Class AA: Wayne throttles Tolsia, 33-6
Saturday, December 2, 2006
By RICK RYAN - The Charleston Gazette

WHEELING — Once Wayne realized it could slow down B.J. Evans, everything else fell into place.

Justin Gilkerson ran for 160 yards and a Class AA championship game record four touchdowns Friday night and the Pioneers stood tall on defense once more, culminating in a 33-6 victory over Tolsia and their first state football title. An estimated crowd of 5,000 was on hand at cold and blustery Wheeling Island Stadium.

The first matchup of county rivals in a state title game since 1993 didn’t look anything like their regular-season game, a 30-19 Tolsia victory on Oct. 13 when Evans burned Wayne for 354 yards and four TDs.Evans, the state’s leading rusher and scorer, managed only a season-low 110 yards on 22 carries Friday, but did score the only TD for the Rebels.

“He’s a great back,’’ said Wayne coach Tom Harmon. “He just didn’t have nearly as many lanes to run through tonight as he did the last time, and fortunately, this was the time that mattered most. We just did things the way we know how.

“We kind of lost our heads a little bit the first time against them and we knew we could play better. As a matter of fact, it was quite embarrassing. But we got things cleared away and did what we needed to do.’’

Wayne (12-2), the No. 3 seed, led 7-6 at halftime, but scored on four straight possessions between the third and fourth quarters to win going away.

Gilkerson, who carried 29 times, had only 24 yards at halftime, but finished with a flourish to reach his season high. He tallied touchdowns on runs of 4, 3 and 1 yard in the fourth quarter, setting up the middle score with a 54-yard burst to the Tolsia 3. Gilkerson was selected as his team’s MVP by a media vote.

Justin Followay provided the other big play for Wayne with a 60-yard scoring burst with five minutes left in the third quarter, lifting the lead to 14-6.

“Wayne was really quick,’’ said Tolsia coach Drew Waller. “We thought we made some changes at halftime, but they hit us with some big plays.’’The Pioneers ended the game with an offensive rush, but it was their defensive job on Evans that swung the momentum. He had 77 yards on 15 carries at halftime, running primarily behind the left side of his offensive line, but never really got on a roll at any time during the game.

Wayne’s defense, which allowed just seven TDs in its final seven games — or immediately after its first meeting with Evans — seemed to know where to be and when to be there.

“We just had to stop the run game,’’ said defensive end Harry Sowards, who led Wayne’s defensive charge. “We knew the play before it even started, you know? At Wayne County, we work together. We just had to stop him up front tonight. We just had to stop his cutback lanes. We were overpursuing [before] and going too far out.’’Tolsia managed just six first downs, four of them coming on its one scoring drive in the second quarter. The Rebels also saw three other first-down gains wiped out by penalties.

“We were surprised we couldn’t move the ball on offense,’’ Waller said. “We had to come up and try to do something we don’t do very well, and that’s throw the ball around. When we do that, it kind of gets out of hand. It took us out of our game plan.’’

Tolsia quarterbacks Darin Parsley and Derrick Roberts combined to complete only 5-of-17 passes for 26 yards and Parsley was intercepted twice.

Wayne, meanwhile, ran for 365 yards on 57 attempts. Followay also reached the century mark, finishing with 100 yards on six carries.

“It was great execution and great blocking at the line,’’ Followay said. “This is the best line in the state of West Virginia. We would take that line up against anybody. They did a great job tonight, they did a great job all year. I tell you, nothing happened different tonight. They just blocked harder and let it all loose.’’

Wayne had lost in its two previous Super Six appearances, both in Wheeling, coming in 2000 (to Bridgeport) and 2004 (to Bluefield). Tolsia was playing in its first finals.

“I’ve been on the other end of it,’’ Harmon said of finally capturing a state title. “I can completely understand that situation. You’ve got to understand that regular-season games are not where it’s at. You’ve got to get in the playoffs and win. We’re certainly glad to get this one under our belt. I thought our kids didn’t listen to the prognosticators.’’Wayne enjoyed solid field position much of the first half, but did little with it after the first drive.

The Pioneers took the opening kickoff and moved 81 yards in a dozen plays, scoring on a 3-yard run by Gilkerson. Wayne got a lift on that possession when Tolsia was flagged five yards for illegal participation as the Pioneers were punting from the Rebels 40-yard line on fourth-and-3.

Tolsia’s first two punts traveled just 13 and 14 yards, which let Wayne set up at its own 45 and the Rebels’ 35 on its next two possessions. But the Pioneers could do little with that good fortune, failing to pick up a first down on either drive.The Rebels only gained four first downs in the first half, and all of them came on their first drive of the second period, when they moved 72 yards in 12 plays.

Evans carried the ball on 10 of those 12 plays, accounting for 60 yards. Darin Parsley also connected with Randall Copley on a 14-yard pass play. Evans capped the drive with a 9-yard run, bringing the Rebels within 7-6 with 5:52 left before halftime.

Wayne then turned a penalty on the ensuing conversion attempt into a break.

As Evans lined up for the extra-point kick, the Pioneers were called for encroachment, moving the ball inside the 2. Tolsia called a timeout, then decided to hand the ball to Evans for a chance to take the lead with a 2-point conversion. But linebacker Todd Mays met Evans near the line of scrimmage and held on until his teammates arrived to snuff out the play and keep Wayne in the lead 7-6.

The Pioneers pieced together one last promising drive as the first half wound down, reaching as close as the Tolsia 21 with less than 30 seconds to go on Thompson’s 18-yard run.

But a pair of procedure penalties set the ball back to the 31 and three straight passes fell incomplete before the half ended.

Wayne outrushed Tolsia 135-79 in the first half, with Evans gaining 77 yards on 15 carries.