St. Marys’ Eli Wilson (44) wraps up Magnolia’s Conner Carpenter (6) during Friday’s game at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

ST. MARYS — During the course of the regular season, two days have a special meaning for St. Marys coach Jodi Mote. Homecoming and senior night.

Friday at Bill Hanlin Stadium on the campus of St. Marys High School, the Blue Devils checked one of those boxes and did it in style after defeating winless Magnolia, 44-14, on homecoming.

Carson Miller was recognized as the 72nd Belle of St. Marys on a night when running back Eli Wilson scored four touchdowns, including three in the second half.

St. Marys (5-2) extended its win streak to four games with a road game Friday at Ritchie County.

“Since I took over I always felt like homecoming and senior night were two important parts to the season – They’ve always been when I was a player and always have been as a coach,” Mote said. “There always has been a special place with Pleasants County and St. Marys High School.

St. Marys’ Elijah Kimball (3) takes a handoff from teammate Jeremiah DeMoss against Magnolia during Friday’s game at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“I just feel there is something special with homecoming. The school does a great job with it, and yes, I am pleased we came out with a win.”

Magnolia made it a dicey situation for St. Marys for two-plus quarters. Returning for his first game back following an, Magnolia quarterback Kingston Christen completed his first five passes of the game, including a 46-yard touchdown completion to Conner Carpenter.

Despite failing to convert the two-point conversion, the Blue Eagles (0-7) trailed 8-6 midway in the first quarter.

St. Marys quarterback Jeremiah DeMoss came up with a sparkling pick-six on defense, which covered 80 yards and extended the lead to 16-6 at the 9:19 mark of the second quarter.

The score remained status quo as Magnolia went on offense for the opening drive of the second half.

St. Marys’ Jeremiah DeMoss (11) carries the ball into the end zone for a two-point conversion against Magnolia during Friday’s game at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

In nine plays, the Blue Eagles covered 65 yards and capped the drive when Christen and Carpenter hooked up again for a touchdown – this time from five yards out. Following the two-point conversion, it was now touch-and-go for St. Marys which saw its lead dwindle to 16-14 at the 6:57 mark of the third quarter.

“We had a nice, methodical drive there after halftime, so I was tickled to see us down only 16-14,” Magnolia coach Craig Mason said. “Then you have a couple of explosive plays and a couple guys get hurt.”

St. Marys, however, took matters into its own hands in all three phases. Offensively, the Blue Devils scored 28 points within a span of eight minutes. Wilson ran for TDs covering 49 and 54 yards and also caught a 10-yard TD reception. The senior ended the night with 165 yards on 15 carries.

DeMoss added a 1-yard TD run to go with 98 yards on 13 carries.

“Eli and Jeremiah are our two leaders – offensively anyways,” Mote said. “Everybody else just does their part.”

St. Marys’ Eli Wilson (44) reacts after scoring a touchdown against Magnolia during Friday’s game at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

After Magnolia scored its lone second half TD, the Blue Eagles did not produce a first down until the reserves stepped on the field for the final three-plus minutes of the fourth quarter.

On special teams, Magnolia’s kickoff return team failed to recover squib kicks off the foot of St. Marys’ Elijah Kimball.

“St. Marys recovers two onside kicks that we didn’t handle then we fumble another kickoff – so we were back on defense three times that we should not have been,” Mason said. “That was detrimental to us.”

Coach Mason pointed to several injuries which left freshmen filling under the Friday night lights. One injury in particular disrupted the Blue Eagles’ protection for quarterback out of the backfield when running back Hunter Cooley suffered a leg injury midway in the second quarter. Cooley was unable to leave the field under his own power and did not return.

“We had two or three bodies go down, but I couldn’t be more proud of the freshmen that didn’t get reps in practice this week,” Mason said. “Kingston came out tonight and had some nice deep balls. He was looking good, but our protection fell apart. We had guys in the backfield and tight ends that are instrumental to our pass protection that went down.

Magnolia’s Hunter Cooley carries the ball against St. Marys during Friday’s game at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“(Eli Wilson) is a great player for them – he kind of inflicted his will late.”

Christen finished the game completing 8-of-17 for 109 yards. Carpenter caught six balls for 72 yards. Freshman Kraytin Nice led the team with 53 yards on eight carries.

“This was their quarterback’s first game back so we hadn’t seen anything on film, obviously,” More said. “That pick-six by Jeremiah was big. We were without the services of our usual kicker, so that’s why we were also doing the two-point conversion. And those kickoffs by Elijah were working. He had a great game as far as that goes.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Callie Powell, last year’s Belle of St. Marys, is pictured with Emerson Capiano, right, and Quentin Satterfield, left, during Friday’s football game against Magnolia at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)