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Williamstown wins showdown with Doddridge, 35-13

By Kerry Patrick 6 min read

WEST UNION -- Maybe a week off isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Following its first loss of the season, Williamstown stepped onto the field for its first game in almost two weeks.

On the plus side, the Yellowjackets' ground game was at its finest with two ballcarriers rushing for more than 100 yards in a 35-13 win over Doddridge County on Friday night.

However, on the downside the playing surface was uncharacteristically littered with yellow flags throughout the contest for both teams. Nearly a combined 250 yards of penalties were assessed, including 16 times for 150 yards against the Yellowjackets.

In addition to a handful of personal fouls and holding calls, Williamstown's defensive linemen wreaked havoc in the Bulldog backfield and caused several intentional grounding penalties.

"The most important thing is we got the win, but things are not in order," Williamstown coach Chris Beck said after his Class AA fourth-ranked Yellowjackets improved to 8-1. "This is my 17th year with the program and we have never been flagged that much. Ever. We have to look at the film and see what we have to clean up.

"You can't do that and accomplish things we want to accomplish. No discredit to Doddridge, we played a really bad game tonight. But credit to our guys, they found a way to win tonight."

Despite having its six-game winning streak snapped, Class A fourth-ranked DCHS was given the type of test which will better prepare the 7-2 Bulldogs for the postseason.

"A game like tonight will make your team more prepared and battle-tested," DCHS coach Bobby Burnside said. "I think we showed a lot of guts.

"I am not pleased - there are no moral victories."

The traditional run first, pass second followers of DCHS football are accustomed to were treated to 'Air Burnside.' Quarterback Brysen Dixon completed 18-of-32 in the passing game for 265 yards and two touchdowns.

Throughout the week of practice leading up to game night, the DCHS coaching staff felt they could expose Williamstown through the air. The Yellowjackets shut down the Bulldog ground game to a tune of minus-3 yards, but Dixon used an array of receivers to keep it a one-point game midway into the third quarter.

"All week we watched film and saw how Williamstown was playing," Dixon said. "We knew they had a really good line with Danner Hooper, along with Lynken Joy at linebacker. It was hard for us to make holes to run. We thought passing would be there.

"For the five years or so I've been here, I've never seen passing numbers like that at Doddridge County. It's always been run, run, run. Being able to throw and run helps so much."

After a scoreless first quarter, Williamstown threw the first punch on Joy's 1-yard TD dive - the first of three he turned in. The senior quarterback ended the night rushing for 194 yards on 24 carries.

The Yellowjacket lead lasted all of 56 seconds. On first-and-20 from its own 14-yard line on the ensuing drive, Dixon found Jerod Trent open down the middle of the field, hit him in stride and the junior receiver finished off the 86-yard touchdown completion.

Trent had quite the impact in a very short span. Williamstown took over at its 41, and on first down Trent picked off Joy who was trying to loft a pass to his intended receiver (Danner Hooper).

"I don't like weeks off," Hooper said.

The Bulldogs took over at the Yellowjacket 44, but never reached the red zone once Cooper Martin intercepted a ball which was overthrown for the intended receiver.

Williamstown then went to work, churning out big chunks of yardage and moving 65 yards in seven plays. Joy's 1-yard TD run put the Yellowjackets into 14-7 with 7:13 still remaining in the second quarter.

Williamstown forced another shutdown drive then tacked on a third TD in the quarter when Cooper Billingsley covered 14 yards on a touchdown carry with 2:41 remaining in the first half and Williamstown leading 21-7. Billingsley, who accounted for 22 yards on the scoring drive, gained 167 yards on 19 carries for the game.

"I thought C-Bill ran hard, as hard as he had all year - I thought he did a great job coming off the bye week and making plays," Beck said. "Lynk is Lynk. He is going to make plays."

Not lost in the 22-point outcome was a touchdown-saving shove made by Williamstown placekicker Lyric Perdue to open the second half. DCHS' Brandon Davis received the ball on the kickoff return at his own 9, cut to his left toward the Yellowjacket sideline with only one player to bet at midfield. Perdue was the last man standing and used his shoulder pads to push Davis out of bounds at the Williamstown 46.

Three plays into the Bulldog drive, Rex Anderson recovered a fumble just shy of the red zone following a 24-yard pass completion. Perdue also gave thanks to the kicking gods on an extra point attempt later in the game. The ball hit the right upright and bounced just over the crossbar.

DCHS eventually did put points on the board one last time. Midway in the third quarter, Dixon and Landon Thomas hooked up for a 7-yard TD completion. The missed extra point left the Bulldogs trailing 21-13 and 6:41 remaining in the period.

The dagger for DCHS occurred on the next drive as Williamstown took eight plays to advance 67 yards - with yet another Joy 1-yard TD run with 2:39 remaining in the period. To make matters worse for the Bulldogs, freshman defensive back Breck Allen intercepted a pass which deflected off a DCHS receiver on the first play of the fourth quarter.

At 9:54 of the fourth quarter, Billingsley got the call for a 1-yard TD run.

For the DCHS passing game, Trent finished with four catches for 108 yards, Thomas 63 yards on seven receptions and Aiden James 75 yards receiving on four catches.

"I thought Brysen Dixon played outstanding," Burnside said. "He had people in his face all night. I'm sure he hates throwing interceptions.

"Throwing the ball is what we thought we had to do to win. We struck early and struck a couple of other times."

Factoring in the sacks, the DCHS ground game was limited to minus-3 yards. Running back Lyric Blake led the Bulldogs with 20 yards rushing on 11 attempts.

"Give Williamstown credit - they were extremely stout up the middle and the going was very hard up there," Burnside said. "Most of our good runs were outside, so throwing the ball is what we felt we had to do to give ourselves a chance to win this game."

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

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