QUARTER
M — FG Earnest 26 8:20
F — Caleb O’Neal 5 run (pass failed) 6:06
F — Hunter Hernandez 52 pass from M. Hernandez (M. Hernandez kick) 3:49
M — Brandon Plymale 19 run (Earnest kick) 1:17
F — O’Neal 23 pass from M. Hernandez (kick blocked) 0:11
