Blue Eagles Elminated
Saturday, November 28, 2009
By TRACY WATSON- The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register
With a 3-0 lead and just less than 19 minutes standing between it and a return trip to the Super Six on Wheeling Island, a special teams mistake followed by Bluefield's only real drive of the game was enough to burst Magnolia's unbeaten bubble Friday night.
Senior Marcus Patterson gave the Beavers the lead with a dazzling 58-yard punt return for a score and classmate Jake Lilly's 30-yard run capped a long march as Bluefield held on to defeat Magnolia 13-10 in a West Virginia Class AA state semifinal football contest in front of a large crowd at Alumni Field.
Coach Fred Simon's sixth-seeded Bluefield team will return to Wheeling Island Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. showdown next Friday night against the survivor of today's contest between 12-0 Wayne and 11-1 Frankfort.
The Beavers (11-2) will be making their 15th trip to the state championship game, winning nine times, and first since beating James Monroe in 2007.
''It's great to be going back to Wheeling, but you never know what is going to happen, there are no guarantees when you get there,'' an elated Simon said. ''You have two teams battling for one trophy and anything can happen.''
For Coach Mark Batton's second-seeded Blue Eagles it's the first loss in 13 games and one that Magnolia fans and coaches alike will remember as one Big Blue let get away.
While the final score may have had the southern visitors winning by three, the Eagles outgained their guests by a 220-144 margin and allowed only seven first downs, with three of those coming via penalties.
Bluefield had three big gainers of 25, 30 and 34 yards, but its biggest play other than that was just 7 yards. Unfortunately for Magnolia, two of those big plays came on the Beavers' only scoring drive.
Leading 3-0 on a 29-yard field goal by junior do-it-all Justin Fox at 7:20 of the third quarter, the Blue Eagles were facing a fourth-and-13 from their own 22 with Fox in punt formation. Fox's kick bounced near the Bluefield 45 with Patterson bobbling the ball, but making the catch over his shoulder at the 42. The speedster was hit by a pair of Magnolia defenders near the 45, but managed to stay on his feet before eluding another tackler and changing fields.
Patterson, who started on the far sideline, cut across the length of the field while rolling downfield and finally heading into the end zone with 3:48 showing on the clock. Justin Mariotti's PAT barely cleared the crossbar, but it made it 7-3.
The Eagles went three-and-out again with Fox pinning the Beavers back at their own 20 with his punt.
On second-and-13 from the 28, Patterson took a handoff on a reverse, looked downfield and hit senior Damian Price with a 34-yard strike for a first down at the Magnolia 38.
Bluefield eventually got the ball to the 30 where it faced a third-and-2 on the first play of the fourth quarter. That is when Lilly took a handoff straight up the gut and churned his way the end zone, dragging a Blue Eagles defender along the way. The point-after failed, but it was 13-3 with 11:46 to go.
Fox drove his team into Beavers territory midway through the final quarter, however, Magnolia came up 3 yards short on a fourth-and-14 call at the enemy 28.
The visitors nearly implode late, fumbling the ball away in their own territory with 1:49 to go. A pair of personal fouls pushed the ball to the 13 where Fox found Jared Blatt for a touchdown with 1:09 to go.
Fox then added the point-after to cut the margin to 13-10, but Lilly cradled the ensuing onside kick to end any Magnolia hope.
Magnolia missed a pair of opportunities in the first half with a high-snap on a field goal attempt leaving it short of a first down and a fumble on a trick-play just inside the 20 ending another threat late in the first half.
''Bluefield's defense really rose to the occasion a couple of times in the first half and kept us out,'' a dejected Batton said. ''And that Patterson is one heckuva player.
''We knew how dangerous he was coming in, and we had held him in check for most of the game, but he made some nice moves on that return and he did what good players do.
''This team never game up and that has been our attitude and that is a reflection of this senior class. These kids never gave up, they battled right down to the end. We just didn't get the bounce we needed on that last onside kick.''
Simon, meanwhile, had nothing but respect for Magnolia and its effort.
''We knew what we would be up against when we made this trip,'' he added.
''Our staff just hoped that we could battle with them and we did. Then Marcus made a heckuva play for us and it helped us beat a very, very good football team.
''Sometimes in big games it boils down to special teams play and that is what happened (Friday). There was no question that it would be hard getting into the end zone against a team that only allows three points a game, so we needed that.
''They really remind me of us. Their kids play with so much heart, their community does a great job getting involved and they have a great program. We knew it would be a dogfight and that is exactly what it was.''
